Billy Loughnane Signs Retained Deal With Godolphin
Britain's champion jockey, Billy Loughnane, has signed a retainer to ride for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation next year. Godolphin announced the appointment on 4 November 2026.
He will not be the stable's sole first-choice rider. Loughnane will be contracted alongside William Buick, who already holds a retained role with the team. A retainer is a contract that gives a stable first call on a jockey's services, so Loughnane will be the first rider picked for many of Godolphin's horses.
The 20-year-old is a Flat jockey, which means he rides in races on the level with no jumps. He has been riding for Godolphin since his days as an apprentice, the early stage of a jockey's career when they ride with a weight allowance. He said it was "a huge honour" to be given the new role.
His rise has been quick. He rode his first winner shortly after his 16th birthday. In May, he won his first Classic, the 2,000 Guineas, on Bow Echo. The Classics are the five main races for three-year-old horses, and the Guineas is the first of them.
Earlier, in August 2025, he took his first Group One win, aboard Rebel's Romance in Berlin. Group One is the highest grade a race can carry.
Last month he added another first. Sky Sports reported that Loughnane rode Libertango to victory at Keeneland in Kentucky, his first winner at the Breeders' Cup. That is the championship day of top races held each autumn in the United States, and it draws horses and riders from around the world.
For racing fans, the story is about where Loughnane goes next. He has spent his career as a Godolphin rider in the making, and the new contract formalises that link at senior level. Buick stays in place as the other retained jockey, so the team now has two riders on the books rather than one name at the top of the list.
Loughnane's new contract takes effect next year. Until then he continues to ride for his current employers, and the coming season will show how the two Godolphin jockeys share the big rides.
