Aaron Gryder
Encyclopedia
Aaron Tod Gryder 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 father and his grandparents' interest in attending the nearby races. But from as early as he could recall all he wanted to be was around horses as a professional jockey. At the age of 13 he left home to learn to ride at the invitation of retired jockey Rudy Campas.
At 16, he made his first attempt to ride professionally at Santa Anita, but within days, exercising a horse, his saddle slipped, throwing him to his left side, His right foot was trapped in the iron (stirrup). For this, he was asked to leave the track by the racing stewards for being green and unready. Aaron was advised to go to Tijuana
, Mexico
and hone his skills at its Agua Caliente Racetrack
. Short by a few wins of becoming the track's leading rider, he was persuaded to return to California and try again.
His first winner came on January 19, 1987 at Agua Caliente aboard Ragin Henry. Once he returned to the United States
he led Hollywood Park
’s fall meet as an apprentice jockey in 1987 which was his breakout year. It was there he rode to his first Grade I
win on Asteroid Field in the Matriarch Stakes
.
Gryder has ridden on both coasts as well as in the Midwest. He has won racing titles at Churchill Downs
, Arlington Park
, and Aqueduct Racetrack
, and competed in two Breeders' Cup
s and three Kentucky Derbies
. In 1995, he became the first jockey to win back-to-back titles at the Chicago
track since Pat Day
in 1986–1987. He has won four racing titles at Aqueduct (from 1998 to 2001), three accomplished at the inner-track meets. 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. This was 32 more than his nearest competitor.
In 2007, back on the west coast again, he won over a hundred races on almost 900 mounts, and earned over 5 and a half million dollars. In 2007, he was ranked in the top 40 jockeys by earnings. Over the years, Gryder has kept this rank, always in the top 40 or 45.
In 2009, Gryder rode Well Armed
to a win in the 2009 $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. Later in 2009, Gryder decided to ride in Hong Kong. In 2010 he returned to the US and most recently has ridden at Oaklawn Park, Lone Star and Remington Park. Gryder rode the entire meet (from August through early December) at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, OK. In 2011, Gryder returned to California and based himself on the Northern California circuit, where he most recently won the jockey title at the Golden Gate Fields summer meet. Gryder is currently the leading jockey at Golden Gate Fields.
Gryder is involved with children's charities, among others, he is involved with the Oscar de la Hoya
Foundation.
Gryder, like jockey Gary Stevens
, has also tried his hand at acting. He has appeared in television
's Dellaventura with Danny Aiello
and The Sopranos
, both times playing a jockey.
Gryder is one of the jockeys featured in Animal Planet
's 2009 reality documentary, Jockeys.
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!Chart (2000–present)
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|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2001
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|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2002
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|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2003
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|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2004
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|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2005
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|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2006
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|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2007
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|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2008
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|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2009
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United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
.
Growing up fifteen minutes away from the Santa Anita racetrack
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
, as a boy Gryder had no contact with horses other than his father and his grandparents' interest in attending the nearby races. But from as early as he could recall all he wanted to be was around horses as a professional jockey. At the age of 13 he left home to learn to ride at the invitation of retired jockey Rudy Campas.
At 16, he made his first attempt to ride professionally at Santa Anita, but within days, exercising a horse, his saddle slipped, throwing him to his left side, His right foot was trapped in the iron (stirrup). For this, he was asked to leave the track by the racing stewards for being green and unready. Aaron was advised to go to Tijuana
Tijuana
Tijuana is the largest city on the Baja California Peninsula and center of the Tijuana metropolitan area, part of the international San Diego–Tijuana metropolitan area. An industrial and financial center of Mexico, Tijuana exerts a strong influence on economics, education, culture, art, and politics...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and hone his skills at its Agua Caliente Racetrack
Agua Caliente Racetrack
The Agua Caliente Racetrack is a greyhound racing and former horse racing track in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It opened in December 1929 at a cost of $2.5 million.One year before, the Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel opened in June 1928....
. Short by a few wins of becoming the track's leading rider, he was persuaded to return to California and try again.
