Edgar S. Prado

Biography

Edgar Prado was born into a racing family in Lima, Peru in 1967. His father was an exercise rider and some of his brothers became jockeys and trainers. After graduating from jockey school, Prado rode his first winner in Peru in 1983 and was the leading rider there before moving to the United States in 1986.

When he arrived in America, Prado first rode in Florida and then Massachusetts before settling in Maryland, where he was the state’s leading jockey six times (1991 through 1993 and 1997 through 1999).

A racing accident that sent jockey Richard Migliore to the hospital in 1999 enabled Prado to establish his credentials as a world-class rider. When Migliore was injured in a spill at Belmont Park that spring, trainer John Kimmel secured Prado’s services as Migliore’s replacement in New York. At Saratoga that summer, Prado finished second in the jockey standings, making it clear he had the talent to rank among the sport’s elite.

Prado was the nation’s leading rider in victories three times (1997, 1998, 1999) and in 1997 became only the fourth jockey ever to win as many as 500 races in one year (535).

Among Prado’s achievements are a victory in the Kentucky Derby, two wins in the Belmont Stakes, five Breeders’ Cup wins and career earnings of more than $272 million. He rode Barbaro, Sarava, Birdstone, Round Pond, Silver Train, Folklore, Lemon Drop Kid, Saint Liam, Lost in the Fog, Runhappy, and Funny Cide, among others. He is also the author of “My Guy Barbaro,” a memoir about his relationship with the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner.

Both of Prado’s victories in the Belmont Stakes denied a Triple Crown bid. In 2002, he guided Sarava to victory at 70-1 odds, denying War Emblem the Triple Crown. Two years later, Prado thwarted the Triple Crown hopes of Smarty Jones when he won the Belmont with 36-1 Birdstone.

Prado won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in 2006, the same year he won the Mike Venezia Memorial Award. He also won the Fourstardave Award for Special Achievement at Saratoga in 2002 and 2005. Prado won the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 2003. He won 11 riding titles in New York.

Prado announced his retirement in June 2023. At the time he ranked No. 8 all time 7,119 wins and No. 9 with purse earnings of $272,008,849. He concluded his 37-year career with 759 stakes wins, including 343 graded events. 

Achievements

Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey — 2006
North America's leading rider in wins — 1997, 1998, 1999

Triple Crown Highlights

Won the 2006 Kentucky Derby — Barbaro
Won the 2002 Belmont Stakes — Sarava
Won the 2004 Belmont Stakes — Birdstone 

Breeders' Cup Highlights

Won the 2005 Sprint — Silver Train
Won the 2005 Juvenile Fillies — Folklore
Won the 2006 Distaff — Round Pond
Won the 2010 Filly and Mare Turf — Shared Account
Won the 2015 Sprint — Runhappy

Jockey Profile | Edgar S. Prado | Equibase is Your Official Source for Thoroughbred Racing Information