Pat Day

[8] Pat Day was known for being a patient rider with gentle hands and for not using a horse more than he had to, but was sometimes criticized for waiting too long to make his move.

[9] Because Day often came with late runs in big spots and had a reputation for saving horse for the stretch[10] he was given the nickname Patient Pat.

[14] Day was also strong at taking horses to the lead as he did on Louis Quatorze in his 1996 Preakness victory and on Commendable in his 2000 Belmont Stakes win.

Barry Irwin wrote in 2016 that he "drove many a captain of industry, hard-boot trainer and horseplayer to the brink of rage.

"[8] Day learned to ride from his father, who owned a car repair shop in the ranching community of Brush, Colorado.

Day participated in rodeo events before beginning his jockey career in 1973 at Prescott Downs, a small racetrack in Arizona.

[22][7] He recorded his first major victory that year in the Jockey Club Gold Cup aboard longshot Great Contractor.

[22][7] The first win in 1982 came only after Day chartered a plane on December 31 to Delta Downs, where he won two races on the evening card to surpass Angel Cordero Jr.'s tally by one.

[24] Some of Day's losses on top horses in the Kentucky Derby included Easy Goer, Forty Niner, Summer Squall, Demon's Begone, Corporate Report, Tabasco Cat, Timber Country, Favorite Trick, Ten Most Wanted and Menifee, who finished second behind Charismatic in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.

[27] In 1991, Pat Day won the Canadian Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Distaff aboard the future Hall of Fame filly Dance Smartly.

[1] Day is the all-time leading rider at Churchill Downs and Keeneland Race Course, the two largest tracks in his adopted home state of Kentucky.

[7] On June 20, 1984, Day set a Churchill Downs record for the most wins on a single card when he won seven of eight races in which he rode.

[3] After undergoing hip surgery that forced him to miss the Derby for the first time in 21 years, Day announced his retirement on August 3, 2005.

[3] He subsequently devoted himself to the Kentucky Race Track Chaplaincy and helped to establish a chapel at Churchill Downs that services backstretch workers.

He hosts an annual Race For Grace during Kentucky Derby week to raise money for the chaplaincy, and also travels across America to talk about how his faith and career intertwine.