His first winner came on January 19, 1987 at Agua Caliente aboard Ragin Henry. Once he returned to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
he led Hollywood Park
Hollywood Park
Hollywood Park is a thoroughbred race course and poker card room in Inglewood, California, about three miles from Los Angeles International Airport and adjacent to the Forum.-History:...
’s fall meet as an apprentice jockey in 1987 which was his breakout year. It was there he rode to his first Grade I
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
win on Asteroid Field in the Matriarch Stakes
Matriarch Stakes
The Matriarch Stakes is an American Grade I turf race for thoroughbred horses run annually at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California for a purse of $250,000...
.
Gryder has ridden on both coasts as well as in the Midwest. He has won racing titles at Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
, Arlington Park
Arlington Park
Arlington Park is a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago region has been a popular sport since the early days of the city in the 1830s, and at one time Chicago had more horse racing tracks than any other major metropolitan area...
, and Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...
, and competed in two Breeders' Cup
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...
s and three Kentucky Derbies
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
. In 1995, he became the first jockey to win back-to-back titles at the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
track since Pat Day
Pat Day
Patrick Alan "Pat" Day is an American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991...
in 1986–1987. He has won four racing titles at Aqueduct (from 1998 to 2001), three accomplished at the inner-track meets. 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. This was 32 more than his nearest competitor.
In 2007, back on the west coast again, he won over a hundred races on almost 900 mounts, and earned over 5 and a half million dollars. In 2007, he was ranked in the top 40 jockeys by earnings. Over the years, Gryder has kept this rank, always in the top 40 or 45.
In 2009, Gryder rode Well Armed
Well Armed
Well Armed is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse sired by Tiznow out of the stakes winning mare Well-Dressed which places Seattle Slew on the top and bottom of his pedigree...
to a win in the 2009 $6,000,000 Dubai World Cup
Dubai World Cup
The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and from 2010 at the Meydan Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates...
, finishing 14 lengths in front of Gloria De Campeao, the largest margin of victory in the history of the race. Later in 2009, Gryder decided to ride in Hong Kong. In 2010 he returned to the US and most recently has ridden at Oaklawn Park, Lone Star and Remington Park. Gryder rode the entire meet (from August through early December) at Remington Park in Oklahoma City, OK. In 2011, Gryder returned to California and based himself on the Northern California circuit, where he most recently won the jockey title at the Golden Gate Fields summer meet. Gryder is currently the leading jockey at Golden Gate Fields.
Gryder is involved with children's charities, among others, he is involved with the Oscar de la Hoya
Oscar de la Hoya
Oscar De La Hoya is a retired American boxer of Mexican descent. Nicknamed "The Golden Boy", De La Hoya won a gold medal at the Barcelona Olympic Games shortly after graduating from Garfield High School. De La Hoya comes from a boxing family. His grandfather Vicente, father Joel Sr., and brother...
Foundation.
Gryder, like jockey Gary Stevens
Gary Stevens (jockey)
Gary Lynn Stevens is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey, television personality and sports anchor who works for both HRTV and NBC Sports as a horse racing analyst....
, has also tried his hand at acting. He has appeared in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
's Dellaventura with Danny Aiello
Danny Aiello
Daniel Louis "Danny" Aiello, Jr. is an American actor who has appeared in numerous motion pictures, including Once Upon a Time in America, Ruby, The Godfather: Part II, Hudson Hawk, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Moonstruck, Léon, Two Days in the Valley, and Dinner Rush...
and The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, both times playing a jockey.
Gryder is one of the jockeys featured in Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
's 2009 reality documentary, Jockeys.
Year-end charts
{|class="wikitable sortable"|-
!Chart (2000–present)
!Peak
position
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2000
| style="text-align:center;"|12
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2001
| style="text-align:center;"|21
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2002
| style="text-align:center;"|43
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2003
| style="text-align:center;"|61
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2004
| style="text-align:center;"|39
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2005
| style="text-align:center;"|43
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2006
| style="text-align:center;"|43
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2007
| style="text-align:center;"|40
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2008
| style="text-align:center;"|47
|-
|National Earnings List for Jockeys 2009
| style="text-align:center;"|37