Jerry Bailey facts for kids

Jerry D. Bailey (born August 29, 1957) is a famous retired American jockey. He is now a horse racing expert for NBC Sports. Many people think he is one of the best jockeys ever. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1995.

Becoming a Jockey

Jerry Bailey was born in Dallas, Texas, but grew up in El Paso. He loved horses from a young age. When he was 11, his dad, James, bought some racehorses. This made Jerry even more interested in horse racing.

His first job at a racetrack was at Sunland Park in New Mexico. He worked as a groom, taking care of the horses. He even babysat for Todd Pletcher, who later became a very successful horse trainer.

Jerry's first official race was on November 2, 1974, at Sunland. He didn't win that day. But the very next day, he won his first two races! He rode a horse named Fetch to his first victory. At first, Jerry didn't think he would leave New Mexico.

In 1975, Jerry was the top apprentice (new) jockey at Sunland and Ak-Sar-Ben. He won his first big race, the His Majesty's Council Handicap, on a horse named Bye Bye Battle. After a short time in college, he returned to racing.

In the late 1970s, Jerry started racing in Florida. Over the next few years, he also raced in California, New Jersey, and Illinois. By 1982, he was riding regularly at major tracks in New York, like Belmont Park and Saratoga. He would continue to race in New York and Florida for the rest of his career.

Amazing Achievements

Jerry Bailey is known as one of the best jockeys in the world. During his 31-year career, his horses won 5,894 races. They earned over $296 million in prize money! When he retired, he was second only to jockey Pat Day in career earnings. He is still ranked third today.

Jerry won each of the three biggest races in the U.S. (the Triple Crown) twice. These races are the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. His wins in the Kentucky Derby on Sea Hero (1993) and Grindstone (1996) are considered some of the best rides ever.

He also won the Breeders' Cup Classic a record five times. This is the richest race in the U.S. In total, he won 15 Breeders' Cup races. He shares this record with fellow Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron.

Jerry also won the Dubai World Cup, the world's richest race, four times. He is the only jockey to win the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey seven times. This award is given to the best jockey in the U.S. He won it four years in a row from 2000 to 2003!

Riding Cigar

Jerry Bailey is especially remembered for riding a famous horse named Cigar. Cigar won 16 races in a row, which tied a modern record. In 1995, Cigar was named American Horse of the Year after winning the Breeders' Cup Classic. The next year, Jerry and Cigar won the very first Dubai World Cup.

Jerry often visited Cigar after the horse retired. He said Cigar was a "cool horse" who loved people.

Hall of Fame and Awards

Jerry was inducted into the American Racing Hall of Fame in 1995. In 1992, other jockeys chose him for the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. This award honors riders who show great character and make racing look good. In 1993, he received the Mike Venezia Memorial Award for his sportsmanship.

The Big Upset: 1993 Breeders' Cup Classic

One of Jerry Bailey's most famous wins was in the 1993 Breeders' Cup Classic. He rode a French horse named Arcangues. This win was a huge surprise because Arcangues was a tremendous long shot.

Jerry had never ridden Arcangues before. He only got the chance to ride him nine days before the race! The horse's groom tried to give Jerry instructions in French, but Jerry didn't understand much. He only spoke briefly with the trainer, André Fabre, right before the race. Jerry had to figure out his own race plan.

He noticed the odds were very high for Arcangues. He decided to stay close to the inside rail of the track. This would save ground and give them the best chance. Arcangues then charged past the favorite horse, Bertrando, to win easily. The odds were 133-to-1! A $2 winning ticket paid $269.20. The racetrack's odds board couldn't even show such high odds, so it just said 99-to-1.

This win is considered one of the most amazing upsets in horse racing history.

Successful Years

From a numbers point of view, Jerry's best year was 2003. He worked closely with trainer Robert Frankel, who had one of the strongest stables in racing. That year, Jerry won a career-high $23,354,960 in prize money. This was a North American record until 2012. He also won 26 Grade 1 stakes races, which is still a record. Many of these wins were on horses trained by Frankel, like Empire Maker and Medaglia d'Oro.

