HALLANDALE BEACH - Jockey Luca Panici, a mainstay at South Florida tracks since 2010, retired from riding at the conclusion of Sunday’s program at Gulfstream Park. The 52-year-old Italian-born jockey has ridden 943 winners in the U.S. A son of Italy’s leading jockey in the 1970s and 1980s, Panici rode more than 500 winners in Europe.

    “I feel good. It’s time. I’m 52. I made the decision to retire right now when I still have business,” said Panici, who rode 14 winners during the 2025-2026 Championship Meet that came to a close Sunday. Although he is stepping away from riding, he won’t be leaving Gulfstream Park, where he will begin working on the track crew.

    “I don’t know yet what I’m going to do, but I will be on the track crew,” he said. “I’m not going to ride, but I’m not leaving the track.”

    A frequent visitor to Gulfstream during the Italian off-season before moving to South Florida full-time, Panici rode his first race in the U.S. in 1997 and won his first race in America Nov. 25, 2005 at Calder Race Course.

    Panici won three gradedstakes in his career: Another Romance in the 2012 Azalea (G3), Sole Volante in the 2020 Sam F. Davis (G3) and Maryquitecontrary in the 2023 Inside Information (G2), the latter at Gulfstream.

 

                  
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