Funny Cide Jockey Retires

Jose Santos calls it quits after breaking his back in a fall
By Joseph Fasano,  Newser User
Posted Jul 31, 2007 5:04 AM CDT
Funny Cide Jockey Retires
Jockey Jose Santos signals two for his second victory aboard Funny Cide as they win the second jewel of the Triple Crown by capturing the 128th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, in this May 17, 2003 file photo. (AP Photo/Roberto Borea)   (Associated Press)

Future Hall of Fame jockey Jose Santos retired yesterday, six months after breaking his back in a fall during an Aqueduct race. Santos, 46, rode Funny Cide to the winner's circle in the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness. He posted 4,076 North American victories in his two-decade career, with a total purse of $186.9 million.

The Chilean native had hoped his fractured back wouldn't keep him out of the saddle, but doctors told him further injury could leave him paralyzed. Santos, who will join seven other horsemen in an August 6 Hall of Fame induction, is leaving the sport just weeks after his former mount, Funny Cide, set out for his own retirement pastures. (More Jose Santos stories.)

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