lit a candle 3h agoNever followed him closely but you can't argue with 5,222 wins. That Curlin run in the Classic was something else to watch, even for someone who only checks in on Derby day.
Their story
Robby Jude Albarado was one of the defining American jockeys of his generation, a Louisiana-raised rider who turned bush-track beginnings into more than 5,000 Thoroughbred victories, two Preakness Stakes wins, and a place among the all-time leaders in purse earnings. Born in Lafayette on September 11, 1973, he grew up…
Robby Jude Albarado was one of the defining American jockeys of his generation, a Louisiana-raised rider who turned bush-track beginnings into more than 5,000 Thoroughbred victories, two Preakness Stakes wins, and a place among the all-time leaders in purse earnings. Born in Lafayette on September 11, 1973, he grew up watching his father ride the informal match races of the Cajun prairie and decided early that the saddle was his life. He cleaned stalls, walked horses, and was galloping by nine or ten. By twelve he was riding bush tracks; by sixteen he held a professional license. His first official win came on June 29, 1990, aboard One Little Point at Evangeline Downs.
The Midwest and Mid-South circuits shaped him. A first stakes win arrived in 1993 at Louisiana Downs, a first graded score in 1995 with Snake Eyes (also known in some accounts with Williams News) in Arlington Park's Stars and Stripes, and a first Grade I in 1998 when Joyeux Danseur took Churchill Downs' Turf Classic. Churchill would become a second home: between Fall 1996 and Fall 2021 he recorded 1,192 wins there, fourth all-time, and 87 stakes wins, second only to Hall of Famer Pat Day. He took Churchill meet titles in the 2008 Spring Meet (73 wins) and the 2016 September Meet.
Injuries shadowed the climb. Skull fractures in 1998 and 1999 required surgery that replaced part of his skull with titanium mesh and a polymer plate. A late-2000 fall cost him most of 2001. He returned, and in 2003 caught fire aboard Mineshaft, guiding the colt through a Grade I campaign that included the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Pimlico Special, Suburban, and Woodward on the way to Horse of the Year. Peers voted him the 2004 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award. Fair Grounds Race Course, where he won seven riding titles, inducted him into its Racing Hall of Fame in 2005. Career milestones followed: 3,000 wins in December 2004, 4,000 in May 2009 aboard Keertana at Churchill, and 5,000 on January 22, 2017, with Vivacious V. V. at Fair Grounds.
The partnership that fixed his name in racing history was with Curlin. After Curlin's early sales and transfers, Albarado became the regular rider for the chestnut who finished third in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, then surged past Derby winner Street Sense to take the Preakness Stakes. Curlin lost the Belmont by a nose to Rags to Riches, then dominated the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Breeders' Cup Classic. In 2008 the pair added the Dubai World Cup, Stephen Foster, Woodward, and another Jockey Club Gold Cup as Curlin became a two-time Horse of the Year. Albarado later won the 2011 Breeders' Cup Mile on Court Vision and the 2009 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Tapitsfly. Churchill Downs credited him with 40 career Grade I victories.
Thirteen years after Curlin, he won a second Preakness. On October 3, 2020, for trainer Kenny McPeek, he guided the filly Swiss Skydiver to an upset of Kentucky Derby winner Authentic, becoming only the sixth filly to win the race. McPeek had kept faith when mounts were scarce; Albarado repaid it with rail-saving tactics and a stretch duel that racing fans still cite. He rode his final race on December 11, 2021, at Turfway Park, then stayed in the game as an exercise rider for McPeek, helping prepare Mystik Dan, the 2024 Kentucky Derby winner, and other stakes horses including Thorpedo Anna's circle. Days before his death he was aboard Twinkle Town ahead of that colt's Saratoga Special victory.
Equibase lists 5,222 career wins from more than 34,000 starts and purse earnings of about $221.56 million, ranking him among the top twenty North American riders by money and near the top thirty by wins. He lived for years in the Louisville area, founded youth-focused charity work through the Robby Albarado Foundation, and remained close to Louisiana roots and Kentucky barns alike.
On July 30, 2026, in Saratoga Springs, New York, he underwent a procedure to place stents for a severe coronary blockage. After discharge he recovered at McPeek's Saratoga home. On the morning of August 4, 2026, Sherri McPeek found him unresponsive; he was 52. Churchill Downs, the Breeders' Cup, and colleagues across the sport issued tributes. Contemporary reports from Daily Racing Form, Crescent City Sports, Associated Press coverage, and Churchill Downs' August 4 statement fix the death date as August 4, 2026 (an online memorial that lists September 4 appears inconsistent with those contemporaneous sources). He is remembered as a world-class horseman, a classic winner twice over at Pimlico, and a friend who never fully left the backstretch.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia; Equibase; Churchill Downs statement (Aug 4, 2026); Daily Racing Form; Crescent City Sports; AP; ASAP Sports Preakness transcripts; 64 Parishes; Keeper Memorials (family names; death day tre. Wikipedia ↗
In their own words
“It's my earliest memory, maybe when I was four, five, six years old. I started with basics: cleaning stalls, walking horses and doing whatever it took to be close to it. Eventually I graduated to galloping horses when I was 9, 10 years old. From that point on it's all I wanted to do.”
On growing up around Louisiana racing, quoted in Louisiana Life / profiles circa 2007
“I always wanted to win a Triple Crown race. Steve and Scott Blasie, the assistant trainer, told me from the beginning of the year, we tried to get in the same direction, run the same level in our careers and we will win us a big one and we did it today.”
2007 Preakness Stakes post-race press conference after winning on Curlin
“Just the feel I get. Physically, he is a big horse to be in these classic races. Mentally he will get there eventually. I think has talent, overcomes a lot more than people are seeing.”
On Curlin after the 2007 Preakness
“Three things you just said: Secretariat was the year I was born. And I got to ride Swiss Skydiver and Curlin, so there's something synonymous about all that.”
2020 Preakness press conference, comparing Swiss Skydiver's time note to Curlin and Secretariat
“I owe it all to Kenny. I mean, he believed in me still... people started thinking I can't do it anymore and Kenny was there, just when I needed someone.”
After the 2020 Preakness win on Swiss Skydiver
“She has a heart of gold. A true champion, yes.”
On Swiss Skydiver after the 2020 Preakness stretch duel
“It helps with the right horses, of course but I feel like I'm more comfortable out there and I'm making good decisions.”
Ahead of his 5,000th win in January 2017, Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association interview
“I enjoy the role because I've been on him from the start. I knew he was that talented early, or I suspected he'd be this talented.”
On exercising Mystik Dan before the colt's 2024 Kentucky Derby win
“That goes back to my quarter horse days when I was riding quarter horses.”
Smiling reply at the 2007 Preakness when asked if he knew when he had the race won
Photos
2Robby Albarado in gray silks at Keeneland Race Course, Lexington, Kentucky
by People Forever
Robby Albarado with Pretty Women at Keeneland Race Course
by People Forever
Fair point, that Classic ride made him a household name overnight.