Todd Kabel (December 7, 1965 – March 27, 2021) was a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. A native of McCreary, Manitoba, he began his career as a jockey at Assiniboia Downs in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and in 1987 started competing at tracks in Ontario, moving to Toronto permanently in 1991.[2]

Todd Kabel
OccupationJockey
BornDecember 7, 1965
McCreary, Manitoba, Canada
DiedMarch 27, 2021 (aged 55)
Career wins3,306 [1]
Major racing wins
Natalma Stakes
(1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2002)
Dominion Day Stakes
(1994, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2007)
Jammed Lovely Stakes
(1994, 2004, 2005, 2006)
Kennedy Road Stakes
(1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006)
Nassau Stakes
(1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007)
Nearctic Stakes (1994, 2003)
Victoria Park Stakes (1994, 2000, 2001)
Autumn Stakes (1995, 2002, 2005, 2006)
Play The King Stakes (1995, 2003, 2004)
Royal North Stakes (1995, 2003, 2004)
Seagram Cup Stakes (1995, 1998, 1999)
Sky Classic Stakes (1995, 2002)
Grey Stakes (1996, 2004)
Canadian Stakes (1997, 2003)
Dance Smartly Stakes (1997, 1998, 2006)
Highlander Handicap
(1997, 2003, 2004, 2005)
Sir Barton Stakes (1997)
Monmouth Breeders' Cup Oaks (1998)
Woodbine Oaks (1998, 2004)
Cup and Saucer Stakes (1999, 2002)
Toronto Cup Stakes
(2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
E. P. Taylor Stakes (2000)
King Edward Stakes (2001, 2005, 2006)
Northern Dancer Breeders' Cup Turf
South Ocean Stakes (2002, 2004)
(2002, 2003, 2004, 2006)
Deputy Minister Stakes (2003, 2006, 2007)
Nijinsky Stakes (2003, 2004)
Woodbine Mile (2004)
Hill 'n' Dale Stakes (2004, 2005, 2006)
National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes (2005)

Canadian Classic Race wins:
Queen's Plate (1995, 2000)
Prince of Wales Stakes (2000, 2007)

Racing awards
Sovereign Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey (1986)
Sovereign Award for Outstanding Jockey
(1992, 1995, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006)
Significant horses
Mobil, Regal Discovery, Scatter The Gold,
Sky Conqueror, Soaring Free,
Strut The Stage, Woolloomooloo

Riding from a base at Woodbine Racetrack, Todd Kabel won Canada's Sovereign Award seven times, beginning with the Outstanding Apprentice Jockey in 1986 followed by Outstanding Jockey in 1992 and 1995 and during the four-year period from 2003 to 2006.[3]

In the 1997 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Hollywood Park Racetrack, Kabel rode 78-1 long shot Dawson's Legacy to a second-place finish behind 1997's American Horse of the Year, Favorite Trick.[4] In 2003 he became the first Canadian-based jockey to earn more than $10 million in purse money and the following year he equalled the Hall of Fame jockey Avelino Gomez's record of 36 graded stakes race wins in a single season.[2]

Among Kabel's major wins he rode Regal Discovery to victory in the 1995 Queen's Plate, the country's most prestigious race and that was his big break. In 2000, aboard Scatter The Gold, he earned his second victory in the Queen's Plate then won the Prince of Wales Stakes, both of which were run on dirt. However, Kabel and Scatter The Gold missed winning the Canadian Triple Crown when they finished third in the Breeders' Stakes on turf.[5]

Todd Kabel retired from Thoroughbred racing having won 3,306 races with total purses amounting to $105,831,055.[1][6]

Year-end charts

edit
Chart (2000–2007) Peak
position
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2000 24
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2001 23
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2002 19
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2003 9
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2004 13
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2005 31
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2006 35
National Earnings List for Jockeys 2007 58

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Todd Kabel". Equibase Co., LLC. 2021-03-30. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  2. ^ a b "Legendary Woodbine jockey Todd Kabel passes away". Toronto Sun. 2021-03-27. Archived from the original on 2021-03-28. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  3. ^ "Sovereign Awards - Past Award Winners". Jockey Club of Canada. 2020-11-30. Archived from the original on 2020-11-30. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  4. ^ "Event By Year". Breederscup.com. Retrieved 2012-06-02.
  5. ^ "Woodbine Media Guide" (PDF). Woodbine Entertainment Group. 2019-10-22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2021-03-29.
  6. ^ "Todd Kabel, a Champion Jockey Who Fought Hard His Entire Life". Canadian Thoroughbred. 2021-03-28. Retrieved 2021-03-30.