DEL MAR, Calif. – Jockey Corey Nakatani, who had not ridden since August 2018 owing to severe back injuries, on Saturday made official what had long been assumed, that he will not ride again. Nakatani – in a press release distributed by his son, Matt, a jockey agent – announced that he was retiring, ending a 30-year career that saw him win 3,909 races in North America, including 10 in the Breeders’ Cup, all while competing year-round against what was a deep jockey colony based in Southern California that produced numerous members of the Hall of Fame. “The time has come to officially announce my retirement from the sport of horse racing,” Nakatani, 49, said in the release. “Although I never imagined this was how my career would end, I am very proud of my accomplishments and know that I competed at the very highest of levels, which gives me a sense of satisfaction.” Nakatani won 120 Grade 1 races, 341 graded stakes, and 10 meet titles at Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, and Del Mar. His mounts earned more than $234 million. He won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint four times, and twice won the Kentucky Oaks, with Lite Light in 1991 and Pike Place Dancer in 1996, both trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer. Nakatani won the Santa Anita Oaks and Shoemaker Mile five times, the Kilroe Mile, Del Mar Oaks, and Starlet four times each, and the Santa Anita Handicap three times. Two of his four wins in the Kilroe Mile – with Leger Cat in 1993 and Atticus in 1997 – came in concert with Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella. “He was a very gifted rider,” Mandella said Sunday morning at his Del Mar barn. “He had a way of getting along with odd horses. And he was a good athlete.” In addition to his North American victories, Nakatani also won races in Dubai, England, and Japan. In 1995, he won the Group 3 Diadem Stakes at Ascot with 33-1 shot Cool Jazz for trainer Clive Brittain. Nakatani will be honored in a winner’s circle ceremony Saturday at Del Mar, on a card that includes the Hollywood Derby, another Grade 1 race he won five times, most recently in 2015 with Chiropractor. Nakatani won three summer riding titles at Del Mar, where he ranks second all-time in stakes wins among jockeys with 108, behind only Chris McCarron. He is sixth all-time in wins at Del Mar, behind Laffit Pincay Jr. – his idol – Bill Shoemaker, McCarron, Pat Valenzuela, and Kent Desormeaux. Nakatani was seriously injured in an accident at Del Mar in August 2018 when the horse he was riding in a grass race clipped heels after a rival veered into his path in the stretch, causing Nakatani to fall heavily. He suffered compression fractures and herniated discs to several vertebrae, requiring multiple surgeries. – additional reporting by Steve Andersen