Mark Guidry

Mark Guidry (born August 6, 1959 in Lafayette, Louisiana) is an American jockey.

He began his riding career in Thoroughbred horse racing in his native Louisiana in 1974 where he remained until 1986 when he went to race in Illinois. He earned the moniker "King of Chicago" in the 1990's, by leading jockeys in wins at Hawthorne Race Course seven times, Sportsman's Park nine times, two times at Arlington Park. He also captured the 2005 riding title at Churchill Downs. Guidry earned his 5,000th career win at Churchill Downs on May 4, 2007, before retiring for the first time later that year.

At the spring Sportsman's Park meet of 1992, Guidry had three separate six-win days. On March 20, 1992, he won six races on a card at Sportsman's Park, all at odds of 5-1 or more. On April 5, 1992, he had six come from behind wins on closers - a trademark of his riding style. On April 25, 1992, he won another six races on a card at Sportsman's Park, including the National Jockey Club Handicap on Stalwars and three other stakes wins — on Cu's Gig, Take that Step and Zend to Aiken. In 1994, he set a new single season riding record at Hawthorne with 117 victories at the fall meet. He broke that record in 1995 with 137 wins. In 1997, Hawthorne Race Course voted him into their Racing Hall of Fame.

In 2001, he rode Todd Pletcher's Balto Star to victories in the Arkansas Derby and Lane's End Stakes. In 2003, he won the Holy Bull Stakes at 27-1 on board Offlee Wild at Gulfstream Park. In 2005, he won the Santa Anita Derby on Buzzards Bay and rode Buzzards Bay to a fifth place finish in the Kentucky Derby. In the 2005 Breeders' Cup Classic, he guided 14-1 shot Perfect Drift to a closing third place finish.

In 2006, he rode Lemons Forever, a 47-1 shot, to a come from behind victory in the 132nd Kentucky Oaks. She was the longest shot to ever win the storied race for three-year old fillies, which is run the day before the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. That same year, he was voted the esteemed George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award by his peers in part for his assistance to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

In 2006, he won the Swale Stakes on Sharp Humor, and ran second with him by a half length in the Florida Derby to Barbaro. Guidry and Sharp Humor nearly held off the eventual Kentucky Derby winner in a thrilling stretch duel, with some bumping initiated by the winner.

In the 2007 Kentucky Derby, Guidry rode 50-1 longshot Imawildandcrazyguy to a fourth-place finish.

He retired on November 10, 2007 having won 5,043 races during his riding career.

After retiring, he spent more than two years as a trainer.

He returned to the saddle in the summer of 2011, beginning his comeback at Ellis Park, before moving on to Keeneland, Churchill Downs and the Tampa Bay Downs winter meet. He picked up his riding in the spring of 2012 full-time at the Louisiana Downs spring/summer meet, where he commanded a 24 percent winning rate. His mounts were in the money more than 50 percent of the time in 2012.

He is currently riding as one of the top jockeys at the competitive 2012-13 Fairgrounds winter meet. Mark Guidry resides in New Orleans, Louisiana, with his wife Tina, and children Marcus, Mecus and Fallon.