Saratoga Success

Jerry Bailey loved riding in the summers at Saratoga Race Course in New York. He said he would "pace myself all year to get ready for that one meet." He won the Saratoga riding championship seven times between 1994 and 2001.

On August 6, 2004, Jerry won his 641st race at Saratoga. This broke the career record held by Ángel Cordero Jr.. Jerry finished his career with 693 wins at Saratoga. This record stood until 2013.

He won 109 stakes races at Saratoga, including 35 Grade 1 wins. These included famous races like the Test Stakes, Hopeful Stakes, and Whitney Handicap.

Working with Top Trainers and Owners

Jerry Bailey had strong relationships with Hall of Fame trainers like MacKenzie Miller, Bill Mott, and Robert Frankel. He also worked closely with Sheikh Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai, who owns a huge racing and breeding operation.

Working with trainer MacKenzie Miller helped Jerry's career grow. He rode Fit to Fight to win the New York Handicap Triple in 1984. He also rode Sea Hero to win his first Kentucky Derby in 1993.

Trainer Bill Mott noticed Jerry's skill in the early 1990s. Their partnership really took off in 1994 when Mott chose Jerry to ride Cigar. Jerry rode Cigar to 16 wins in a row, including the first Dubai World Cup. Jerry won 96 graded stakes races for Mott.

Jerry started riding regularly for trainer Robert Frankel in 2000. Their team had a very high win rate in big races. They won 32 Grade 1 races together in five years. Frankel said Jerry was "very well-prepared going into every race." He knew everything about the horses he was riding and their competitors.

Jerry also had great success with Sheikh Mohammed's horses. After winning the first Dubai World Cup on Cigar, he won it again in 1997 on Singspiel. In 2000, Sheikh Mohammed flew Jerry to England to ride the famous horse Dubai Millennium after the regular jockey was injured. Jerry won the race and celebrated with the injured jockey. In 2002, Jerry won the Dubai World Cup again on Street Cry.

Retirement and New Career

Jerry Bailey announced his retirement on January 19, 2006. His last official race was on January 28, 2006, at Gulfstream Park. He rode Silver Tree, a horse trained by Bill Mott, and finished second.

In the summer of 2006, Jerry started a new career. He became a horse racing expert for ESPN. When ESPN stopped covering horse racing in 2012, Jerry moved to NBC Sports.

His very last time riding in a race was on October 18, 2008. It was a special "Living Legends Race" at Santa Anita. He raced against other retired Hall of Fame jockeys to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Breeders' Cup. Jerry finished second in that race.

What Others Said About Jerry

Trainer Bill Mott praised Jerry, saying, "He trains hard. He thinks about it, he works at it... He's a dedicated athlete." Mott believed Jerry wanted to be the best and worked hard to achieve it.

Trainer Bobby Frankel said Jerry was "very well-prepared going into every race." He knew everything about the horses he was riding and the horses he was racing against. Trainer Fred Danley added that Jerry was great at handling horses. He could figure out a horse's speed and what other riders would do.

Personal Life

Jerry Bailey met his wife, Suzee Chulick, when she interviewed him after a race in 1984. They got married in 1985 and have a son named Justin Daniel, born in 1992.

Jerry once said that he didn't truly love horses until he met the champion horse, Cigar. He became a jockey because he loved the thrill of competition.

He was known for being very focused. He would study races carefully and prepare his tactics. This meant he didn't socialize much before races or go out with other jockeys afterward.

Jerry also helped improve safety in horse racing. As President of the Jockeys' Guild from 1989 to 1996, he worked for better health and safety rules. He supported jockeys wearing protective vests called "flak jackets" to prevent injuries. He also donated money to the Jockeys' Guild Disabled Fund after winning big races.