Robby Albarado, a veteran rider on the Kentucky and New Orleans circuits, was arrested for domestic violence and two other charges, Louisville Metro Police said April 1. He was released from jail later in the afternoon, according to his agent, Lenny Pike.
Albarado was arrested on three counts—intimidating a participant in legal process, wanton endangerment in the first degree, and assault in the fourth degree (domestic violence, minor injury). He is scheduled to appear in court in Kentucky on April 5.
Albarado is scheduled to ride three horses at Oaklawn Park for trainer Michael Stidham on April 2, including Comedero in the $50,000 Nodouble Breeders’ Stakes.
“He got out on his own recognizance, he didn’t have to post bail,” said Pike. “He was released about two hours ago and I drove him to the airport, he’s on a plane flying to Oaklawn Park right as we speak. He’s coming back Sunday night and he’ll breeze horses all week and ride opening day (April 8) at Keeneland."
According to the Associated Press, Albarado’s wife, Kimber, told officers who arrived at the couple's home late on the evening of March 31 that a discussion about their relationship became heated. Police told the Associated Press that Albarado, 37, is accused of breaking his wife's phone and trying to strangle her, leaving red marks around her throat. Emergency Medical Services personnel were called but she refused treatment, said the police report. The couple has three young children, sons Kaden and Kash, and daughter Larkin.
A native of Lafayette, Louisiana, Albarado just returned to riding on March 25 after taking time off to recuperate from a broken heel incurred in a pre-race accident at Fair Grounds on Jan. 2. He has ridden 4,283 winners in a career that officially began in 1990 but was launched much earlier on the non-sanctioned bush tracks of the Cajun racing circuit. His mounts have brought in $171,286,803.
Albarado has led the standings at Churchill Downs, Arlington Park, Fair Grounds, Keeneland, and Oaklawn Park. He is the 2004 winner of the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, the highest honor bestowed in racing by the collective jockey colony, and is best known as the regular rider of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin. The two teamed up through seasons that included a win in the 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I), the 2007 Preakness Stakes (gr. I), and the 2008 Dubai World Cup (UAE-I).
Albarado is the also the founder of The Robby Albarado Foundation, a Louisville-based 501(c)(3) organization established in 2007 to improve and enrich the lives of young people through personal involvement, volunteerism, and financial support.