Gary Stevens (jockey)
Encyclopedia
Gary Lynn Stevens is an American
Thoroughbred
horse racing
jockey
, television personality and sports anchor who works for both HRTV
and NBC Sports
as a horse racing analyst.
Although forced to wear a hip brace for nineteen months due to a degenerative disease of the hip, Perthes syndrome, at age 7, Stevens began working for his horse trainer father, Ron, as a groom at age 8. By the time he was 14, he was riding American Quarter Horse
s.
Stevens dropped out of high school, after an all-star wrestling
season, to become a full-time jockey. He began his career in 1979 at Les Bois Park in Boise, Idaho
, and in his first start had a winner Thoroughbred
. From there he soon became a leading rider in Washington. He then moved down the coast into California
, becoming part of the leading competitive jockey groups there.
In 1993, Gary Stevens became the youngest jockey to surpass $100 million in earnings.
Stevens has been in the winner's circle at the Kentucky Derby
and the Belmont Stakes
three times, and twice at the Preakness Stakes
. He won the Santa Anita Derby
a record nine times, and he's won eight Breeders' Cup
races, making him the fourth-leading money winner in Breeders' Cup history so far. His mounts have collected over $221 million with 4,888 winners.
in 1996. The award honors riders whose careers and personal conduct exemplifies the very best example of participants in the sport of Thoroughbred racing
. In 1997, Stevens entered the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
and in 1998, he was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey
in the United States. In 1999, he was voted the Mike Venezia Memorial Award
for "extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship".
had this to say about Stevens' book: "A Perfect Ride is a great read, not only for horse racing fans, but for anyone interested in how the American dream really works."
, he finished second aboard a 4-year-old mare named Louve Royale in his final race as a jockey. A week after his favorite horse, Rock Hard Ten
, called it quits due to a foot injury, the jockey
of 27 years started working in January 2006 as a racing analyst with TVG. Also that month he joined NBC Sports
as its lead horse racing analyst. James Risch, Governor of Idaho, proclaimed the week of July 10, 2006, to be Gary Stevens Week. In March 2007, Stevens became the jockey agent for Corey Nakatani
. Gary started a new job as a racing commentator for HRTV
on January 1, 2008. On June 1, 2009, Stevens began Gary Stevens Racing Stable Inc. where Stevens will train horses with the assistance of his son, T.C. Stevens. Stevens' horses will be stabled at Santa Anita and shipped to various races throughout the country.
In 2003, Gary Stevens stated in an interview with Charlie Rose that he doesn't think there will be another Triple Crown
winner because of the tendency for owners to put fresh horses in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. After Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby in 2008, Stevens said: “It’s been 30 years since we had our last Triple Crown winner – it’s time for another.”
, Stevens played jockey George Woolf
. In 2011 he became a regular cast member on the television series Luck
produced by avid horse racing ran and Thoroughbred owner, David Milch
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
, television personality and sports anchor who works for both HRTV
Horse Racing TV
HRTV is a 24-hour television based multimedia network dedicated to horseracing which features racing action from many of the sport's greatest racetracks around the world. HRTV also features other forms of equestrian competition, as well as original programming and award-winning documentaries...
and NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
as a horse racing analyst.
Although forced to wear a hip brace for nineteen months due to a degenerative disease of the hip, Perthes syndrome, at age 7, Stevens began working for his horse trainer father, Ron, as a groom at age 8. By the time he was 14, he was riding American Quarter Horse
American Quarter Horse
The American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph...
s.
Stevens dropped out of high school, after an all-star wrestling
Scholastic wrestling
Scholastic wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially Collegiate wrestling with some slight modifications. It is currently...
season, to become a full-time jockey. He began his career in 1979 at Les Bois Park in Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
, and in his first start had a winner Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
. From there he soon became a leading rider in Washington. He then moved down the coast into California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, becoming part of the leading competitive jockey groups there.
In 1993, Gary Stevens became the youngest jockey to surpass $100 million in earnings.
Stevens has been in the winner's circle at the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
and the Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
three times, and twice at the Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
. He won the Santa Anita Derby
Santa Anita Derby
The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $1 million. Inaugurated in 1935, it is considered the most important West Coast stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby...
a record nine times, and he's won eight Breeders' Cup
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...
races, making him the fourth-leading money winner in Breeders' Cup history so far. His mounts have collected over $221 million with 4,888 winners.
