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Todd Kabel, a Champion Jockey Who Fought Hard His Entire Life
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Dave P.
Aug 5, 2021, 10:56:03 PM8/5/21
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Todd Kabel, a Champion Jockey Who Fought Hard His Entire Life
By Jennifer Morrison, 3/28/21, Canadian Thoroughbred
Six Sovereign Awards as Canada’s Outstanding Jockey; four
of those in consecutive years. Two Queen’s Plate victories,
3,306 career winning rides, dozens of stakes races including
36 in one season, tying a record.
Todd Kabel dominated the Woodbine riding colony for the
better part of the new century and won well over 100 races
each season for 20 straight years. He was fearless, smart,
aggressive and relentless in his pursuit of a victory.
It was all he ever wanted to do: ride races and win.
Sadly, Todd lost a life-long race against depression and
alcoholism as he was found deceased in a park in Tottenham
on March 27, 2021 at the age of 55.
The news of his passing shook the Woodbine community, so
many of whom have plenty of good memories and fun stories
about the McCreary, Manitoba-born Kabel. He came to Woodbine
in the mid 80s, rode his first horse in 1984 & was Canada’s
Outstanding Apprentice in 1986. Not only did he succeed in
making the very tough transition from bug rider to journey-
man jockey, Kabel was in high demand from every top barn
on the grounds.
With his good looks & playful nature, Kabel was a well-known
personality at Woodbine. He was also controversial as he had
a similarly aggressive style of riding, in particular with
the whip, as the great Sandy Hawley. While the whip rules
at that time were nothing like they are today, Kabel often
found himself at odds with the Ontario Racing Commission
stewards for his use of the whip.
In 2003 he became the first Canadian-based jockey to earn
over $10 million in purses, & in 2004 he tied the record of
36 graded stakes race wins in a season set by the late Hall
of Fame jockey, Avelino Gomez.
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.
He won all of the big races at Woodbine and rode in Breeders’
Cups in the U.S., finishing second on 78-to-1 shot Dawson’s
Legacy in the 1997 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
He did all this despite having to lose many pounds each
racing day. Years of Lasix, ‘water’ pills, saunas & flipping
any food he ate took a toll on his body. At one point, his
esophagus became so badly damaged from flipping he walked
away from riding in 2009.
His personal battle with alcohol & drugs, taken to alleviate
depression, was a demon Kabel could not shake. When he left
racing in 2009 he went home to Winnipeg to be with his four
children and family members. He came back in 2012 and rode
29 winners but issues off the track including DUI’s and
reports of violence while under the influence would eventually
lead to his final season of riding in 2013.
In the 8 years since then, Kabel has continued to work with
horses on farms and stay in touch with many friends in the
Woodbine community. He had support but for anyone who knew
him, Kabel was proud, oftentimes hard-headed and he did not
seek the necessary help to address his depression. His
depression became worse in recent years when he tried, on
many occasions, to get licensed again by the Ontario Racing
Commission to work horses at Woodbine but he was always
turned away. Short stints in and out of jail led the racing
stewards to be firm on their decision.
But for those who knew Kabel best they were often treated
to a fun and silly prankster who was kind and generous with
his time. He loved kids and was often seen signing goggles
for littles ones at the track.
Kabel had been working in the Tottenham area this year &
had been dating Sandra Zinn for the last 3 years. Like the
Kabel family, Zinn has been inconsolable with the news of
Todd’s passing. He had reportedly lost his job in March &
ended up without a place to live, instead sleeping in a
park where he was found this weekend.
“The only relief I find at the moment is knowing he is at
peace, safe from all elements,” said his sister Kim. “F.U.
addiction and what you can do to people. I think my brother
just gave up.”
And has Kim emphasized to me when we talked, the stigma of
depression continues to be an issue in society. “People
that have never experienced this have no empathy or under-
standing of the power; how depression and booze or drugs
feeds each other.”
What most of us will remember more about Todd was that
there was a good person on the inside, a passionate person
and a determined will to make himself the best at what
he did, for as long as he could.
