Jerry Bailey second in final ride

By: SPORTS NETWORK

Hallandale, FL (Sports Network) - Hall of Fame jockey Jerry Bailey closed out his 31-year career with a hard-fought second-place finish in the $500,000 Sunshine Millions Turf Saturday at Gulfstream Park.

Riding Silver Tree in the 1 1/8 mile race on the grass, Bailey found room along the inside after racing in the middle of the pack. Outside of Bailey and his mount was Miesque's Approval, who registered the three-quarter length victory.

Last year in this event at Santa Anita Park, Silver Tree and Bailey finished third.

The 48-year-old Bailey failed to win in any of the three races in which he rode on Saturday. He finishes his career with $296 million in earnings and 5,890 wins.

Bailey expressed earlier this month that he felt it was time to retire.

"I want to walk away in one piece," he said.

Bailey is a seven-time Eclipse Award winner as champion jockey and is the third Hall of Famer to retire in less than a year. In 2005, Pat Day and Gary Stevens both walked away from riding. Day is now involved with the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America and Stevens is working for TVG Network and NBC.

On his resume, Bailey has two wins in each of the Triple Crown races, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. He has won 15 Breeders' Cup races, the most of any rider, with nearly $22 million in earnings.

Bailey also won four Dubai World Cups, the richest race in the world. He captured the first two in 1996 and 1997, and again in 2001 and 2002.

After his retirement from racing, Bailey will join ABC Sports and ESPN as an analyst.