Awards
Gary Stevens has won numerous awards and prizes in the horse racing industry including the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey AwardGeorge Woolf Memorial Jockey Award
The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award has been presented by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, annually since 1950 to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack.The award was created...
in 1996. The award honors riders whose careers and personal conduct exemplifies the very best example of participants in the sport of Thoroughbred racing
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
. In 1997, Stevens entered the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
and in 1998, he was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey
The Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey is an American thoroughbred horse racing honor for jockeys first awarded in 1971. Part of the Eclipse Awards program, it is awarded annually....
in the United States. In 1999, he was voted the Mike Venezia Memorial Award
Mike Venezia Memorial Award
Mike Venezia Memorial Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor given annually by the New York Racing Association to honor a jockeys who exemplifies extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship...
for "extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship".
The Perfect Ride
In 2002, Gary wrote a book about his life called The Perfect Ride. Hall of Fame sportscaster Jack WhitakerJack Whitaker (sportscaster)
Jack Whitaker in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is an American sportscaster who worked for both CBS and ABC.-Early life and career:...
had this to say about Stevens' book: "A Perfect Ride is a great read, not only for horse racing fans, but for anyone interested in how the American dream really works."
Retirement
On November 27, 2005, Stevens announced his retirement. That day at Churchill DownsChurchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
, he finished second aboard a 4-year-old mare named Louve Royale in his final race as a jockey. A week after his favorite horse, Rock Hard Ten
Rock Hard Ten
Rock Hard Ten is a millionaire American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. Co-owned and bred by Madeleine Paulson, widow of prominent horseman Allen E. Paulson, the bay horse stands at 17 hands. He was sired by the great Kris S., out of the Mr...
, called it quits due to a foot injury, the jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
of 27 years started working in January 2006 as a racing analyst with TVG. Also that month he joined NBC Sports
Thoroughbred Racing on NBC
Thoroughbred Racing on NBC is the de facto title for a series of horse races produced and broadcast by NBC Sports. Among its current personalites are hosts Tom Hammond and Bob Costas, along with analyst Gary L...
as its lead horse racing analyst. James Risch, Governor of Idaho, proclaimed the week of July 10, 2006, to be Gary Stevens Week. In March 2007, Stevens became the jockey agent for Corey Nakatani
Corey Nakatani
Corey S. Nakatani is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He got his big break in 1990 when he rode Itsallgreektome to win big stakes races.Nakatani currently resides at Belmont Park...
. Gary started a new job as a racing commentator for HRTV
Horse Racing TV
HRTV is a 24-hour television based multimedia network dedicated to horseracing which features racing action from many of the sport's greatest racetracks around the world. HRTV also features other forms of equestrian competition, as well as original programming and award-winning documentaries...
on January 1, 2008. On June 1, 2009, Stevens began Gary Stevens Racing Stable Inc. where Stevens will train horses with the assistance of his son, T.C. Stevens. Stevens' horses will be stabled at Santa Anita and shipped to various races throughout the country.
In 2003, Gary Stevens stated in an interview with Charlie Rose that he doesn't think there will be another Triple Crown
United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...
winner because of the tendency for owners to put fresh horses in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. After Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby in 2008, Stevens said: “It’s been 30 years since we had our last Triple Crown winner – it’s time for another.”
Acting career
In the 2003 film SeabiscuitSeabiscuit (film)
Seabiscuit is a 2003 American biographical film based on the best-selling non-fiction book Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand...
, Stevens played jockey George Woolf
George Woolf
George Monroe Woolf , nicknamed "The Ice Man", was a Canadian-born thoroughbred race horse jockey and the namesake of the annual jockey's award given by the United States Jockeys' Guild....
. In 2011 he became a regular cast member on the television series Luck
Luck (TV series)
Luck is an upcoming U.S. television series set to star Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte. Michael Mann will direct the pilot episode, which is based on a screenplay by David Milch...
produced by avid horse racing ran and Thoroughbred owner, David Milch
David Milch
David S. Milch is an American writer and producer of television series. He has created several television shows, including NYPD Blue and Deadwood.-Biography:...
.