Canadian jockey Justin Stein retires to become steward

ETOBICOKE, Ontario -- Jockey Justin Stein has announced his retirement and will pursue a career as a racing steward.

Stein, 44, has been among the top riders at Woodbine since re-locating from his native British Columbia in 2006. His most important victories came on Strait of Dover in the 2012 Queen’s Plate and aboard Starship Jubilee in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile in 2020.

Stein piloted the future Canadian Horse of the Year Moira to victory when she debuted in the 2021 Princess Elizabeth Stakes. He also took the Grade 1 Nearctic on Phil’s Dream in 2013 and rode Academic when she defeated males in both the Grade 3 B.C. Derby and Grade 3 Canadian Derby in 2015.

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Stein won 1,440 races in North America, including 98 stakes scores, and his mounts earned nearly $65 million. He took a three-year hiatus from racing from 2016-18.

Stein has not ridden since he was injured in a five-horse spill at Woodbine on Nov. 22, when he sustained three vertebrae fractures and a broken rib, according to wife Jennifer.

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