Steve Cauthen
Steve Cauthen (born May 1, 1960 in Covington, Kentucky) is an American jockey. The son of a trainer and a farrier, he grew up in Walton, Kentucky around horses, which (along with his small size) made race-riding a logical career choice. He rode his first race on May 12, 1976 at Churchill Downs; he finished last, riding King of Swat. He rode his first winner (Red Pipe) less than a week later. His rise to prominence was meteoric; he was the nation's leader in race wins in 1977 with 487. In only his second year of riding, he became the first jockey to win $6 million in a single season. He won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey and the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in the United States and was selected as Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated, as well as being named as ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. In 1978 he became the youngest jockey to ever win the U. S. Triple Crown, riding Affirmed. He was voted the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 1984 that honors a rider whose career and personal conduct exemplifies the very best example of participants in the sport of thoroughbred racing. However, as he left his teens and matured, he had increasing problems making weight. In 1979 he moved to England, where jockeys normally compete at higher weights, and became a highly successful rider there. He married his wife Amy, also a Kentucky native, in 1992 and they have three daughters.
