Hall of Famer Edgar Prado officially calls it a career

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Jockey Edgar Prado announced his retirement on Tuesday, officially ending a career spanning 37 years that featured 7,119 victories, purse earnings in excess of $272 million, three Triple Crown race winners, an Eclipse Award, and his 2008 induction into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Prado, 56, rode for the final time at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 6. He ended his career as the eighth winningest and ninth highest money-earning rider of all time. His 759 stakes wins included 343 graded stakes highlighted by the 2006 Kentucky Derby with Barbaro and upset victories aboard Sarava and Birdstone in the 2002 and 2004 Belmont Stakes, respectively, foiling Triple Crown bids by War Emblem and Smarty Jones.

Prado was also the nation’s leading rider on three occasions, amassing an incredible 535 wins in 1997.

A native of Peru, Prado began his career in Florida and New England before moving on to Maryland, where he enjoyed considerable success until moving his tack to New York in 1999, ultimately winning 11 riding titles at NYRA tracks. He won the Eclipse Award as outstanding jockey of 2006.

A George Woolf Memorial (2003) and Mike Venezia (2006) award winner, Prado’s business began to sputter the last couple of years. He had only 96 mounts and 11 wins in 2022 and just two mounts this season.

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“This was a hard decision to make, believe me, because I love this business,” Prado said on Wednesday. “My family was here for Father’s Day, we had a good time, and I finally said to myself, ‘Why should I continue to do the work, starve myself to make the weight, and not get to see my name in the program anymore.’ ”

Prado called himself “blessed” for all the great people he met along the way and the opportunities he was given throughout his career.

“The first people I have to thank are Manny Azpurua, who gave me my first mounts and my first winner, and Victor Sanchez, who was my agent in Florida and showed me the ropes when I first came to this country,” Prado said. “Then there was John Tammaro in Maryland and Bobby Klesaris, who first brought me to Boston, where I eventually met Steve Rushing, who did so much to help my career and would be in the jockey agent Hall of Fame if there was such a thing.

“The list of people to thank just goes on and on. If I mentioned everybody, we’d be talking forever.”

Prado did not hesitate when asked about the highlight of his career. “Winning the Kentucky Derby on Barbaro,” Prado said quickly. “It’s the dream of every jockey to win that race and to do it the way he did. He was so much the best and had so much talent. It’s hard to say just how great he could have been.”

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