LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Robby Albarado, whose resilience and skill carried him through more than three decades in racing and into the record books at Churchill Downs, has died. He was 52.
Churchill Downs announced his death Tuesday. He had undergone a heart procedure last week, but reportedly had been discharged from the hospital.
Albarado was a Louisiana native, but Louisville became home, and the Twin Spires became the place where he built much of his legacy.
He won 1,192 races at Churchill Downs, fourth-most in track history, and his 87 stakes victories rank second only to Hall of Famer Pat Day. He won two riding titles at the track and became one of the most familiar and popular figures in the local racing community.
“Saying goodbye to someone who left us too soon is extremely difficult,” Churchill Downs Racetrack President Mike Anderson said in a statement. “The Churchill Downs family is saddened by this devastating loss and we extend our deepest condolences to his family and numerous friends.”
Albarado won more than 5,000 races in a career defined by great horses, major victories and remarkable resilience.
He was the regular rider of Curlin, guiding him to victory in the 2007 Preakness Stakes, the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Classic and the 2008 Dubai World Cup. He also rode Mineshaft through a 2003 campaign that ended with the colt being named Horse of the Year.
Nearly two decades after his first Preakness victory, Albarado won the race again in 2020 aboard Swiss Skydiver, who became just the sixth filly to win it.
His career included 40 Grade I victories. He won the Stephen Foster three times, the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs three times and the Jockey Club Gold Cup three times. His best Kentucky Derby finish came in 2013, when he finished second aboard Golden Soul.
But Albarado’s career was about more than numbers.
He endured injuries that would have ended many careers. He suffered skull fractures in separate accidents in 1998 and 1999, and doctors replaced part of his skull with titanium mesh and a polymer plate. Another serious fall sidelined him for much of 2001.
He kept coming back.
That toughness became as much a part of his reputation as his feel for a horse or his ability to find a path through traffic.
Albarado began riding as a child at bush tracks in Louisiana and earned his first official victory in 1990 at Evangeline Downs. He reached 5,000 career wins in 2017 at Fair Grounds and rode his final race in December 2021 at Turfway Park.
He leaves behind a record that places him among the best jockeys ever to ride at Churchill Downs and his $221 million in career earnings ranks 19th all time, making him one of just 25 jockeys with more than $200 million in earnings.
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