Gary Stevens was born March 6, 1963 in Caldwell, Idaho into a family of horse people. He came to racing naturally, his father, Ron, is a trainer and had him grooming horses at age 8. His mother was a Rodeo Queen. His brother Scott is a jockey. Before he was 14, Gary was riding winners in quarter horse races at the Idaho bush tracks and fairs. Riding became his passion and an illustrious career was born.
Fast track forward twenty years, when at age 34, Stevens was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall, becoming the youngest rider to earn that honor. A year later, he won the Eclipse Award as the nation's top jockey. In 1996, he was named the recipient of the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. He later earned acclaim for his portrayal of Woolf in the 2003 Oscar nominated blockbuster, "Seabiscuit."
He won virtually all of the sport's biggest races, including eight Triple Crown races -- three Kentucky Derbys, two Preakness Stakes, and three Belmont Stakes. He also piloted eight Breeders' Cup winners during his brilliant career, and won a record nine Santa Anita Derbies. In 1993, he became the youngest jockey to surpass $100 million in career earnings.
In his incredibly successful career, Stevens rode some of the sport's greatest equine stars, including: Winning Colors, Thunder Gulch, Silver Charm, Point Given, Silverbulletday, Da Hoss, Rock Hard Ten, Bertrando, Singspiel, Victory Gallop, Fantastic Light, and many others.
HRTV is thrilled to have Gary Stevens in our stable of talented analysts. A class act whose riding career spanned 27 years, encompassing over 5,000 victories and more than $221 million in purse earnings.
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