Aaron Gryder
Aaron Tod Gryder (born June 5, 1970, in West Covina, California) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey.
Growing up fifteen minutes away from the Santa Anita racetrack, as a boy Gryder had no contact with horses other than his grandparents' interest in attending the nearby races. But from as early as he could recall[1] he wanted to be a professional jockey. At the age of 13, he left home to learn to ride at the invitation of widely respected jockey, Rudy Campas, who retired from racing after a 26-year career.
At 16, Aaron began his career as a professional jockey in Tijuana, Mexico at Agua Caliente Racetrack. His first winner came on January 18, 1987, at Agua Caliente aboard Ragen Henry. After riding there for two months, he was second by just one win in the leading rider standings.
Word of his early success attracted agents and trainers from Southern California racetracks. At their request, Aaron returned to the United States to ride at Santa Anita Park. His first win there came on a 20-1 long shot, a horse with no left eye named One Eyed Romeo. Just a few months later, he rode at Hollywood Park’s fall meet as an apprentice jockey. He became the first, and only, apprentice jockey to ever win the Leading Rider title in the track's 75-year history. During that time, he rode his first two Grade I wins on Asteroid Field, in the Matriarch Stakes for trainerJohn Gosden, and the Beverley Hills Handicap on Fitzwilliam Place for Hall of Fame trainer, Charles E. Whittingham.
Gryder has ridden worldwide for Kings, Queens, Sikhs and Princes at tracks including Royal Ascot Racecourse and York Racecourse in England, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada. In addition to Hollywood Park, he has won several Leading Rider titles at Churchill Downs, Arlington Park, Aqueduct Racetrack and Golden Gate Fields. In 1995, he became the first jockey to win back-to-back titles at Arlington Park since Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day in 1986–1987. He has won five racing titles at Aqueduct (from 1998 to 2002). The 1998–1999 title was achieved with 53 wins even though he suffered a spill causing him to miss the last six weeks of the meet. In the 1999–2000 meet he repeated his success with 94 wins - 32 more than his nearest competitor. In 2011, Gryder won the Golden Gate Fields leading rider title, breaking the 15 year consecutive streak of Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze, who holds the record for most race wins in North America.
In 2009, Gryder rode Well Armed to a win in the world's richest race, the $6,000,000 Dubai World Cup, finishing 14 lengths in front of Gloria De Campeao, the largest margin of victory in the history of the race.[2] Later that year, Gryder was invited by the Hong Kong Jockey Club to ride at Sha Tin Racecourse and Happy Valley Racecourse. In 2010 he returned to the US and rode at Oaklawn Racing & Gaming, Lone Star Park and Remington Park. In 2011, Gryder returned to California.
Gryder won the 2012 G1 Breeders' Cup Marathon on long shot Calidoscopio and as of 2017 has ridden in four Kentucky Derbies. He has had over 4,000 race victories internationally, over 3,800 of which have occurred in North America. As a professional athlete, he has been represented by sponsors including The Mirage, Treasure Island, MGM Grand Las Vegas, Phantom Fireworks and Patioworld.
Gryder has always been involved with charities. He co-founded the Giving Circle which provided relief for victims of Hurricane Katrina and built schools and freshwater wells in Africa. He had also been involved with the Oscar de la Hoya Foundation and March of Dimes.
Beyond racing, Gryder has appeared in television's Dellaventura with Danny Aiello and The Sopranos. Gryder has worked as an On-Air Analyst for ESPN, NBC Sports, Fox Sports, TVG Network and HRTV. In 2017, he covered the worldwide broadcast of the Dubai World Cup for NBC Sports and Racing UK, and later the Breeders' Cup simulcast show at Del Mar racetrack. Gryder was one of the six jockeys featured in Animal Planet's 2009 reality documentary, Jockeys. He has also been an invited Guest Speaker and Emcee at schools, events and large corporations including the Callaway Golf Company and the Jockey's Guild Convention in Las Vegas, NV. Throughout the years, Gryder has been hired as a racing ambassador for elite racetracks like Santa Anita and Del Mar, and events such as, the Breeders' Cup World Championships.
Notes
- ↑ Bloodhorse magazine [Video on BloodHorse website, August 3, 2008]
- ↑ Well Armed spectacular in Dubai World Cup, racingpost.com, 28 March 2009, accessed 28 March 2009.
References
Year-end charts
| Chart (2000–present) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2000 | 12 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2001 | 21 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2002 | 43 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2003 | 61 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2004 | 39 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2005 | 43 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2006 | 43 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2007 | 40 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2008 | 47 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2009 | 37 |
| National Earnings List for Jockeys 2012 | 90 |