Richard Hughes (jockey) a change in the rules regarding horse welfare. On 13 October 2011, it was announced that Hughes was giving up his racing licence and quitting the sport out of protest at the ban. Hughes did not follow up on this threat and on 15 October 2012 he equaled Frankie Dettori's record of winning seven races in a single meeting by winning seven out of eight races at Windsor Racecourse. The following month, he claimed his first British flat racing Champion Jockey title with 172 winners over the season. In May 2013, after a long wait, he won his first British
Richard Hughes (jockey) Classic on Sky Lantern in the 1,000 Guineas. He then won his second a month later on Talent in the Oaks. On 21 June 2013, he won the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot on 1000 guineas winner Sky Lantern. At the end of the 2013 British flat racing Hughes was crowned Champion Jockey for the second consecutive season. His total of 208 winners made him the first jockey to ride more than 200 winners in a British flat season since Kieren Fallon in 2003. He retained the title again in 2014, before retiring and taking up training. Hughes is married