2025 marks a decade since Sir Antony Peter McCoy announced his retirement from horse racing. Despite being out of the sport for 10 years, AP McCoy remains a household name. So, let's take a look at how McCoy has retained prominence in modern media and popular culture to this day.
Legend Status in Modern Media
Having been Champion Jockey a record 20 consecutive times, riding a record 4,358 winning horses, and winning almost every major British and Irish jump circuit race, there's no doubt that McCoy is a legend of horseracing. The endurance of his fame can be seen in the fact that media inspired by McCoy and his legacy, such as autobiographies, biographies, and documentaries, are being produced even after his retirement.
McCoy is even the inspiration for an online casino game. Sporting Legends is a series that features big names like Ronnie O'Sullivan, Roberto Carlos, and Frankie Dettori. AP McCoy: Sporting Legends is one of the more popular slots with jackpots at Paddy Power, which was created by Playtech in collaboration with McCoy himself. His likeness appears within the game both as a jockey and dressed in a suit and tie, showing his prominence both historically on the tracks and as a TV pundit for UK's Channel 4 racing. He has also appeared on a multitude of talk shows around the world, including The Late Late Show, and was the star of the 'racing kitty' internet meme.
Revelations of a Near Comeback
This year, McCoy's name has frequently been in the headlines. In March, the ex-Champion Jockey dropped a bombshell on racing fans, when he revealed that he almost made a comeback at the 2017 Cheltenham Festival, just two years after his retirement. After fellow jockey Barry Geraghty could not compete in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, McCoy was seriously considering riding Minella Rocco who he reportedly trained with at Jonjo O'Neill's yard in the lead up to the festival.
Unfortunately, it was McCoy's wife Chanelle who put the brakes on this comeback, telling him simply to 'wise up'. Of course, eager fans may notice that 2017 was still a big year for the McCoys, as Chanelle was announced as Eamonn Quinn's replacement in RTE's Dragons' Den Ireland. In recent years, Chanelle has been in the headlines herself, breaking new ground with her innovative business ventures.
Passing on the Mantel to New Jockeys
Photo by Berna
Of course, for any jockey, the praise of such a horseracing legend can do wonders for your confidence. And, like the legend he is, McCoy certainly seems to like dishing out encouragement to others. Most recently, McCoy was in the headlines again as he hailed his successor Sean Bowen on being crowned Champion Jockey not long before his upcoming wedding, labelling him a 'top-class jockey'.
This comes not long after McCoy defended Jonbon and jockey Nico de Boinville's highly-critiqued performance at Cheltenham in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, calling the criticism they were facing 'total rubbish'. The two then went on to win the Melling Chase at the Grand National at Aintree less than a fortnight later!
As you can see, despite retiring 10 years ago, Sir AP McCoy retains prominence as a legendary jockey and an authoritative figure in popular culture, continuing to inspire new generations and entertainment media. And this hopefully will continue for man
