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 Jockey Pat Day |
| After winning the Sword Dancer and breaking the record, Pat Day said: "I would like to thank the thousands of horses that got me here,” Day said. “I would also like to praise God for keeping me healthy and injury-free. I want to thank my wife and daughter. It was a beautiful day here and it was fun to ride in front of a full house. It’s a great and enthusiastic crowd at Saratoga." |
Dateline: 08/11/02
With his win in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Invitational Handicap at Saratoga on Saturday, jockey Pat Day surpassed the recently retired Chris McCarron as the all-time leader in earnings, reaching the $264,580,968 mark.
The Colorado native started his career as a rodeo cowboy, but because of his height of 4'11" and weight of 100 lbs. was persuaded to become a jockey. This proved to be the perfect choice for him, leading to the new earnings title along with a record for earnings in Breeders' Cup races, a tie for most Breeders' Cup victories with Jerry Bailey, and nine wins in Triple Crown races: the 1992 Kentucky Derby on Lil E. Tee, five victories in the Preakness, and three wins in the Belmont Stakes. He even won the Canadian Triple Crown on the filly Dance Smartly in 1991 and went on to win the Breeders' Cup Distaff with her later in the year.
His home turf is Kentucky where is has won numerous riding titles at both Churchill Downs and Keeneland. He is the all-time leading rider at Churchill and has had five winners on a card 21 times there.
He was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1991, has won the Eclipse Award for leading jockey in 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1991, received the George Woolf Memorial Award in 1985, and received the Mike Venezia Memorial Award in 1995. He is also a past president of the Jockey's Guild.
Early in his career he was involved in drug and alcohol abuse, but overcame his addictions to became a born-again Christian and the official spokesman to the racing industry for the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America.
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Photo ©2002 Cindy Pierson Dulay, licensed to About.
