Jerry Bailey, an inductee of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, was born on the 29th of August 1957 in Texas. He started his career in 1974 by winning at Sunland Park on a horse named Fetch.
He went on to win 5892 races in a glittering career that included shock wins in the Triple Crown (The 1993 Kentucky Derby aboard Sea Hero springs to mind) as well as a fair share of controversy - most notably for the ride he gave a horse named Eddington in the Belmont Stakes (which many felt was done deliberately to prevent Smarty Jones from winning the Triple Crown). He became well known as a frequent rider of the great horse Cigar in the 1990s, whose unbeaten streak drew national attention to the sport.
Bailey won a record-breaking fifteen Breeders Cup World Championships races, three of which were consecutive. He was crowned the outstanding jockey in North America seven times and became the first jockey ever to receive three Eclipse Awards in a row.
At the Kentucky Derby in 2004, Bailey was one of the first top jockeys to sport advertising patches. He retired in January 2006, but is still involved in horse racing in numerous roles, one of which is as a commentator for ESPN, a job at which he excels with his insider knowledge. An interesting bit of trivia is that Bailey battled an alcohol problem through much of his early career.
