Patrick Alan Day was born October 13, 1953 in Brush, Co. He was the son of Mickey and Carol Day. Pat had one brother, Mike, and two sisters, Cindy and Debbie.
Pat grew up in a ranching community and actually wanted to be a professional rodeo cowboy. But because of his small size, many people said he should look into being a jockey.
The beginning of Pat's career began in January, 1973, when a friend contacted a friend who managed the Riverside Thoroughbred Farm in Southern California. There he got his first job working with racehorses. On July 29, 1973, Pat won his first Thoroughbred race aboard Foreblunged at Prescott Downs, in Prescott, Arizona.
Pat stayed in Phoenix and rode the Turf Paradise Race Course for a while. Then he decided to move Midwest and became one of Chicago's top riders. He won the racing titles at Sportsmans Park and Hawthorne Race Course. In 1976, he tried New York, but decided city life just wasn't for him. Pat finally settled in Churchill Downs, Kentucky. The rest is history.
In 1992, Pat made headlines by recording the most wins by a jockey that year, edging out the legendary Angel Cordero, Jr. by two victories by winning a pair of races at Delta Downs on New Years Eve.
Pat has also won four Eclipse awards as the nation's outstanding jockey. His first came in 194, after he rode Wild Again to victory in the first Breeders Cup Classic. He won again in 1986 and 1987. Then, in 1991, he won the Canadian Triple Crown on the filly Dance Smartly and was elected into racing's Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Pat has won the Kentucky Derby once, in 1992, aboard Lil E. Tee, but he has lost 16 other Derbies. Still, he says he is not disturbed by hi losses and is only blessed to be able to participate.
Pat has also won the Preakness five times aboard Tank's Prospect, Summer Squall, Tabasco Cat, Timber Country and Louis Quatorze. He took the Belmont on Easy Goer, Tabasco Cat and Commendable. He has lead the nation in races won 6 times, and once won eight of nine races in one day in Arlington Park. He has won nearly 50 riding titles at many different tracks and tops the charts in races won at Churchill Downs, where he has won 22 riding crowns. Pat also won 12 straight riding titles at Oaklawn Park and four in a row at Arlington Park.
In addition, Pat has become Keeneland's all-time winningest rider. He won 15 riding titles at the Lexington, Kentucky track and also owns the mark for most wins at one meeting with 45 and the record for stakes victories, as well. In the Breeders' Cup Classic, Pat's 11 winners is tops all time among riders. And in 1999, despite the fact that he basically took all of December off, he led the nation in money won with a total earnings of $18,092,845. At one time, Pat was selected by the Atlanta Olympics Committee to charge the torch down Central Avenue to the Olympic Games.
Pat battled substance abuse before becoming a Christian in 1984. He is now the vice-president of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America and one of its spokesmen. The group helps spread the word of God to race track personnel and helps meet physical needs, too. He also helps the Children's Hospital in Louisville, Ky. by meeting the kids, talking to them and signing autographs. He is also involved with the disabled Jockey's Fund and the Don McBeth Fund too. In November of 1999, Pat signed a limited number of 1999 Breeder' Cup collectors glasses to benefit the Disabled Jockey's Fund.
Today, Pat lives in his new home in a subdivision in Crestwood, Kentucky. He has been married to wife Sheila Ann (June 30, 1979) for 21 years. They have a daughter, Irene, who was born March 3, 1987.