When Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Prado decided to leave his native Peru to ride in the United States, the plan was to come for a couple of years, make some money and become a lawyer.
But as usually happens to the best-laid plans, love gets in the way.
Prado fell in love with the horses he rode and those couple of years turned into nearly four decades. Now, the 56-year-old Prado is walking away from Thoroughbred racing, telling BloodHorse June 20 he is retiring to spend more time with his family.
"It was getting harder and harder and I was wasting the time that I spent with my family, with my loved ones," he said.
Prado said the notion of retirement had been on his mind for a few months, but that it wasn't until two days ago—Father's Day—that he finalized the decision.
"I saw my kids in my house having a great time and I decided to call it off," he said. "I've been very blessed throughout my career."
Prado last rode Jan. 6 at Gulfstream Park but had been looking for horses to ride. However, the opportunities were not there. He said, like a golfer who hits the links once a month, it was becoming difficult to be good with the lack of mounts.
"They all wanted new riders," he said of trainers. "I totally understand that. When I was 20, I took somebody's place, and now somebody is taking my place."
Taking his place, even figuratively, will be difficult to do.
Prado ends his career ninth among jockeys in North American earnings with $272,008,849. He is eighth in North American wins with 7,119 from 39,725 rides. Prado has a Kentucky Derby (G1) victory, in 2006 aboard Barbaro, and two Belmont Stakes (G1) wins, in 2002 with Sarava and 2004 with Birdstone. Those Belmont wins denied War Emblem and Smarty Jones, respectively, the Triple Crown.
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Prado rode Sarava for Kenny McPeek along with many of the trainer's other top horses in the early 2000s. He said Prado "always did a great job for me and I always enjoyed being around Edgar. He should be really proud—I'm sure he is really proud of what he has accomplished. A real special guy."
McPeek recalled his instructions to Prado in the paddock before the 2002 Belmont Stakes as the jockey readied to climb aboard Sarava, a 70-1 longshot.
"Go shock the world," McPeek told him.
Horse and jockey did, scoring the biggest upset in Belmont Stakes history.
"His favorite set of instructions were 'Good luck.' Those were the ones he liked best," McPeek said.
That was all Prado, like other great riders, needed to hear, typically knowing best.
Leaving his family and friends behind in 1986 to come to the U.S. was difficult, and Prado faced many obstacles along the way.
"It wasn't easy," he said.
His career eventually took off in Maryland, and following success there, he moved in 1999 to New York, where he won 11 meet titles on the New York Racing Association circuit. In 2006, the year he won the Derby, Prado also won the Eclipse Award as outstanding jockey.
He led the nation in wins for three consecutive years (1997-1999). In 1997, he became the fourth jockey to win more than 500 times in a year. Prado also has five Breeders' Cup wins to his resume.
Michael Matz, who trained Barbaro, recalled how sought after Prado was at the height of his career in the 1990s and 2000s.
"Unless you had a horse like Barbaro, you couldn't get him to ride because he was in such demand," Matz said. "But it's like us all—we all get when we get older; there's always somebody young and faster coming along."
He said they have a good relationship with mutual respect.
Prado said there were people who thought he should have retired 10 years ago. He looks back and says the best decision was listening to his heart. Had he not, he would never have gotten to ride the likes of 2015 champion sprinter Runhappy .
"He kept riding 'cause he liked to ride, not 'cause he had to," McPeek said.
Matz said, "Nobody wants to retire. But I think sometimes it just has to happen. That's part of life but I'm happy for Edgar. I mean, I certainly didn't like to see him ride these cheaper horses and the horses that weren't to his caliber. ... So, I think it was time for Edgar to retire and I'm glad he retired in one piece and didn't get all banged up."
Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008, Prado said the process leading to his retirement also provided him the opportunity to reflect on his career.
"It took a lot of work. Nothing was handed to me. I worked to prepare myself and improve myself. The higher I got on the ladder, the tougher the competition," he said.
"I did my best. I was very competitive. Not because I wanted to win, but because I wanted to be thankful to the person that gave me that opportunity on that particular horse at that particular moment."
-Additional reporting by Byron King and Ali Cetinok
