Top 10 rich list: Chris Waller and James McDonald top trainer and jockey earnings so far this season

Trainer Chris Waller and jockey James McDonald are leading the prizemoney earnings in Australia, four months into the 2023/24 racing season.

James McDonald with Chris Waller after winning the Thousand Guineas.

We’re already four months into the Australian racing season — and have just emerged from the lucrative spring carnival — so which trainers and jockeys are dominating the prizemoney earnings?

Unsurprisingly, Chris Waller and Ciaron Maher and David Eustace are clearly number 1 and 2 in the training ranks, both with more than $2 million in earnings from their 10 per cent slice of prizemoney.

Joe Pride, courtesy of his win in The Everest with Think About It, sits third with healthy earnings of more than $1.4 million.

Ciaron Maher, Mark Zahra and David Eustace after Gold Trip won the Group 1 Turnbull Stakes.

The trainer earnings do not include what they charge owners to train their horses, which is usually around $130-$150 per day in full work.

READ | Jockeys are ‘getting dudded’: Has the time come to raise their pay?

In the jockey ranks, J-Mac has had a stellar start to the season with seven Group 1 winners and almost $1 million from his 5 per cent share of prizemoney since August 1.

Mark Zahra has plenty of cash to spend on his upcoming Christmas break with earnings of more than $600,000 from winning the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups on Without A Fight.

Joe Pride and Sam Clipperton with The Everest trophy.

Nash Rawiller and Sam Clipperton, who rode Think About It to win The Everest, have both earnt more than $500,000 since August 1.

The jockey earnings do not include the money they make per race ride, which is around $270 plus GST, plus around $95 plus GST to ride in barrier trials.

Of the top 10 earning jockeys, young gun Tyler Schiller has ridden the most winners with 53 for the season so far.

All the top 10 earning trainers and jockeys are well and truly in Australia’s top tax bracket, and pay 45 per cent tax on every dollar they earn.

TRAINERS

RANK — TRAINER — WINS — RUNNERS — PRIZEMONEY — % CUT

1 — Chris Waller — 105 — 824 — $27,924,080 — $2,792,408

2 — Maher & Eustace — 116 — 727 — $20,740,475 — $2,074,047

3 — Joseph Pride — 26 — 171 — $14,494,625 — $1,449,462

4 — Waterhouse & Bott — 73 — 360 — $13,197,180 — $1,319,718

5 — James Cummings — 49 — 272 — $13,026,820 — $1,302,682

6 — A & S Freedman — 25 — 147 — $9,717,210 — $971,721

7 — B, W & JD Hayes — 60 — 375 — $6,984,340 — $698,434

8 — Moody & Coleman — 37 — 233 — $5,901,300 — $590,130

9 — P & P Snowden — 34 — 265 — $5,310,650 — $531,065

10 — K Yoshimura — 1 — 1 — $5,250,000 — $525,000

Mark Zahra riding Without A Fight to win the Melbourne Cup.

JOCKEYS

RANK — JOCKEY — WINS — RIDES — PRIZEMONEY — % CUT

1 — James McDonald — 40 — 194 — $18,671,400 — $933,570

2 — Mark Zahra — 23 — 148 — $12,599,710 — $629,986

3 — Nash Rawiller — 34 — 147 — $10,418,337 — $520,917

4 — Sam Clipperton — 9 — 107 — $10,094,150 — $504,708

5 — Craig Williams — 21 — 191 — $9,093,990 — $454,700

6 — Tyler Schiller — 53 — 372 — $8,870,925 — $443,546

7 — Josh Parr — 16 — 112 — $8,468,675 — $423,434

8 — Zac Lloyd — 31 — 251 — $6,338,825 — $316,941

9 — Kerrin McEvoy — 24 — 246 — $6,066,050 — $303,303

10 — Ben Melham — 15 — 99 — $5,700,455 — $285,023