Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens confirmed Nov. 20 he will be retiring from the saddle due to a spinal injury.
The 55-year-old Stevens has retired twice before, most notably from 2006-12. When he returned to riding in 2013, he picked up right where he left off at the top level, riding Oxbow to victory in that year’s Preakness Stakes (G1) and Mucho Macho Man to the win in that season’s Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
When he guided champion Beholder to a memorable win over previously unbeaten Songbird in the 2016 Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1), the victory marked his 11th career Breeders’ Cup triumph and came 26 years after his first victory in the World Championships.
Included in his 5,187 career victories are nine Triple Crown race wins—including three Kentucky Derby (G1) triumphs—and he has earnings of more than $258.2 million.
Stevens earned the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in 1998, one year after he was voted into Racing’s Hall of Fame.
