Shoemaker Says He Plans to Retire After ’89 Campaign

Bill Shoemaker, who has won more than 8,700 races--the most of any jockey--since he started riding in 1949, says he will retire at the end of next year.

Shoemaker, contacted Thursday night in Columbus, Ohio, said he made the decision because he has been unable to gain any top mounts in recent months.

“They’re burying me ahead of my time,” Shoemaker said. “I still think I can ride. But how long can you go on? I want to go out on top, and next year will be it.”

Shoemaker, 57, said that when trainer Charlie Whittingham started using him less on his horses, other trainers at Santa Anita followed suit.

Two of the last major horses that Shoemaker has been riding for Whittingham are Ferdinand and Lively One. Ferdinand, who in 1986 gave Shoemaker his fourth Kentucky Derby victory, was winless in six races this year and was recently retired. Lively One, who gave Shoemaker his 249th $100,000 stakes victory in the Swaps at Hollywood Park last July, is scheduled to run in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs a week from Saturday, but Shoemaker said he will not have the mount.

“I don’t have any mounts in the seven Breeders’ Cup races,” he said, “and it doesn’t look like I’ll get any.”

Shoemaker plans to ride during the Santa Anita meeting that begins Dec. 26, but in mid-April he will start a riding tour of European tracks. Shoemaker also plans to ride in South America, New Zealand and Australia next year.

Shoemaker is scheduled to ride Saturday at Beulah Park, near Columbus, in one of numerous guest appearances he has made at tracks this year.

Shoemaker’s mounts have earned about $3.2 million this year, boosting his career total to $122 million, but he has won fewer than 10 stakes races, and he will probably finish the year with his lowest overall victory total since 1968. Shoemaker has been under the 100-victory mark only 3 times. He won 19 races in 1968 and 97 in 1969, missing a lot of action both years because of injuries, and in 1985, he won 80 races.

Shoemaker has led the nation in purses 10 times and has been No. 1 in victories 5 times.