Chad Walker produced this poignant video on Todd’s life
as a jockey: [vimeo video]
https://canadianthoroughbred.com/horse-news/todd-kabel-champion-jockey-who-fought-hard-his-entire-life/
By Jennifer Morrison, 3/28/21, Canadian Thoroughbred
Six Sovereign Awards as Canada’s Outstanding Jockey; four
of those in consecutive years. Two Queen’s Plate victories,
3,306 career winning rides, dozens of stakes races including
36 in one season, tying a record.
Todd Kabel dominated the Woodbine riding colony for the
better part of the new century and won well over 100 races
each season for 20 straight years. He was fearless, smart,
aggressive and relentless in his pursuit of a victory.
It was all he ever wanted to do: ride races and win.
Sadly, Todd lost a life-long race against depression and
alcoholism as he was found deceased in a park in Tottenham
on March 27, 2021 at the age of 55.
The news of his passing shook the Woodbine community, so
many of whom have plenty of good memories and fun stories
about the McCreary, Manitoba-born Kabel. He came to Woodbine
in the mid 80s, rode his first horse in 1984 & was Canada’s
Outstanding Apprentice in 1986. Not only did he succeed in
making the very tough transition from bug rider to journey-
man jockey, Kabel was in high demand from every top barn
on the grounds.
With his good looks & playful nature, Kabel was a well-known
personality at Woodbine. He was also controversial as he had
a similarly aggressive style of riding, in particular with
the whip, as the great Sandy Hawley. While the whip rules
at that time were nothing like they are today, Kabel often
found himself at odds with the Ontario Racing Commission
stewards for his use of the whip.
In 2003 he became the first Canadian-based jockey to earn
over $10 million in purses, & in 2004 he tied the record of
36 graded stakes race wins in a season set by the late Hall
of Fame jockey, Avelino Gomez.
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.
He won all of the big races at Woodbine and rode in Breeders’
Cups in the U.S., finishing second on 78-to-1 shot Dawson’s
Legacy in the 1997 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
He did all this despite having to lose many pounds each
racing day. Years of Lasix, ‘water’ pills, saunas & flipping
any food he ate took a toll on his body. At one point, his
esophagus became so badly damaged from flipping he walked
away from riding in 2009.
His personal battle with alcohol & drugs, taken to alleviate
depression, was a demon Kabel could not shake. When he left
racing in 2009 he went home to Winnipeg to be with his four
children and family members. He came back in 2012 and rode
29 winners but issues off the track including DUI’s and
reports of violence while under the influence would eventually
lead to his final season of riding in 2013.
In the 8 years since then, Kabel has continued to work with
horses on farms and stay in touch with many friends in the
Woodbine community. He had support but for anyone who knew
him, Kabel was proud, oftentimes hard-headed and he did not
seek the necessary help to address his depression. His
depression became worse in recent years when he tried, on
many occasions, to get licensed again by the Ontario Racing
Commission to work horses at Woodbine but he was always
turned away. Short stints in and out of jail led the racing
stewards to be firm on their decision.
But for those who knew Kabel best they were often treated
to a fun and silly prankster who was kind and generous with
his time. He loved kids and was often seen signing goggles
for littles ones at the track.
Kabel had been working in the Tottenham area this year &
had been dating Sandra Zinn for the last 3 years. Like the
Kabel family, Zinn has been inconsolable with the news of
Todd’s passing. He had reportedly lost his job in March &
ended up without a place to live, instead sleeping in a
park where he was found this weekend.
“The only relief I find at the moment is knowing he is at
peace, safe from all elements,” said his sister Kim. “F.U.
addiction and what you can do to people. I think my brother
just gave up.”
And has Kim emphasized to me when we talked, the stigma of
depression continues to be an issue in society. “People
that have never experienced this have no empathy or under-
standing of the power; how depression and booze or drugs
feeds each other.”
What most of us will remember more about Todd was that
there was a good person on the inside, a passionate person
and a determined will to make himself the best at what
he did, for as long as he could.
Chad Walker produced this poignant video on Todd’s life
as a jockey: [vimeo video]
https://canadianthoroughbred.com/horse-news/todd-kabel-champion-jockey-who-fought-hard-his-entire-life/
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