Gary Stevens Hangs Up His Hat At 55 after Spinal Injury
Hall of Famer jockey Gary Stevens will be retiring immediately due to a spinal injury. During his stellar career, the 55-year-old Stevens retired twice before, most notably from Nov. 2005 until 2012. During that seven-year hiatus from the saddle, Stevens kept himself in the racing forefront working as an analyst for TVG and NBC Sports as well as HRTV.
His return to riding in 2013 was nothing short of storybook, highlighted by guiding Oxbow to an upset win in that year's Preakness Stakes Gr.1 and Mucho Macho Man to an emotional win in that season's Breeders' Cup Classic Gr.1.
When he piloted the daughter of Henny Hughes to a memorable win over previously unbeaten Songbird in the 2016 Breeders' Cup Distaff Gr.1, it marked his 11th career Breeders' Cup triumph and came 26 years after his first victory in the World Championships.
His last graded stakes score came when he rode Sharp Samurai to victory in the Gr.2 Hope Mile Stakes.
Included in his 5,187 career victories are nine Triple Crown race wins including gr.1 three Kentucky Derby Gr.1 triumphs and earnings of more than $258.9 million.
Credit: Ritesh Jamkhedkar ritesh.jamkhedkar@secretariatsworld.com