Mike E. Smith (born August 10, 1965 in Roswell, New Mexico) is an American jockey who has been one of the leading riders in U.S. thoroughbred racing since the early 1990s. is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: All America City Location in the state of New Mexico. ... The racecourse is a classical meeting point for the people of Chester. ... Thoroughbred race horses The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known as a race horse. ... Horse-racing is an equestrian sporting activity which has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times were an early example, as was the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ...

The son of a jockey, Smith began riding races in his native New Mexico at age 11, and took out a jockey's license at age 16 in 1982. He left New Mexico the following year, riding mostly in the Midwest where he earned his apprenticeship at Canterbury Downs Minnesota before moving to New York in 1989. Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Capital Saint Paul Largest city Minneapolis Area  Ranked 12th  - Total 87,014 sq mi (225,365 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 8. ... NY redirects here. ... Year 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar). ...

In 1991, he became one of the few American jockeys to win a European classic by claiming victory in the Irish 2000 Guineas aboard Fourstars Allstar (some other American jockeys, notably Steve Cauthen, had won European classics before Smith, but were based in Europe). The following year, he rode his first Breeders' Cup winner, Lure, in the Breeders' Cup Mile. Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... The Irish 2000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat racing horse race for three year old colts and fillies run over a distance of 1 mile at The Curragh racecourse in Ireland during May. ... Steve Cauthen (born May 1, 1960 in Covington, Kentucky) is an American jockey. ... The Breeders Cup World Thoroughbred Championships is an annual series of thoroughbred horse races sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. ... Lure (b. ... The Breeders Cup Mile is a 1-mile Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders Cup. ...

The year after that, 1993, he truly arrived as a top jockey, setting a North American record for stakes wins in a year with 62. Among his highlights were a win in the Preakness aboard Prairie Bayou and a successful defense of the Breeders' Cup Mile aboard Lure. That year, he won his first Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey, and also won an ESPY Award as top jockey. In 1994, he broke his own record for stakes wins with 68, 20 of them Grade I races. Several of those wins came while riding that year's Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year winner, Holy Bull. He also rode two winners in that year's Breeders' Cup, and again won the Eclipse Award as leading jockey. Smith went on to ride two Breeders' Cup winners in both 1995 and 1997. Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... The Preakness Stakes is a Grade I stakes race 1 3/16 mile (1. ... The Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey is an American thoroughbred horse racing honor for jockeys first awarded in 1971. ... The 10th Anniversary ESPY Award. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar). ... The Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. ... Holy Bull is a famous American thoroughbred. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar). ...

In 1994, he was voted the Mike Venezia Memorial Award for "extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship". Mike Venezia Memorial Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor given annually by the New York Racing Association to honor a jockeys who exemplifies extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship. ...

The dangers of Smith's profession became evident in 1998, when he suffered major injuries in two separate spills. A broken shoulder in March took him out of action for two months. Then, in August, while leading the Saratoga meeting, he broke two vertebrae in his back, requiring him to wear a body cast for several months. He came back six months after the fall. Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... Saratoga Race Course is a famous horse-racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York. ...

In 2000, he moved his home base from New York to Southern California. That year he was voted the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award that honors a rider whose career and personal conduct exemplifies the very best example of participants in the sport of thoroughbred racing. 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the urban complex straddling the United States-Mexico border, see Bajalta California. ... The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award has been presented by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California annually since 1950 to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack. ...

In 2002, he had yet another banner year, serving as the regular rider for his second Horse of the Year, Azeri. He rode Azeri to a win in the Breeders' Cup Distaff, and also rode Vindication to a win in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Smith has ridden winners in 10 Breeders' Cup races to date. For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Azeri is a thoroughbred racehorse by the great sire Mr. ... The Breeders Cup Distaff is a Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. ... The Breeders Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings. ...

In 2005, he rode 50–1 longshot Giacomo to victory in the Kentucky Derby. The win, Smith's first in the Derby, was something of a vindication for him. He was aboard Giacomo's sire Holy Bull, the 2–1 favorite in the 1994 Derby, but could only finish 12th after Holy Bull was bumped coming out of the starting gate. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Giacomo, a thoroughbred race horse trained by John Shirreffs, won the 2005 Kentucky Derby in 2:02. ... The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. ...

Smith was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2003. 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. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 2003 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Bio at NTRA.com
• Profile at National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame
• Del Mar Media Guide