Australian Riding Legend Oliver to Retire End of ’23

Damien Oliver, one of Australia’s greatest jockeys, is set to retire at the end of 2023.

Oliver will ride at the Spring Carnival before hanging up his silks following the West Australian Carnival in December.

Rumors had been circling around the Australian racing industry about Oliver’s impending retirement for weeks, with the jockey’s announcement Aug. 30 confirming his intention to quit the saddle.

His career includes an incredible 3,167 winners—128 of those in group 1s—plus approximately $256 million (US$165,811,200) in prize-money.

Oliver, 51, is arguably Australia’s most well-known racing figure across a sustained career that included capturing the country’s greatest races. His most famous win came in the 2002 Melbourne Cup win on Media Puzzle, when he saluted the sky just days after his brother Jason died in an accident.

No rider in Australian history has won as many group 1 races as Oliver, with his current tally of 128 now nine clear of George Moore. He has also secured the Melbourne jockeys’ title 10 times.

Oliver is one of just eight jockeys to enjoy victories in each of the big four races across Australia during the season, with three in the Melbourne Cup (Doriemus in 1995, Media Puzzle in 2002, and Fiorente  in 2013), four in the Caulfield Cup (Mannerism in 1992, Paris Lane in 1994, Doriemus in 1995, and Sky Heights in 1999), two in the Cox Plate (Dane Ripper in 1997 and Northerly in 2001) and one in the Golden Slipper Stakes (Forensics in 2003).

He said: “After about 35 years of riding, I’ve decided that this is going to be my last spring carnival. I can’t keep going forever. The Melbourne Spring Carnival has always been so good to me. It’s kind of where I’d like to give it a real good crack, but then I’ll probably go on from there and finish up in Perth where it all started for me so I’ll ride at the Perth Carnival as well.”

Oliver, in an interview with fellow champion jockey Glen Boss for Ladbrokes, said his career delivered more than he ever expected.

“I’ve achieved so much more than I ever expected to as a young kid leaving Perth,” he said. “It’s a sport and a lifestyle that served me so well over a long period of time and I feel pretty lucky that it’s given me everything I’ve got. It’s taken a little bit away from me too, a father and a brother, but it’s certainly been really good to me as well.”

Oliver said despite his impending retirement he still dreams of one last major group 1: “I suppose when you look at what Frankie’s [Dettori] done in the last six months on his farewell tour, it’s probably inspired me a little bit to go out that way as well.”