Profile
Mike E. Smith
Earl
Male
Born
Aug 10, 1965
Age
47
Hometown
Roswell, New Mexico
Michael Earl "Mike" Smith is an American jockey who has been one of the leading riders in U.S. thoroughbred racing since the early 1990s. The son of a jockey, Smith began riding races in his native New Mexico at age 11, and took out a jockey's license… Read More
Photos
View newly released photos of Mike E. Smith.
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May 19, 20128 Photos -
COMING SOON -
COMING SOON -
COMING SOON
News + Updates
Browse recent news and stories about Mike E. Smith.
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Kentucky Derby 2012: Where Do The Top Contenders Stand?Bleacher Report - May 04, 2012
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Roundup; Falcon Fined For Hard Hit But Escapes A SuspensionNYTimes - Sep 20, 2011
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Director John Caird On The Inspiration For Welsh National Opera's Don Giovanni Wales OnlineGoogle News - Sep 16, 2011
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Falcons Have Found Balance Since Vick Espn (Blog)Google News - Sep 15, 2011
Timeline
Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Mike E. Smith.
CHILDHOOD
1965
Birth
Born on August 10, 1965.
TEENAGE
1982
16 Years Old
The son of a jockey, Smith began riding races in his native New Mexico at age 11, and took out a jockey's license at age 16 in 1982.
TWENTIES
1989
23 Years Old
He left New Mexico the following year, riding mostly in the Midwest where he earned his apprenticeship at Canterbury Downs Minnesota before moving to New York in 1989.
In 1991, he became one of the few American jockeys to win a European classic by claiming victory in the Irish 2,000 Guineas aboard Fourstars Allstar (some other American jockeys, notably Steve Cauthen, had won European classics before Smith, but were based in Europe).
1993
27 Years Old
The year after that, 1993, he truly arrived as a top jockey, setting a North American record for stakes wins in a year with 62.
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In 1994, he broke his own record for stakes wins with 68, 20 of them Grade I races.
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THIRTIES
1998
32 Years Old
The dangers of Smith's profession became evident in 1998, when he suffered major injuries in two separate spills.
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2002
36 Years Old
In 2002 he served as the regular rider for his second Horse of the Year, Azeri.
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2005
39 Years Old
In 2005, he rode 50 - 1 longshot Giacomo to victory in the Kentucky Derby.
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FORTIES
2008
42 Years Old
In 2008, he added two more Breeders' Cup victories first in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies with Stardom Bound, and with the then 4-year-old Zenyatta in the Ladies' Classic.
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2010
44 Years Old
After capturing the Breeders' Cup Sprint with Cal-bred gelding Amazombie and the Breeders' Cup Classic with 2010 Belmont Stakes winner Drosselmeyer in November 2011, Smith is tied with Hall of Fame jockey Jerry D. Bailey for most Breeders' Cup wins, at 15.
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2011
45 Years Old
Mike Smith earned the 5,000th victory of his Hall of Fame career when he teamed with 2011 sprint champion Amazombie to capture the $150,000 Potrero Grande Stakes (gr.
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Original Authors of this text are noted on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_E._Smith.
Text is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Text is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.