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It has been a thrilling, magnificent and sometimes rocky path, yet now, it appears the famed jockey's decision is final. The most storied jockey over the last 40 years is set to enter retirement after the main card at the Breeders’ Cup in Del Mar on Saturday, when he will have three chances to add a farewell Grade One winner to his almost 300 already in his record. Racing may not see a career like his ever again.

A Household Name

Alongside Lester Piggott and perhaps John McCririck in the last 50 years, Frankie Dettori is recognized by pretty much everyone, without needing a last name. The public knows his identity, even if they possess absolutely no interest in his profession. In a world which has become fragmented by digital platforms and online networks, Dettori may well be the last racing figure that will ever enjoy such instant brand recognition among a wide segment of the British population.

His entire career in horse racing, after all, goes back to an era when the show A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in over 10 million viewers, and his three-year role as a team captain was sufficient to establish him as the bubbly, irrepressible face of racing. His last year on the program came in 2004, which was also the year when he won the Flat jockeys’ title for the third and last occasion. For much of the British public, though, he has probably been the top jockey in most years since.

A Hard-Earned Fame

It is, in many ways, a hard-earned fame, a mixed blessing for incidents on and off the track which have often pushed Dettori onto the front pages, since that memorable day at Ascot in 1996 when he defied massive 25,000-1 odds to win all seven races on the card.

Back in June 2000, he was pulled from a fiery crash of a small plane by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, following an accident during takeoff in which the plane’s pilot lost his life. When he finally ended his quest for a Derby winner in 2007, that too was headline news.

And if everyone loves a winner, they often love a flawed hero and a comeback all the more. A half-year suspension following a positive drug test for cocaine would have been the finish for many riders in their forties, more than enough time for owners and trainers to find a younger alternative. For Dettori, however, suspension in December 2012 was a bridge to a renewed association with trainer John Gosden in Newmarket, and a new series of winners and classic victors, such as Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Public Highs and Lows

The public highs and setbacks have been an essential part of Dettori’s story, up to and including the embarrassing confession in March that he was filing for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a situation that he attempted, and did not succeed, to keep confidential.

There were numerous turns in his story, indeed, that it can be easy to overlook that without Dettori’s immense, generational talent, there would be no story at all.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was clear from the start as a teenage apprentice that there was a natural connection between horse and rider when Dettori was in the saddle.

Steeds performed for him, and improved for him. In 1990, he was the first teenager since Piggott to reach 100 winners in a season, and also marked his emergence among the elite with a Group One double at Ascot, on the same day that he would charge through unbeaten only six years later. His iconic flying dismount, adopted from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was added to his routine in 1994, and the thrill from riding a big-race winner has never left him. Nor has the gift of sensing, with almost foresight, where to position, when to make a move and where the gaps will emerge.

The Future Ahead

But what now for the public face of UK horse racing? It will not be easy to step away completely, regardless if Dettori fulfils his apparent desire to accept some mounts in South America, something that he always wanted to experience”. This is not, after all, an ambition that he has mentioned previously.

But the calamitous decision to follow tax guidance that resulted in his tax issues indicates that Dettori will not draw down the curtain with sufficient funds in the bank to relax and take it easy.

New Role and Opportunities

He has already been appointed to a new position as a “global ambassador” with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian's growing Amo Racing enterprise. He explained to racing presenter Matt Chapman last Friday this was the main reason for his exit now, along with the chance to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances are rare, very often. I appreciate the structure – it's a youthful team with huge goals,” said the rider.

Joorabchian, himself, was gushing in his praise for his new ambassador at Del Mar on Thursday. “He is an icon, he is a true legend of the sport,” he stated. “When discussing great sportsmen such as LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Lionel Messi and Pelés and people like that, Frankie is that for horse racing. When you go into Royal Ascot, you see a statue there, you realize that he’s made a big impact countless lives across the world.

“He’s not here|“He isn't here} to amuse audiences, he's here to work and he will collaborate with us very closely. He will be involved in all aspects of our operations [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is a global ambassador.”

Reality TV is another possibility, though previous appearances on Celebrity Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … have tended to reveal a moodier side to Dettori’s character, beneath the cheerful public persona. In both programs, he was an early casualty due to viewer votes.

It's possible that Dettori himself does not really know what he'll do and how to spend his time once his riding career are over. And for another 24 hours at least, he remains a top-level professional jockey, focused on three mounts at one of the most prestigious and glamorous events on the schedule.

One Last Mount

A five-year-old filly named Argine will be Dettori’s final Grade One mount in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the identical event in which he registered his first Breeders’ Cup success in 1994. Her form at home indicates that she needs to find to figure, but few riders historically have risen to an occasion like Lanfranco Dettori.

One last time, is it time for Frankie?