Off since he broke a rib and fractured small vertebrae in his back in a multi-horse spill in November at Woodbine, JUSTIN STEIN announced his retirement from riding through X on December 11. The 44-year-old has been a regular in the top 10 riders at Woodbine since he moved to Ontario from British Columbia in 2006. He was second to Kazushi Kimura in 2021 by purses and third in 2023. This year he ranked 12th before the spill.
Stein followed in his father’s boots, learning to become a jockey by exercising horses at Kamloops in B.C. He was a quick study and was a finalist for apprentice rider not just in Canada, but at the Eclipse Awards.
He arrived in Ontario in 2005, the year he won a whopping 161 races in Canada as an apprentice. He became popular in the Woodbine jocks room and with the horsepeople and fans. The married father of four won the 2012 Queen’s Plate on BC-bred Strait of Dover and numerous other important races.
But in 2016, barely into the new Woodbine season, Stein called it quits and set out to the outback of BC with his family to live off the land. There was a ceremony at Woodbine for his retirement after some 1,000 wins.
In 2019, Stein was back in Ontario, ready to begin a new life after a divorce. He was also ready to get back in the saddle again.
He won some of the biggest races of his career in his comeback years, including the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile aboard the great Starship Jubilee. He won the 2022 Prince of Wales aboard Duke of Love, the 2023 ‘Wales on Velocitor and this year he won the Breeders’ Stakes aboard Roscar, completing his own personal ‘triple crown’ of wins in all three legs of the Canadian series.
His career totals read – 10,792 mounts, 1,440 wins, 1,505 seconds, 1,369 thirds, and purses of $64,594,881. He won 98 stakes races.
Stein, now remarried with a son, is expected to stay in racing to study to become a steward. He said to Woodbine publicity, “I’ll always miss riding races, so leaving to start a new career within the horse racing industry is bittersweet. But I am excited to stay in an industry I love.”
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