Shane Sellers

Horseracing personalities infobox


name = Shane Sellers
|caption =
occupation = Jockey
birthplace = Erath, Louisiana
birth date = September 24, 1966
death date =
career wins = 4,000+ (North America)
race = Cornhusker Handicap (1989)
Ashland Stakes (1991, 1993, 2000)
Hopemont Stakes (1992, 1993)
American Derby (1993, 1994)
Secretariat Stakes (1996)
Jockey Club Gold Cup (1996)
Woodbine Mile (1996)
Blue Grass Stakes (1996, 1997, 2004 )
Massachusetts Handicap (1997)
Suburban Handicap (1997)
Florida Derby (1998, 1999)
Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational Handicap (1998)
Matron Stakes (1998)
Shakertown Stakes (1998, 1999, 2004)
Diana Handicap (1999)
Saratoga Breeders' Cup Handicap (1999)
Lane's End Stakes (1999)
Maker's Mark Mile Stakes (2000)

American Classics / Breeders' Cup wins
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (1997)
Breeders' Cup Turf (1998)
horses = Skip Away, Black Tie Affair
Countess Diana, Buck's Boy
updated = August 01, 2007

Shane Jude Sellers (born September 24, 1966 in Erath, Louisiana) is a retired American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. At age eleven, he began working around horses and in 1983 rode his first winner at Evangeline Downs.

Sellers won several national riding championships and was a leading rider at Arlington Park. Over his career, he rode in the Kentucky Derby 14 consecutive times, with his best finish a third with Wild Gale in 1993. The two took third again that year in the Belmont Stakes.

He rode 29 thoroughbreds in the Breeders Cup races, with two wins in 1997 and 1998, however one of his most exciting wins had to be his ride of Skip Away over the great Cigar in the Jockey Club Gold Cup in 1996.

During his career Shane Sellers won more than 4,000 races and earned purses worth more than $122 million.

Advertising controversy

Shane Sellers was also one of the first of five top jockeys to wear advertising patches in the Kentucky Derby, starting in 2004. They sued on First Amendment grounds, to be allowed to wear ad patches during the race. The ruling was issued on April 21, 2004, by U.S. District Judge John Heyburn in Louisville.

The patches, worth approximately $30,000 apiece, were legal in other Triple Crown states of New York and Maryland, but were argued by The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority that they might lead to corruption and violated racing tradition.

The other jockeys included Jerry Bailey, John Velazquez, Gary Stevens, and Jose Santos.

Retirement

A serious knee injury in December 2000 kept Sellers out of racing for a year and a half. His experience led him to become an outspoken critic of the lack of proper health insurance being provided to jockeys. He returned to the track in 2002, racing until his retirement in late December, 2004.

Jockey

Sellers, along with fellow jockey Randy Romero, was featured in the 2004 HBO documentary film titled Jockey. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390144/] Directed by Kate Davis, it told the story of their problems resulting from racing injuries and the effects of constant crash dieting to maintain racing weight. In 2005, Shane Sellers also appeared on CNN in a special with Paula Zahn to speak out about the serious health problems many jockeys experience as a result of the current weight limits.

ellers Today

Sellers currently owns and trains horses at his farm in Coteau, Louisiana. He still lobbies racing authorities and others involved in the sport to raise jockey weight limits and improve the quality of horse racing for everyone involved in the industry.

Freedom's Rein

Sellers is currently co-writing an autobiography with Tricia Psarreas in which he discusses his fights for higher jockey weights, better health insurance, and endorsements, along with the aftermath of his retirement. Freedom's Rein is expected to be released in Spring 2008.

External links

* [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0512/23/pzn.01.html CNN interview December 23, 2005 with Shane Sellers]
* [http://www.ntra.com/stats_bios.aspx?id=1794 Shane Sellers at the National Thoroughbred Racing Association]
* [http://www.imaginenews.com/Archive/2004/FEB_2004/01_FEATURES/18_DAVIS.html Kate Davis and "Jockey" documentary for HBO]
* [http://www.usatoday.com/money/2004-04-29-derby_x.htm USA Today Derby Jockeys Can Wear Ads]