David Allan was born in Irvine, North Ayrshire on July 11, 1982, but raised in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham. Prior to attending the National Horseracing College in Doncaster, he had no experience of horses, but nonetheless successfully completed a 12-week foundation course in 1999. Of his time at the College, Allan later reflected, “I’d never sat on a horse until I got there. The college sent me to Jack Berry’s at Malton [North Yorkshire]. I had a lot of catching up to do and it turned out to be the best yard to catch up at. They had a lot of good horses and riders and I never learned so fast in my life.”
Allan rode his first winner, Peter’s Imp, trained by Alan Berry, son of Jack, in an apprentices’ handicap at Warwick on July 22, 2000. After riding just two winners in 2000 and 13 in 2001, he became apprenticed to Tim Easterby in Great Habton, North Yorkshire, where he has remained ever since. Fast forward to July 5, 2020 and Allan reached the milestone of 1,000 winners on British soil, courtesy of Turntable, trained by Chris Wall, in a handicap at Doncaster. He has also ridden with great success in India, where he has won no fewer than 34 Classics and has the distinction of being the most successful international jockey to ride on the subcontinent.
On October 21, 2023, Allan enjoyed the biggest win of his career when Art Power, trained by Easterby, sprang a 40/1 surprise in the British Champion Sprint Stakes at Ascot, rallying after being headed inside the final furlong to beat the favourite, Kinross, by a neck. Reflecting on his sole Group 1 winner, so far, Allan said at the time, “You don’t find them very easily. I have been at Tim’s now for 21 years and it is the first one we have found together. We had Winter Power [owned, like Art Power, by King Power Racing] win a Group 1, but it has been a long wait for me to get one from the yard itself.
For all his vast experience, Allan has often fallen foul on the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) for using the whip above the permitted level. In October 2025, for example, he was suspended for 42 days – nine of which were deferred for six months or 200 rides – after being found to have breached the whip rules in the previous six months.