To America’s racing fans, Gary Stevens is a Hall of Fame jockey, the man who came within a tantalizing length of winning the Triple Crown in 1997 aboard Silver Charm, the man who rode the filly Winning Colors to Kentucky Derby victory in 1998, the man who ruined Real Quiet’s Triple Crown bid in 1988.
If you don’t follow racing closely, you might know Stevens as the man who played jockey George Woolf in the movie Seabiscuit, or as Ronnie in Luck, or you might see him as an NBC broadcaster during the telecasts of America’s biggest races.
Stevens retired from riding in 2005, but at some point last year, at age 49, he decided that watching races and talking about them was no longer enough. He wanted to get back in the saddle, and on January 6, he did just that, riding his first race in more than seven years. He finished third aboard Jebrica in the sixth race.
Read more at Forbes.com…
I am happy for Gary Stevens. He has always been my favourite jockey. I wish him the best of luck. He and and Silver Charm deserved to have won the TC. I love him as a commentator and actor too. I loved his book. I would recommend it to anyone, fan of racing or not.
He made me feel especially proud to be a fan and participator in he sport in 2008 after the unfortunate and tragic break down of Eight Belles when he took on that jack a** media guy on national TV for trying to trash our sport.
Best of luck to you Gary!