Robby Albarado

Robby Albarado was best known as the regular jockey of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin. Together, they won the 2007 Preakness Stakes, the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic and the 2008 Dubai World Cup, establishing one of the defining horse-and-rider partnerships of their era.

He also rode Mineshaft to four Grade I victories during the horse’s 2003 Horse of the Year campaign and guided Swiss Skydiver to a thrilling victory over Kentucky Derby winner Authentic in the 2020 Preakness Stakes. Swiss Skydiver became only the sixth filly to win the historic race.

Other career highlights included Breeders’ Cup victories aboard Tapitsfly and 60-1 outsider Court Vision, whose narrow victory in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Mile remains one of the event’s most memorable upsets.

Beyond his victories, Albarado contributed a lifetime of knowledge to Thoroughbred racing. His ability to understand a horse’s temperament, evaluate its readiness and communicate what he felt beneath him made him a trusted partner to many of the sport’s leading trainers.

After retiring as a jockey, he continued working behind the scenes as an exercise rider. In that role, he helped prepare and develop another generation of elite racehorses, including Mystik Dan and Thorpedo Anna.

Albarado also served on the Jockeys’ Guild Board and Senate, advocating for the safety and well-being of fellow riders. His involvement allowed him to use the experience gained throughout his long and injury-tested career to support others working in one of professional sports’ most dangerous occupations.

Robby Albarado represented the deeply rooted Louisiana tradition of horsemen who learned their craft through hands-on experience long before reaching the nation’s most celebrated racetracks. His rise from local bush tracks to victories in the Preakness, Breeders’ Cup and Dubai World Cup demonstrated how instinct, dedication and horsemanship could carry someone to the highest levels of the sport.

His repeated returns from devastating injuries also made him a symbol of resilience within racing. Albarado did more than survive setbacks that could have ended his career—he returned to win some of its greatest races.

At Churchill Downs, where he recorded 1,192 victories and 87 stakes wins, Albarado became part of the track’s modern identity. His influence continued after his final race through the horses he helped develop and the riders he supported. He will be remembered not simply for how many races he won, but for his rare connection with horses and his ability to bring out their best when the moment mattered most.

Robby was scheduled to ride Animal Kingdom in the 2011 Kentucky Derby. Just three days before the race, his horse threw him during a post parade and then stepped on his face, breaking his nose and leaving a cut that required stitches. Robby lost the mount—and Animal Kingdom went on to win the Derby with John Velazquez. Afterward, Velazquez publicly dedicated part of the victory to Robby, saying, “This is for both of us, buddy.”

Before the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Mile, Court Vision was dismissed by bettors at odds of approximately 60-1. Robby was far more confident. After working the horse on turf the week before the race, he told trainer Dale Romans that Court Vision had never been better and could win. Robby’s assessment proved remarkably accurate: Court Vision surged down the stretch and won by a nose in one of the greatest upsets in Breeders’ Cup history.

Among jockeys, entering the Kentucky Derby winner’s circle without having won the race is considered bad luck. Robby respected that tradition throughout his riding career and had never stepped inside it. When Mystik Dan won in 2024, Robby finally decided the superstition no longer mattered. After helping develop the colt from an early age, he had earned his place there—even if someone else had been in the saddle on Derby Day.