Jun 04, 2010
Richard Migliore announces retirement
By: SPORTS NETWORK
Elmont, NY (Sports Network) - Veteran jockey Richard Migliore announced his retirement from racing Wednesday morning. The 46-year-old was forced to retire due to continued physical problems.
"It's no big surprise why we're here," Migliore said at Belmont Park, "my career as a jockey is over. It's not by choice: I was in the doctor's office on Wednesday of last week and he assured me that I would never ride another thoroughbred again. He works on many NFL players and said if you have a level two fusion, you have to retire. I have a level four fusion."
Migliore suffered severe injuries when he was thrown during a race at Aqueduct this year on January 24. That was the latest of many injuries he suffered in a 30 year career.
The Brooklyn-native won 4,450 races in 30,102 mounts and accumulated more than $160 million in earnings. He won the 1981 Eclipse Award as champion apprentice jockey and won the 2008 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint aboard Desert Code.
"Horses have given me everything in life, everything good in my life stems from horses," Migliore said. "The emotion that I feel now is just knowing I won't get to do it now, and that makes me sad. But I'm also understanding of the fact that my situation is a lot better than a lot of other guys, and I'm sure many people would trade places with me having to make this announcement. The biggest thing I feel is gratitude that I got to live my dream."
Among the many horses Migliore rode during his career were Funny Cide, Artie Schiller, Fourstardave, Albert the Great, Kip Deville, Wando and Student Council.
He was presented with the Eddie Arcaro Award as Outstanding Jockey in 1981 and 1985 by the New York Turf Writers Association. He received the 2003 Mike Venezia Memorial Award from the New York Racing Association for extraordinary sportsmanship and citizenship as well as the 2008 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award.
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