Page 110 - October 2015

“I started galloping horses for
spending money when I was 14 years old.”
G.R. carter, Jr.
by Michael Compton
In an illustrious riding career, jockey G.R. Carter has scaled heights that few riders could ever imagine.
In 2008, Carter became the all-time leading
money-earning jockey in American Quarter Horse racing history, surpassing $41.4 million in mount earnings. He has only added to his total since, top- ping the $69 million mark, and not surprisingly, he leads all jockeys in money earned thus far in 2015, having banked more than $2.2 million (81 wins from 511 mounts) through early September.
Carter is no stranger to the winner’s circle. As of press time, he has recorded 3,793 wins, 362 of which came in stakes races, from 23,861 mounts. Now in the twilight of his career, Carter, the all-time leader in wins aboard American Quarter Horses, plans to hang up his tack and retire from race-riding at the end of the year.
The Pawhuska, Oklahoma, native recently visited with Speedhorse to share his thoughts on the accomplish- ments and accolades of a storied career in the saddle.
When did you knoW you Wanted to become a jockey?
I started galloping horses for spending money when I was 14 years old. I didn’t have any plans at that time to make a career out of it. I had every intention of going to college at Oklahoma State; that was my plan.
I started riding races for some local guys when I was 16. I won a couple of races during my senior year of high school, and then I thought I might give this racetrack thing a try for a year or two. It seemed like a good way to make money. I won my first race in the fall of ’85 at Blue Ribbon Downs on a horse named Dance To Rocket.
Who Were some of the people instrumental to your career in the early days?
Of course, my dad; he was more of a rodeo cowboy than a racehorse guy, but he always seemed to have one in training with somebody. When I very first started galloping horses, I looked up to an older rider Jerry Dailey, who taught me how to gallop a horse, and trainer Gene Herren.
Another guy I worked for galloping horses in the summers during high school was Bill Lau. He was the first guy who taught me how everything works at the racetrack. He’s probably the one person that I wished knew how my career turned out. He was killed when I was a senior in high school. He would tell me, “You can be a race rider, I see it, but you are going to have to give up the rodeo and put down that rope.” It was a pretty easy decision to make. I know how to make
a living on horseback, and it doesn’t have anything to do with a rope.
can you name a feW of your favorite horses?
I’ve ridden so many great horses over the years. The first Grade 1 race I won was the Heritage Place Futurity in 1988 with a filly named Barbs Bounce. I ended up riding her when she was a 4 year old in the Champion of Champions. She is pretty special to me. Be A Bono, Stolis Winner, Dashing Perfection, they were all special.
Dashing Perfection was a really fast horse I rode almost 20 years ago. He won the Rainbow Derby-G1, All American Derby-G1, Dash For Cash Derby-G1 and Texas Classic Derby-G1. He was a fast horse, and he won eight races in a row.
do you have a career-defining accomplishment?
The one that I am probably most proud of is being the all-time leading jockey in wins. There is only
one way to win a race, and you can only win one at a time. That represents that I have stayed good—stayed hooked for 30 years. For close to 30 years I won over 100 races a year. That represents that I stayed good for the long haul and remained primarily injury free. I broke my collarbone a time or two and had a few other small injuries, but I have been very fortunate to avoid the really bad stuff.
to What do you attribute your longevity?
I was a gymnast when I was a kid, and I was around horses before I could walk or talk. I felt like even though
A Jockey’s VIew
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SPEEDHORSE, October 2015
THE BACKSIDE