Gary Stevens (jockey)

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Gary Lynn Stevens (born March 6, 1963 in Caldwell, Idaho) is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began is career in 1979 at Les Bois Park in Boise, Idaho.

With 25,442 career mounts and 4,512 winners [1], Stevens won countless awards and prizes in the horse racing industry including the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1996 that honors a rider whose career and personal conduct exemplifies the very best example of participants in the sport of thoroughbred racing. He also portrayed George Woolf (1910-1946) in the 2003 movie Seabiscuit.

In 1997, Stevens entered the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in the United States.

On November 25, 2005, Stevens announced his retirement. Two days later, at Churchill Downs, he finished second aboard a 4-year-old mare named Louve Royale in his final race as a jockey. [2] A week after his favorite horse, Rock Hard Ten, called it quits due to a foot injury, the jockey of 25 years started working in January 2006 as a racing analyst with TVG. James Risch, Governor of Idaho, proclaimed the week of July 10th, 2006, to be Gary Stevens Week [3].

Stevens has been in the winner's circle in three Kentucky Derby's, three Belmont Stakes, and two Preakness Stakes. His mounts have collected over $221 million.

Stevens' father, Ron, is a horse trainer, and Stevens' brother Scott is a jockey.

In 2002, Gary wrote a book about his life called The Perfect Ride. Hall of Fame sportscaster Jack Whitaker had this to say about Gary's Book. "A Perfect Ride is a great read, not only for horseracing fans, but for anyone interested in how the American dream really works."