Gary Dale Boulanger (born November 19, 1967) is a Canadian Hall of Fame jockey and trainer who competed in his native Canada and the United States. Born in

Drayton Valley Drayton Valley is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail), approximately southwest of Edmonton. It is surrounded by Brazeau County, known for its vast oil fields. The town is located between the North Sas ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada, Boulanger began his career in 1987 at

Tampa Bay Downs Tampa Bay Downs is an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility located in Westchase in Hillsborough County in the U.S. state of Florida, just outside Tampa. It opened in 1926 under the name Tampa Downs, and has also been known as Sunshine P ...

then went to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

where he was the leading jockey for three straight years from 1989 through 1991 at Longacres Racetrack in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

state. In 1991 he won 247 races, breaking Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens record for most wins. In 1992 Boulanger moved to race at tracks in California and in 1994 to southern Florida where he enjoyed considerable success. In 1998 he rode Chilito in the Kentucky Derby. From June 2000 and much of 2001, Boulanger worked primarily in Canada where he rode the most successful mount of his career. Aboard Sam Son Farm's filly

Dancethruthedawn Dancethruthedawn (foaled {{birth date, 1998, 03, 06 in Ontario) is a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse sired by leading United States stallion Mr. Prospector from Dance Smartly, a Canadian Triple Crown Champion mare and inductee of the Canadian ...

he won several top races in Canada including the 2001

Canadian Oaks The Woodbine Oaks is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Inaugurated in 1956, it is the premier event for Canadian-foaled three-year-old fillies and the first leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara s ...

and that country's most important race, the

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...

. While competing in Florida in the winter of 2005, Gary Boulanger suffered a life-threatening and career-ending injury in a racing accident at

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

in the January 30 running of the

Mac Diarmida Handicap The Mac Diarmida Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for horses four-years-old and older run over a distance of one-and-three-eighth miles (11 furlongs) on the turf, annually in February at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, F ...

. Called "one of South Florida's best riders the past several years" by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', Boulanger underwent surgery for a ruptured

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

broken rib A rib fracture is a break in a rib bone. This typically results in chest pain that is worse with inspiration. Bruising may occur at the site of the break. When several ribs are broken in several places a flail chest results. Potential complicatio ...

s, as well as a detached

tendon A tendon or sinew is a tough, high-tensile-strength band of dense fibrous connective tissue that connects muscle to bone. It is able to transmit the mechanical forces of muscle contraction to the skeletal system without sacrificing its ability ...

in his left elbow. The accident caused a

blood clot A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of ...

, that surgeons had to extract, which necessitated the removal of a section of his

skullcap Skullcap or skull cap usually refers to various types of headgear. Specifically it may refer to: Headwear * Beanie (seamed cap) * Biretta, forming part of some clerical, academic or legal dress * Calotte (Belgium), a skullcap worn by students at ...

to avoid damage to the brain from pressure caused by swelling. Following a very lengthy recovery process, in April 2009 Boulanger embarked on a new career race conditioning Thoroughbreds. In September he earned his first win as a trainer at Calder Race Course. On February 17, 2013, Boulanger returned to the saddle at

, finishing 9th aboard Spring a Latch, a horse in which he is also trainer. In 2017 he became the 33rd recipient of the

Avelino Gomez Memorial Award The Avelino Gomez Memorial Award is a Canadian thoroughbred horse racing honour given annually to a jockey who is Canadian-born, Canadian-raised, or a regular in the country for more than five years, who has made significant contributions to the sp ...

given to jockeys who have made significant contributions to Canadian Thoroughbred racing. In 2020, Gary Boulanger was inducted into the

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The ...

References

Further reading

Year-end charts