George Robert "G. R." Carter, Jr. (born February 6, 1968) is a retired professional American Quarter Horse

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

. On June 1, 2008, he became the all-time leading money-earning jockey in

American Quarter Horse The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of or less; some have been clocked at speeds up to ...

racing history surpassing the previous record of $41,405,207 in mount earnings. He continued to add to the record and retired with $75,799,513 in mount earnings. On July 6, 2013, Carter became the jockey with the most mounts in AQHA racing history after he piloted his 22,294th horse. Carter finished his career with 25,586 mounts on American Quarter Horses. On May 23, 2014, Carter became the all-time leader in wins aboard American Quarter Horses when he won his 3,632nd race passing Alvin "Bubba" Brossette. His final tally was 4,001 wins. Carter has been named the

American Quarter Horse Association The American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), based in Amarillo, Texas, United States, is an international organization dedicated to the preservation, improvement and record-keeping of the American Quarter Horse. The association sanctions many ...

(AQHA) World Champion Jockey ten times in his career including six years consecutively from 2003-2008. No other jockey has won more than five titles.

Early life

Carter has Osage heritage and grew up in

Pawhuska Pawhuska ( Osage: 𐓄𐓘𐓢𐓶𐓮𐓤𐓘, ''hpahúska'', lit.: ''White Hair''; Chiwere: ''Paháhga'') is a city in and the county seat of Osage County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,984 ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. As a teenager, he was a competitive gymnast and won the state championship. During his Senior year at Pawhuska High School, Carter won the Class A State Wrestling Championship at 108 pounds. Growing up, Carter was involved in ranching and

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...

s, which helped develop his love of horses. At age 14, he began galloping race horses for a local trainer to help fund his rodeo participation. Throughout his Senior year in high school, he would occasionally ride races on the weekends at

Blue Ribbon Downs Blue Ribbon Downs was an American horse racing track located in Sallisaw, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma. The facility hosted American Quarter Horse, and Thoroughbred flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance act ...

and Eureka Downs.

Professional career

After graduating from high school in 1986, Carter moved to

Sallisaw, Oklahoma Sallisaw is a city in and the county seat of Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2020 Census, it had a population of 8,510, a 4.2 percent decrease over the figure of 8,880 recorded in 2010. Sallisaw is part of the Fort Smith met ...

to become a full-time jockey at Blue Ribbon Downs. He continued to ride primarily in the central part of the United States until the early 1990s when he moved his tack to

Los Alamitos Race Course Los Alamitos Race Course is a horse racing track in Cypress, California. The track hosts both thoroughbred and quarter horse racing. The track has the distinction of holding four quarter horse stakes races with purses over $1 million, more than ...

in Southern California. After a couple of successful years in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Carter moved his home base back to

. Carter won the

All American Futurity The All American Futurity is a race for two-year-old American Quarter Horse racehorses run at Ruidoso Downs (track), Ruidoso Downs Race Track in Ruidoso Downs, New Mexico on Labor Day. It is the last leg of the AQHA Triple Crown that has only been ...

twice, in 1998 aboard Falling In Loveagain and again in 2008 aboard Stolis Winner. In 2008, Carter set a new AQHA single-season earnings record by reaching the $5,027,173 mark in mount earnings. This eclipsed the previous record of $4.5 million which he had also set. Also in 2008, Carter broke his own single-meet record for wins at

Remington Park Remington Park is a horse racing track and casino located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Built in 1988 by Edward J. DeBartolo Sr., it was the first world-class pari-mutuel track in Oklahoma. Since 2010, Global Gaming RP has owned and operated the r ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, Oklahoma with a total of 98. Also in 2008, he rode Fast Prize Zoom to a World Record for 300 yards with a final time of 14.87 seconds at Sunland Park in Sunland, New Mexico. May 31, 2009 was declared by Governor

Brad Henry Charles Bradford Henry (born July 10, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 26th governor of Oklahoma from 2003 to 2011. A Democrat, he previously served in the Oklahoma Senate from 1992 to 2003. As of 2025, he is the last ...

as G. R. Carter Day in Oklahoma. Carter holds the record for most wins for three different breeds of horses. He leads the all-time standing for American Quarter Horses,

American Paint Horse The American Paint Horse is a breed of horse that combines both the conformational characteristics of a western riding, western stock horse with a pinto horse, pinto spotting pattern of white and dark equine coat color, coat colors. Developed f ...

s, and

Appaloosa The Appaloosa is an American horse breed best known for its colorful spotted coat pattern. There is a wide range of body types within the breed, stemming from the influence of multiple breeds of horses throughout its history. Each horse's co ...

s. He has been named American Paint Horse Association (APHA) World Champion Jockey ten times in his career. He is the Paint Racing all-time leader in wins as well as mount earnings. He was the jockey for the record-setting paint horse Got Country Grip, who tied a North American racing record for any breed in 2008 by winning 16 consecutive races. Carter was known throughout the racing world for his "back-flip" dismounts. After winning a stakes race, he often used his gymnastics background to celebrate by performing a back-flip off of the horse from the saddle. He also has served as the Vice Chairman on the Board of Directors of the Jockey's Guild.

Personal

Carter and his wife Shaena reside in

. His father-in-law, Jerry Burgess, also won the All American Futurity as a jockey in 1975 aboard Bugs Alive In 75. In his spare time, Carter is an avid team roper. He will occasionally enter professional

s, and won the Pro-Am at the 2007 World Series of Team Roping.

References

*The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal Annual Review, March 200
2008 Champions NamedLos Alamitos Jockey ProfileAQHA Racing Leaders
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AQHA.com Article #1
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AQHA.com Article #2
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Got Country Grip Defeated
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External links

AQHA Racing

Los Alamitos Race Course

Remington Park

Jockeys Guild
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, G. R. American jockeys Living people 1968 births Sportspeople from Oklahoma People from Pawhuska, Oklahoma Sportspeople from Osage County, Oklahoma Roping (rodeo)