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Gary's Press Release
Hall of Famer Gary Stevens Announces Retirement
Will Join TVG Network As Analyst In January
November
25, 2005 – Louisville, KY – In a press
conference held at historic Churchill Downs, Hall
of Fame jockey and three-time Kentucky Derby winner
Gary Stevens announced his retirement from riding
after a 26-year career and revealed plans to move
into the broadcast booth as a racing analyst with
TVG, the interactive horse racing network.
“There
is a piece of my heart that would love to continue
riding, but my body can’t take it anymore,”
said Stevens. “Between weight concerns and the
limited number of mounts I am riding, the reward is
just not there anymore. The injuries I have sustained
over the years have caught up with me”.
Along
with his three victories in the Kentucky Derby aboard
Winning Colors (1988), Thunder Gulch (’95) and
Silver Charm (’97), Stevens’ stellar career
included wins in more than 5,000 races. His victory
total includes wins in five other Triple Crown races:
two in the Preakness and three in the Belmont Stakes.
He also won eight races in the Breeders’ Cup
World Thoroughbred Championships and collected a record
nine victories in the Santa Anita Derby. Stevens rode
Silver Charm to victory in the $5 million Dubai World
Cup in 1998 and took the Japan Cup in 1991 aboard
Golden Pheasant. His many riding titles include crowns
at Santa Anita, Oak Tree at Santa Anita, Del Mar,
Hollywood Park and a title he earned in England while
riding abroad.
Stevens,
42, will officially end his riding career with a pair
of mounts at Churchill Downs on Saturday, Nov. 26.
He will launch his new career as a race analyst with
TVG in January.
“I
couldn’t be more excited about the relationship,”
said Stevens. “ I’m retiring from riding,
but not from racing – and I look forward to
working with the team at TVG. I have enjoyed a great
relationship with (TVG executive producer) Tony Allevato
and his team and look forward to giving viewers an
insider’s look at what takes place on the race
track.”
Stevens
moved beyond his racetrack accomplishments to earn
accolades for his portrayal of legendary jockey George
“The Iceman” Woolf in Universal Studios’
2003 blockbuster film “Seabiscuit.” The
box office hit, based on a best selling book by Laura
Hillenbrand, earned seven Academy Award nominations,
including a nomination for “Best Picture.”
In the same year, People magazine featured Stevens
in its annual “50 Most Beautiful People”
issue.
A
native of Caldwell, Idaho, Stevens scored his first
victory in his very first race aboard Lil Star at
Les Bois Park in Boise on May 16, 1979. His father,
Ron Stevens, trained Lil Star.
The
remarkable accomplishments in the career that grew
from that initial victory resulted in Stevens’
enshrinement in the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame
in 1997 at the young age of 34.
TVG Press Release
HALL
OF FAME JOCKEY GARY STEVENS
TO JOIN TVG AS ANALYST
LOS
ANGELES, November 25, 2005 – Hall of Fame jockey
Gary Stevens, who announced his retirement from riding
today at a Churchill Downs press conference, will
continue his extraordinary career with TVG, the interactive
horseracing network, as a race analyst beginning in
January.
Stevens,
42, won more than 5,000 races, including three Kentucky
Derbys, two Preakness Stakes, three Belmont Stakes,
eight Breeders’ Cup races and a record nine
Santa Anita Derbys during a career that began in 1979.
His mounts have won more than $221 million. He was
inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1997.
Away
from the race track, Stevens, a native of Caldwell,
Idaho, gained critical acclaim for his portrayal of
legendary jockey George Woolf in the 2003 movie, “Seabiscuit.”
The box office hit, based on the best selling book,
earned an Oscar nomination as Best Picture.
“We
are excited to have Gary join TVG’s best-in-class
talent roster,” said TVG General Manager David
Nathanson. “As he proved in Seabiscuit and in
countless interviews, he’s more than comfortable
in front of the camera and we’re looking forward
to the insight and expertise he can offer our viewers.”
“I
couldn’t be more excited about joining TVG.
I’m not retiring from racing, just from riding,
and I look forward to giving TVG viewers an insider’s
look at what takes place on the race track,”
said Stevens. “I’m a big fan of TVG, and
like many in our sport consider it the first destination
for racing fans.”
TVG
indicated that Stevens’ role is likely to expand
beyond race analyst.
“Gary’s
main role will be to give our viewers the perspective
of a Hall of Fame jockey but we’re not going
to limit him to the analyst’s chair,”
said Tony Allevato, TVG Senior Vice President and
Executive Producer. “We’ll look for opportunities
to utilize him in a variety of roles and on special
programming.”
Available
in over 16 million homes nationwide, TVG Network is
the leading sports television network that combines
the excitement of live horseracing from premier U.S.
racetracks and the convenience of in-home, account
wagering. In addition to live horseracing, TVG Network
features commentary, interviews, in-depth race analysis,
handicapping and wagering tutorials, and originally
produced programming for racing's major events. Viewers
in certain areas can wager interactively on the races
via telephone or online by establishing a wagering
account online at www.TVG.com or by telephone at 1-888-PLAY
TVG.
TVG,
a subsidiary of Gemstar – TV Guide International,
Inc., has exclusive agreements for television and
interactive wagering with the following racetracks:
Aqueduct, Arlington Park, Belmont Park, Calder, Churchill
Downs, Del Mar, Ellis Park, Emerald Downs, Fair Grounds,
Fairplex Park, Hollywood Park, Hoosier Park, Keeneland,
Los Alamitos, Oak Tree at Santa Anita, Prairie Meadows,
Ruidoso Downs, Saratoga Raceway, Saratoga Race Course,
Turf Paradise, Turfway Park and Zia Park.
