Jerry Dale Bailey
Jerry Dale Bailey is a retired American Hall of Fame jockey. He began his racing career in November 1974. His first mount was on a horse named Pegged Rate, who ran off the board. He notched his first career win the next day on his second career mount, Fetch, at New Mexico's Sunland Park, and has gone on to win 5,892 races. Among his numerous wins, he can boast the New York Handicap Triple in 1984, six victories in American Classic Races races, and a record 15 wins in Breeders' Cup races, including five Breeders' Cup Classics. Three of his Breeders' Cup Classic wins were consecutive (1993-1995). Bailey is perhaps most famous among racing fans as the regular rider of 1990s great Cigar.
In his 2005 book titled Against The Odds, Bailey wrote about his battles with alcoholism that affected a large part of his early career.
When the 2003 Thoroughbred racing Eclipse Awards were handed out on January 26, 2004, Jerry Bailey was proclaimed the outstanding jockey in North America for an unprecedented seventh time (1995–1997 and 2000–2003); in 1997 he had been the first jockey to win three consecutive Eclipse Awards.
In 1992, Bailey was selected for the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, arguably the top lifetime achievement award for North American jockeys. In 1993, he was voted the Mike Venezia Memorial Award for "extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship". He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1995.
Advertising Controversy
Jerry Bailey was one of the first of five top jockeys to wear advertising patches in the Kentucky Derby, starting in 2004. They sued on First Amendment grounds, to be allowed to wear ad patches during the race. The ruling was issued on April 21, 2004, by U.S. District Judge John Heyburn in Louisville.
The patches, worth approximately $30,000 apiece, were legal in other Triple Crown states of New York and Maryland, but were argued by The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority that they might lead to corruption and violated racing tradition.
"We are very sensitive to the traditions of our sport, and our goal is not to offend anyone," Bailey said in a statement after the ruling.
The other jockeys included Jose Santos, John Velazquez, Gary Stevens, and Shane Sellers.
Retirement
Jerry Bailey announced his retirement on January 19, 2006, at age 48, with his last race on January 28. His 5,892 wins which placed him 15th on the all-time list, and his mounts have earned more than $295 million, good for second all time. Pat Day leads with nearly $298 million. Bailey currently is involved in racing in a number of capacities, most notably as a commentator for ESPN at major televised races.
