Bringing up nearly 600 winners during any racing season sounds impossible; some might even say it can’t be done.
For Jockey Manager Drew Smith, who achieved a career-best 575 winners last season, it’s all in a day’s work.
The Port Macquarie-based manager boasts a brilliant jockey stable, including Aaron Bullock, Ben Looker, Ashley Morgan, Grant Buckley, and Adam Hyeronimus.
2022/23 was a standout year for the 41-year-old, who watched Aaron Bullock win the Australian Jockey’s Title while he bested his previous year’s effort by nearly 100 wins.
“After the previous season, where I had 487 winners, I had myself down for 500 this season; I thought that would be outstanding, so to get 575 is unbelievable,” Smith said.
“It will be a good job if we can keep going north of that this season.”
In NSW, a Jockey Manager can only have up to five riders on their books, and as one would expect, Smith’s a busy many.
Married to former hoop Belinda Hodder, Smith also raises a young family, but he juggles family life and his seven-day-a-week role in the racing industry.
“My wife would tell you I certainly don’t need any more jockeys,” Smith laughed.
“I think I could slip another one in here or there, but it’s certainly a full-time gig with five riders.”
Based in the Northern Rivers, Smith is also involved with Matthew Dunn’s team.
“My role at Matt’s has dropped off, but I basically look after his programming,” Smith said.
“I book all his jockeys and liaise with his owners about jockey choices.”
Asked about his time on the phone and communicating with owners, trainers, and jockeys, Smith said he spent close to 1820 hours booking 3992 rides during the 2022/23 season.
“I get a notification at the end of the week about my screen time and other things, and I’ll usually be on the phone seven to eight hours a day,” Smith said.
It’s been an interesting road to the Jockey Manager’s ranks for the Gundagai product that was raised in Tamworth.
He spent his formative years as a Racing NSW steward, following his older brother, Todd Smith, into the industry.
The pair are still close, with Todd now the Racing Manager for Clint Lundholm in Dubbo.
“Todd and I, we talk every day, and he has a new lease on life with what he’s doing,” Smith said.
“It’s funny because he is a few years older than me, and naturally, I followed him into it.
“Out of school, I originally got into Uni at Newcastle, and I went down there and lasted about three days.
“I came home, and I said to my mother, ‘I don’t think uni is for me’, and she said, ‘You don’t have to go back if you get a job’.
“Todd was moving on, so I rang Shane Cullen, the Chief Steward in the North West at the time, and asked if he’d give me a go, and I never looked back.”
Smith spent the best part of 18 years as a Stipe and 14 years as the Chief Steward at Port Macquarie before he gave it all away five years ago to manage jockeys and take up an opportunity with Matthew Dunn.
“It gave me a really good grounding,” Smith said.
“I generated some good relationships and had a good knowledge of the area and the participants, which certainly helped when I started out.”
When asked if he would ever make a return to the steward’s ranks, Smith wasn’t willing to rule it out.
“I get asked that quite regularly,” Smith said.
“You never say never because being a Jockey Manager can be a fickle business with injuries and suspensions.
“Still, while I have my current crop of jockeys, I couldn’t see myself going anywhere, but down the track, and with the right job opportunity, I wouldn’t rule it out.”
Smith is setting bigger goals and said he would eventually like to progress to managing more metropolitan jockeys.
“I managed Sam Clipperton for two years, but when Hippo (Hyeronimus) came back to riding, I lost Sam, so I took Adam back,” Smith said.
“The line I’m treading at the moment is that I don’t want only to be a country/provincial manager.
“I had a good time managing Sam, and I feel I was able to get him fairly well entrenched in the top ten riders in Sydney, but I’ve got Adam back, and he has hit the ground running in town.
“I’ve got four of the leading country and provincial riders in NSW, and while that’s good, I don’t want to pigeonhole myself as a country/provincial Jockey Manager.”
As one would expect, Smith has booked some famous victories over the years, including Adam Hyeronimus’s win on Belflyer in the 2018 The Kosciuszko and the jockey’s first Group One win on Shout The Bar in the 2022 Vinery at Rosehill Gardens.
“It would be a photo finish between Hippo winning The Kosciuszko and his first Group One,” Smith replied when asked what moment stood tall amongst the rest.
“I was managing a month when he won The Kosciuszko on Belflyer and had known John Shelton for 20 years, so it is hard to top that.
“Another big one would be Ben winning the Grafton Cup (on Sacred Day); it’s the only race he ever wanted to win, and when he did win, it was pretty satisfying.”
As far as what it takes to be a good Jockey Manager, Smith doesn’t think there is any secret to it.
“It’s not hard; it’s more about being a good people person; that’s the biggest thing,” Smith said.
“You’ve got to have good customer relation skills, and I try and give everyone the time of day and go that extra mile to be more approachable.”
Less than a month into the new season, Smith has hit the ground running, with Hyeronimus already winning five metropolitan races.
At the same time, Looker leads the NSW country jockey’s title with 11 wins.
