Shoemaker, Like Kareem, Will Have a Farewell Tour

Jockey Bill Shoemaker, who has ridden 8,799 winners and won more than $120 million in stakes money during an extraordinary career, announced Thursday he will retire next year after a worldwide farewell tour.

The tour will begin June 4 in Zurich, Switzerland, and move on through England, Ireland, Holland, West Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Italy, the announcement said.

“The Shoe” will return to the United States in July, where he will appear throughout North America until October. The tour will then take him to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia before it concludes back in the United States, where Shoemaker has ridden for parts of the last five decades.

Shoemaker’s final ride will come in California in either January or February, said spokesman Peter Debreceny. After retirement, Shoemaker has no specific plans.