Peruvian Jockey Pablo Morales Retires at 37 After Graded Stakes Career

Pablo Morales walked away from race riding the way he lived it: winning. The 37-year-old Peruvian native guided John Vinson trainee Troops to a half-length victory in a six-furlong claiming-level dirt sprint at Tampa Bay Downs on February 20, then announced his retirement via Facebook on March 13, closing a 21-year career that produced 2,858 wins from 15,058 starts and four graded-stakes victories.

The retirement was first reported by Lillian Davis of the Paulick Report and quickly circulated across racing outlets on March 13 and 14.

Morales began riding in the United States in 2005, the same year he won the Grade 2 Super Derby aboard The Daddy, a win that signaled the range his career would eventually cover. Three more graded victories followed across two decades: the 2019 Sam F. Davis (G3) with Well Defined, the 2022 Highlander (G2) with Bound for Nowhere, and most recently the 2025 Nearctic Stakes (G2) at Woodbine aboard No Nay Hudson, which he won in stakes record time. That Nearctic victory stands as his final graded win.

At the regional level, Morales built an identity at Presque Isle Downs, where he earned nine leading-jockey titles. In his later years, he split time between Presque Isle and Tampa Bay Downs. His entire 2026 output, six wins in 58 starts, came at Tampa Bay.

His Facebook retirement statement was candid about what drove him out of the saddle. "I am proud to walk away healthy, knowing I still had purpose," he wrote. "I still can't believe that the dreams I had in Peru became a reality, and that this career gave me a life I could have only imagined. But lately, I realized it was no longer aligning with what I truly needed. In this sport, you are always chasing the next win. When you win, you feel alive, but when you don't, you feel like a failure. People turn their backs, criticism comes quickly, and that weight was wearing on me."

He did not spare the industry's interpersonal dynamics. "I trusted people; I thought they had my back, trainers and people I loved, but once I wasn't winning as much as I used to, once I wasn't as needed, they turned so quickly," Morales wrote. "I have also suffered many injuries, thankfully none were career-ending, but many have affected my body and my life in ways that will stay with me forever."

Beyond the physical toll, Morales cited distance from his family and spiritual life as the deciding factors. He named his wife, Erin, his son, Camilo, and his daughter, Sophia, as the people he intends to prioritize going forward.

A jockey who started his American career with a graded stakes win and ended it with a claiming victory that he still managed to turn into a winner's circle moment, Morales leaves the sport with numbers that reflect staying power: 15,058 rides over two-plus decades at tracks stretching from Erie, Pennsylvania to Toronto.