Episode 18: Gary Stevens

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Today, the Games People Play podcast hosts its first luminary from the Sport Of Kings as Bernie welcomes US Racing Hall Of Fame Jockey Gary Stevens to the program to talk about a few of his 5,187 career thoroughbred wins, his family’s horse racing pedigree and how he came to play George Woolf in the motion picture Seabiscuit. You’ll hear how Gary went from high school wrestling star in Caldwell, ID, to full-time professional jockey at the age of 16, as well as the many starts and stops of his career that saw him overcome a myriad of serious injuries, including several joint replacements, a collapsed lung and a 16-hour stint in a coma after being thrown into a rail. Plus: highlights from Gary’s 19 combined Triple Crown and Breeder’s Cup race victories; receiving pre-race advice from Queen Elizabeth II; his major celebrity standing in Hong Kong; his favorite horses he ever rode, and the greatest race he ever competed in. Finally, Bernie and Gary talk about the fractured vertebrae that ended Gary’s career, his broadcasting career at FOX Sports and the challenges of managing and buying horses during the pandemic.