Two months shy of his 50th birthday, Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens is launching a comeback this weekend at Santa Anita.
He says he’s returning to the saddle after a seven-year retirement because his passion for riding has been reignited.
Stevens retired in November 2005 after battling knee pain for several years.
He has been working as a racing commentator for HRTV and says he’ll continue to do so in between his riding commitments.
Stevens plans to be selective in how many races he rides each week and he says he is coming back to ride quality horses with promising futures.
“There’s been a lot of speculation. People have seen me out there working horses in the morning, and I’m coming back on Sunday,” Stevens told HRTV.
“I’ve worked some exciting horses over the past couple of weeks, and a couple that in particular that made hairs stand up on the back of my neck that I haven’t felt in a long time.
“I’ve been getting healthy and fit and I haven’t felt like this since five years before I quit riding, body-wise and mental-wise, and I want to give it a go again.”
Among the horses he had worked Stevens pinpointed the former Richard Hannon-trained Strong Suit as the one that had excited him the most. Owned by Qatar Racing, the five-year-old is now based in California with Simon Callaghan.
Stevens is a three-time Kentucky Derby winner and has won eight Breeders’ Cup races. His international wins include the 1991 Japan Cup (Golden Pheasant) and the 1998 Dubai World Cup (Silver Charm).
