After 35 years, Berry retiring from saddle

Cliff Berry has been a longtime kingpin in the Southwest riding ranks, winning more than 20 titles among tracks in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Berry will call it a career on Sunday after he rides Better Than Magic in the $250,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park.

Berry, 53, has won more than 4,500 races and has amassed mount earnings of more than $67 million during his 35 years in the saddle. His first win aboard a Thoroughbred came on June 3, 1981, at Louisiana Downs. This coming summer, Berry and his wife, Kim, plan to sell their house in Oklahoma and settle in Houghton, La., a town that borders the track.

“I’m going to retire there to a little farm, do a little gardening,” he said. “It’s near Louisiana Downs. Kim was born and raised around there. That’s where I met Kim.”

Berry has five mounts Sunday at Remington and they include a pair of 2-year-old stakes starters for longtime patron Bret Calhoun, who trains Better Than Magic.

“Cliff has been a big part of our team for a long time,” Calhoun said. “He’s ridden a lot of horses for me, in particular a lot of young horses. He’s been instrumental in developing the young horses. He’s got a real knack when it comes to riding young horses.”

Trainer Roger Engel also has long utilized Berry.

“What he does so well is he puts a horse in a position to win,” Engel said. “That’s 90 percent of it, then the rest is on me. If they don’t get there, it’s on me. He’ll be really missed. It’s going to be tough on me, probably as much as anybody. He just gives you 110 percent every time. Guys like that are hard to come by.”

“It’s a huge void,” added Calhoun. “You don’t replace Cliff Berry.”

Berry has been celebrated all meet long at Remington, where he ranks as the track’s all-time leading rider with more than 2,100 wins. He was to be feted by Remington on Saturday with presentations through the night’s program. Berry’s accomplishments at the Oklahoma City track include a seven-win day Dec. 10, 2010, and 15 riding titles. He also is the all-time leading rider at Remington’s sister track, Lone Star Park near Dallas.

Berry has had another big meet at Remington, winning the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby in September and the $175,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup in November. Both wins came aboard Shotgun Kowboy. Earlier this year, he won with his final Oaklawn mount when Promise Me Silver captured a stakes on the undercard of the Arkansas Derby.

Berry said he is grateful for all the horses, industry members and fans who have supported him in his more than three decades in the saddle.

“I know I’m going to miss it, but I feel like this is the time to do it,” he said. “I had a good career.”