Aaron Tod Gryder (born June 5, 1970, in West Covina, California) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey.
At age 16 in 1986, Gryder began his career as a professional jockey in Tijuana, Mexico at Agua Caliente Racetrack. His first winner came in 1987 at Agua Caliente aboard Ragen Henry. [1] Gryder returned to the United States to ride at Santa Anita Park. His first win came on long shot horse with no left eye named One Eyed Romeo. [2] He later rode at Hollywood Park as an apprentice jockey, and became the first and only apprentice jockey to ever win the Leading Rider title in the track's 75-year history. [3] Gryder has also won several Leading Rider titles at Churchill Downs, Arlington Park, Aqueduct Racetrack, and Golden Gate Fields. [4]
In 2009, Gryder rode Well Armed to a win in the world's richest race, the $6,000,000 Dubai World Cup, finishing 14 lengths in front of Gloria De Campeao, the largest margin of victory in the history of the race. [5] Gryder won the 2012 G1 Breeders' Cup Marathon on long shot Calidoscopio. [3] At the time of his retirement, Gryder had more than 4,000 victories internationally, [6]
Beyond racing, Gryder appeared in television's Dellaventura [7] and The Sopranos . [8] He has worked as an On-Air Analyst for ESPN, NBC Sports, Fox Sports, TVG Network, and HRTV. [9] He was one of the six jockeys featured in Animal Planet's 2009 reality documentary, Jockeys. [10] Gryder retired from racing in 2020. [1] He joined Stronach Group in 2021 as Vice President of racing industry relations. [11]
Chart (2000–present) | Peak position |
---|---|
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2000 | 12 |
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2001 | 21 |
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2002 | 43 |
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2003 | 61 |
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2004 | 39 |
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2005 | 43 |
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2006 | 43 |
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2007 | 40 |
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2008 | 47 |
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2009 | 37 |
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2012 | 90 |
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