Patrick Husbands

Tags: Jockey, Woodbine RacetrackLast Updated: April 7, 2023

Patrick Husbands (born May 22, 1973) is a Barbadian jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. The son of a jockey, he began riding as a young boy, turning professional in his home country, where he rode successfully until emigrating to Toronto, Ontario, in 1994.

In 1990 he became the youngest Jockey to win the prestigious Barbados Gold Cup at just 16 years and nine months on his mount Vardar.

Patrick Husbands is hot to trot on the thoroughbred horse racing scene in Canada and Barbados, with perhaps one of the most impressive numbers of wins of any Barbadian jockey. Born in 1973 in Bridgetown, Barbados, Patrick Husbands grew up near the historic Garrison Savannah racetrack. He started riding at just five years old under the tuition of his father, Walter Husbands, who ran a riding school and was also a jockey.

Patrick and his two older brothers, Simon, the eldest, and Anthony, benefitted from being exposed to riding almost as soon as they could walk. This, combined with their riding genes, hard work, and determination, has led them to all ride competitively.

In 1990 Patrick won his first victory at the tender age of just 16 when he became the youngest Jockey to ever win The Cockspur Cup (now Sandy Lane) at The Garrison Savannah; after this unprecedented success, Patrick continued to ride on a sea of victory, and by the end of the 1990 season, Patrick had won 32 races, leading him to be crowned Champion Jockey of Barbados.

Following this, in 1994, Patrick took on his next challenge – the Canadian racing circuit. He won 12 races in his first year and 50 in his next. His Canadian wins continued to grow, and in 1999 he won his first Sovereign Award as Canada’s top Jockey.

Racing out of Woodbine Racetrack, in 2003, Patrick Husbands won the Canadian Triple Crown aboard the colt Wando and that year became his breakout year. Among his other notable wins, he rode Numerous Times to victory in the $1 million 2001 Woodbine Mile and Exciting Story in that year’s Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park in New York. He rode Arch Hall to three straight wins between 2004 and 2006 in the Sir Barton Stakes.

In 2007, he was the regular rider on Canadian Horse of the Year, Sealy Hill. Patrick Husbands was voted the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Jockey a then-unprecedented four straight years between 1999 and 2002.

He made his first Kentucky Derby appearance in 2006, riding Seaside Retreat for trainer Mark Casse. In 2008 he won his fifth riding title at Woodbine Racetrack and was voted the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Jockey for a record-tying sixth time.

On October 4, 2009, Patrick Husbands earned his 2,000th career victory at Woodbine Racetrack.

On June 5, 2014, it was announced that Patrick Husbands would be the 30th winner of the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award. The award recognizes jockeys who are Canadian-born, Canadian-raised, or a regular in the country for more than five years and who have made significant contributions to the sport of thoroughbred horse racing.

On June 18, 2016, Patrick Husbands earned his 3,000th career victory at Woodbine Racetrack. Patrick Husbands makes his home in Brampton, Ontario. He has a brother (Simon Husbands) and a nephew- apprentice (Terry Husbands) who are also jockeys.

Other notable wins include:

The 2003 Canadian Triple Crown.
The $1 million 2001 Woodbine Mile at Woodbine racetrack in Toronto, Canada.
The 2001 Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park in New York.
Three straight wins between 2004 and 2006 at Sir Barton Stakes.
Patrick was voted the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Jockey for four straight years between 1999 and 2002 and was voted in again in 2008.
In 2008 he won his fifth riding title at Woodbine Racetrack.
In 2009 he was victorious at Woodbine Racetrack again.

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