Born on May 1st, 1960, Steve Cauthen is a retired North American jockey with a string of horse racing wins to his name. He grew up in Walton in Kentucky and gradually developed a strong interest in his father’s horse riding lifestyle.
Cauthen embarked on his first-ever race at Churchill Downs on May 12, 1976. Riding King Swat on this maiden effort, he unfortunately registered a dismal showing and finished last. Nonetheless, the he didn’t let this demoralissing development impact his love of horse racing. Less than a week later, he successfully steered his first winner (named Red Pipe) to an exemplary win at River Downs.
After this widely lauded first victory, Cauthen’s meteoric rise continued. By late 1977, he had amassed a whopping 487 racecourse victories. Within the very first two years of the career, Steve Cauthen emerged as the only jockey to win $6 million in the whole of United States’ racing history. He clinched this coveted position in 1977 when he rode the three-year-old filly named Little Happiness to a decisive victory.
As a result of this unbeaten reputation, the widely esteemed jockey received a few pseudonyms from the media and his legions of fans. These titles included “Stevie Wonder” and the “The Six Million Dollar Man” – both adoring references that depicted his growing reputation around the world.
In 1978, Steve Cauthen went on to win the U.S. Triple Crown – the youngest jockey to achieve this. Owing to this newly attained triumph, he was named as the Sport’s Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. For the next 37 years, Steve Cauthen remained the last jockey to clinch all legs of the Triple Crown. This was until Victor Espinoza achieved the same position on American Pharaoh in 2015.
