Gary Dale Boulanger (born November 19, 1967) is a retired Canadian Hall of Fame jockey and trainer who competed in his native Canada and the United States.
Born in Drayton Valley, Alberta, Canada, Boulanger began his career in 1987 at Tampa Bay Downs then went to the Pacific Northwest where he was the leading jockey for three straight years from 1989 through 1991 at Longacres Racetrack in Washington state. In 1991 he won 247 races, breaking Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens record for most wins. [2] [3]
In 1992 Boulanger moved to race at tracks in California and in 1994 to southern Florida where he enjoyed considerable success. In 1998 he rode Chilito in the Kentucky Derby. From June 2000 and much of 2001, Boulanger worked primarily in Canada where he rode the most successful mount of his career. Aboard Sam Son Farm's filly Dancethruthedawn he won several top races in Canada including the 2001 Canadian Oaks and that country's most important race, the Queen's Plate. [4]
While competing in Florida in the winter of 2005, Gary Boulanger suffered a life-threatening and career-ending injury in a racing accident at Gulfstream Park in the January 30 running of the Mac Diarmida Handicap. [5] Called "one of South Florida's best riders the past several years" by The New York Times , [6] Boulanger underwent surgery for a ruptured spleen, broken ribs, as well as a detached tendon in his left elbow. The accident caused a blood clot, that surgeons had to extract, which necessitated the removal of a section of his skullcap to avoid damage to the brain from pressure caused by swelling. [7] Following a very lengthy recovery process, in April 2009 Boulanger embarked on a new career race conditioning Thoroughbreds. [8] In September he earned his first win as a trainer at Calder Race Course. [9] On February 17, 2013, Boulanger returned to the saddle at Tampa Bay Downs, finishing 9th aboard Spring a Latch, a horse in which he is also trainer. [10]
In 2017 he became the 33rd recipient of the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award given to jockeys who have made significant contributions to Canadian Thoroughbred racing.
In 2020, Gary Boulanger was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. [11]
On September 17, 2023, Boulanger–then 55 years old–announced his retirement as a jockey, saying that it was the right time to retire and that he had nothing left to prove. He added that he would like to stay connected to the sport of horse racing in some way. [12] He retired with 3,698 winners from 25,385 starts and career winnings of over US$83 million. [1] [12]
Desmond Sandford "Sandy" Hawley, is a Canadian Hall of Fame jockey.
Julieann Louise Krone, is a retired American jockey. In 1993, she became the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race when she captured the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair. In 2000, she became the first woman inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, and in 2003 became the first female jockey to win a Breeders' Cup race. She has also been honored by induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame, Michigan Women's Hall of Fame, and Cowgirl Hall of Fame.
Gary Lynn Stevens is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey, actor, and sports analyst. He became a professional jockey in 1979 and rode his first of three Kentucky Derby winners in 1988. He had nine wins in Triple Crown races, winning the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes three times each, as well as ten Breeders' Cup races. He was also a nine-time winner of the Santa Anita Derby. He entered the United States Racing Hall of Fame in 1997. Combining his U.S. and international wins, Stevens had over 5,000 race wins by 2005, and reached his 5,000th North American win on February 15, 2015.
Patrick Alan "Pat" Day is a retired American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. Day won nine Triple Crown races and 12 Breeders' Cup races. He was once the leader for career Breeders' Cup wins though he was later surpassed as the events were expanded after he retired.
Robby J. Albarado is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding at the age of 10 and progressed to riding at bush tracks in his native Louisiana by the age of 12. After turning professional, he earned his first official win at Evangeline Downs in 1990. Since then, he has won more than 5,000 races, but his career has endured setbacks as a result of serious injuries. During 1998 and 1999, he suffered two skull fractures, one of which required doctors to replace a damaged portion of his skull with titanium mesh and polymer plate. Another serious accident in the fall of 2000 kept him out of racing for the better part of 2001.
Alex O. Solis is a jockey based in the United States. He lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California. He got his big break and his first gained national prominence when he won the 1986 Preakness Stakes with Snow Chief. In 2014, he was elected to the horse racing hall of fame and on January 1, 2015, became the 29th jockey in North American history to have 5,000 wins.
Craig Perret is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding horses at age five and by seven was riding quarter horses in match races. At age fifteen he began his career in thoroughbred racing and in 1967 was the leading apprentice jockey in the United States in terms of money won.
Todd Kabel was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. A native of McCreary, Manitoba, he began his career as a jockey at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and in 1987 started competing at tracks in Ontario, moving to Toronto permanently in 1991.
Jon Kenton Court is an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing.
Willie Martinez is a jockey in North American Thoroughbred horse racing. Martinez is known in the business as "Chillie Willie," because of his "chill" demeanor in riding.
Ronald D. Ardoin is a retired jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He is one of a number of successful Cajun jockeys who began their careers riding in bush track races in Louisiana.
William "Smokey" Saunders was a Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing and won the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing on Omaha in 1935. News reports in Saunders’ lifetime used both the nicknames “Willie” and “Smokey.”
Francine Alicia Villeneuve is a Canadian retired thoroughbred jockey and racing pioneer.
Mark E. Casse is a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer whose most notable horses include 2015 American champion turf mare Tepin and Canadian Horses of the Year Sealy Hill (2007), Uncaptured (2012), Lexie Lou (2014), Catch A Glimpse (2015) and Wonder Gadot. He has won thirteen Sovereign Awards for outstanding trainer in Canada and has been the leading trainer at Woodbine Racetrack 14 times. In 2019, he won his first American Classic with War of Will in the Preakness Stakes.
Corey James Lanerie is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Based in Kentucky, he has won 19 jockey titles at Churchill Downs and has won meets at Ellis Park, Lone Star Park, Sam Houston and Retama Park.
Tyler Gaffalione is an American jockey who, since being voted the Eclipse Award for the 2015 U.S. Champion Apprentice Jockey, has become one of racing's rising stars having won more than 200 races every year in his first three full seasons. He won the 2019 Preakness Stakes aboard War of Will.
James E. Bracken was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer based in Florida.
"Cowboy" Jack Leroy Kaenel is a retired American jockey in Thoroughbred racing who, at age 16, became the youngest rider to ever win the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series when he rode Aloma's Ruler to victory in the 1982 Preakness Stakes.
Luis Contreras is a Mexican jockey since 2006. After starting his career in Mexico, Contreras started competing in the United States and Canada during the late 2000s. For his graded stakes race career, Contreras has won thirty six Grade III races, twenty two Grade II races and four Grade I races. At the 2011 Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, Contreras won the Queen's Plate, Prince of Wales Stakes, and Breeders' Stakes. He became the first jockey to use two horses to win the Canadian Triple Crown. In 2014, Contreras came short of another Canadian Triple Crown after finishing tenth at the Breeders' Stakes following wins at the Queen's Plate and Prince of Wales.
David Cohen is an American jockey. He won the 2018 Comeback Jockey of the Year Award, and was the 2019 Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort Champion Jockey. In 2022, he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. As of March 20, 2024, he had 1,644 career wins, and earnings of $65 million.
Jockey: The Rider's Life in American Thoroughbred Racing by Scott A. Gruender, 2006, ISBN 978-0-7864-2819-9
Chart (2000–present) | Peak position |
---|---|
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2000 | 48 |
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2001 | 42 |
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2003 | 48 |
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2013 | 60 |
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2014 | 70 |