thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding horses at age five and by seven was riding
quarter horses in
match races. At age fifteen he began his career in thoroughbred racing and in 1967 was the leading apprentice jockey in the United States in terms of money won.
In 1987 Perret rode
Bet Twice to victory in the
Belmont Stakes. In 1990, aboard
Unbridled, he won the
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...
, and in 1993-94 won back-to-back
Queen's Plates,
Canada's most prestigious race. In addition, Perret won the
Breeders' Cup Sprint in 1984 and 1990; the
Breeders' Cup Juvenile in 1989; and the
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in 1996. Of his more than 4,400 career victories to date, he has also had major
stakes race
Glossary of North American horse racing:
Additional glossaries at:
* Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting
* Glossary of equestrian terms
* Parimutuel betting#Parimutuel bet types
A
B
...
wins including the
Florida Derby,
Acorn Stakes,
Pimlico Special,
Travers Stakes
The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds acco ...
,
Haskell Invitational Handicap and the
Wood Memorial Stakes.
He has earned a number of other accolades including the 1990
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey of the year, and in 1998 his peers voted him the
George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award.
Craig Perret and his family live on a farm in
Shelbyville,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...
and operate a small full-breed
breeding operation.
In 1994, Craig Perret was inducted into the
Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame and in 2006 into the
Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. In 2006 he was also nominated for induction in the
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...
, and was officially inducted in 2019.
Craig Perret 2006 nomination at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perret, Craig
American jockeys
Cajun jockeys
American racehorse owners and breeders
Eclipse Award winners
Sportspeople from New Orleans
1951 births
Living people