Across the Board: Stevens 'was one of our greatest riders'

Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens has ended his riding career, and frankly, he is finishing up shortly after he recorded some of his best moments during the past few years, including wins in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and the Pacific Classic.

Trainer Richard Mandella had a long association with Stevens, yet they did some of their best work only recently with the filly Beholder.

“It had a lot to do with the confidence we had in each other,” Mandella recently told a group of reporters, including me.

"He was one of our greatest riders," Mandella added. "As I saw him, Gary always was one of our most reliable, most important jockeys."

Beholder’s victory in the 2015 Pacific Classic marked the only time in the race’s 28 runnings that a female won the race. More than one year later, Beholder ended her career in dramatic fashion with a nose victory over Songbird in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff.

“Beholder became a top notch performer almost every time Gary gave her the signal,” Mandella said. “To some extent, it's kinda sad that Gary is retiring. But, at the bottom line, I’m glad he’s retiring fairly healthy.” 

As Stevens revealed his reasons for ending his career,  his long-time orthopedist Dr. Tibone informed him he has a spinal injury that could lead to a far more serious issue if he were to fall.

"You’re done,” Tibone told Stevens, according to the Daily Racing Form. "There won’t be any comeback from this one.”

Stevens, 55, won 5,187 races, including three Kentucky Derbys and 11 Breeders’ Cup races, the last with Beholder. 

One of only 10 riders to win the Kentucky Derby at least three times, Stevens also won the Preakness and Belmont Stakes three times each, including a desperate win on Victory Gallop in the 1998 Belmont that denied Real Quiet the Triple Crown.

He won the Kentucky Oaks twice, and the Santa Anita Derby a record nine times. He was the Eclipse Award-winning rider in 1998, and was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1997. Stevens also won the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1996, the Mike Venezia Award in 1999, and the Big Sport of Turfdom Award from the Turf Publicists of America in 2013.

Just prior to his retirement, Stevens was injured Saturday in the post parade at Del Mar. 

Stevens rode one more race on Saturday, but took off his lone mount on Sunday. At the time he thought he merely had a pinched nerve in his neck, but the examination with Dr. Tibone showed otherwise.

“I’m done riding,” Stevens said after coming back from  hip and knee replacements, in his interview with DRF.

Stevens also confirmed that he felt he was getting close to retiring and believes now that it's time to pursue other things.

"Thank God I'm not in a wheelchair," he said. "I’ve got some tingling in both hands and the base of my skull also hurts more than I want it to.”

This actually was the third time that Stevens contemplated retirement. The first instance was in 1999, and after coming back for a while he retired again in 2005. He also worked as an analyst for NBC on some of its national broadcasts before returning to the saddle in 2013, winning the Preakness Stakes on Oxbow and then later that year he won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Beholder and Breeders’ Cup Classic on Mucho Macho Man.

"Like I said earlier, it’s sad that he’s retiring, Mandella said, "but, I’m glad he’s retiring fairly healthy.”

Stevens won his first Thoroughbred race in 1979 at Les Bois Park in his native Idaho, and came to greater prominence when he led the standings at Longacres in Washington in 1983 and 1984. That success precipitated a permanent move to Southern California in late 1984. Although Stevens remained in Southern California for the bulk of the rest of his career, he also had brief stints riding in Hong Kong, France, Kentucky and Arkansas. Overseas, he won races in Great Britain – including at Royal Ascot – France, Hong Kong, Dubai, Japan, and Ireland.