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It has been an exhilarating, glorious and sometimes bumpy ride, yet now, it appears the famed jockey's decision is final. The most storied rider over the last 40 years is set to head into retirement after the main card during the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar this Saturday, when he will have three opportunities to add a farewell Grade One winner to his almost 300 already in his record. The sport might not see a career like his ever again.

A Household Name

Alongside racing great Lester Piggott and maybe John McCririck over the past 50 years, “Frankie” registers with pretty much everyone, without needing a last name. People know who he is, even if they possess no interest at all in his profession. In today's 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 name-recognition across a broad swathe of Britain's people.

His entire career in horse racing, in fact, dates back to an era when the show A Question Of Sport regularly pulled in over 10 million audience members, and his three-year role as a team leader was more than enough to establish him as the bubbly, unforgettable figure of racing. His final year on the show was 2004, that was also the year when he secured the top jockey award for a third and last occasion. For much of the British public, however, he has probably been the top jockey in most years after that.

A Hard-Won Celebrity

This is, in many ways, a hard-won celebrity, a mixed blessing for events on and off the track which have often propelled Dettori into the headlines, ever since the unforgettable afternoon at Ascot in 1996 when he defied massive 25,000-1 odds to win all seven races that day.

Back in June 2000, he was rescued from the burning wreckage of a light aircraft by his fellow rider, Ray Cochrane, after a crash during takeoff in which the plane’s pilot was killed. When he finally ended his quest for a Derby winner in 2007, that too was headline news.

While everyone admires a winner, they often love an imperfect hero and a return even more. A half-year suspension following a positive drug test for cocaine could have been the finish for many riders in their forties, plenty of time for owners and trainers to seek a younger replacement. For Dettori, however, his 2012 suspension served as a bridge to a renewed association with trainer John Gosden in Newmarket, and a fresh succession of winners and Classic winners, such as Enable, Golden Horn and Stradivarius.

Ups and Downs

The public highs and setbacks have been an essential part of his narrative, right up until the humiliating admission in March that he filed for bankruptcy after a prolonged dispute with tax authorities over unpaid taxes, a circumstance that he attempted, and failed, to keep confidential.

There were numerous turns in his story, indeed, that it can be easy to overlook that absent his tremendous, generational talent, there would be no story at all.

Early Talent and Instincts

It was evident from his earliest days as a young apprentice that he had an instinctive rapport with the horses whenever Dettori was in the saddle.

Steeds performed for him, and improved for him. Back in 1990, he was the first teenager since Lester Piggott to reach 100 winners in one season, and also marked his emergence at the highest level with two Group One wins at Ascot, on the same card that he would dominate through unbeaten only six years later. The famous flying dismount, adopted from the American legend Angel Cordero Jr, was added to Dettori’s repertoire in 1994, and the thrill from riding a big-race winner has always stayed with him. Nor has the gift of sensing, with almost clairvoyance, where to position, when to strike and where openings will appear.

The Future Ahead

But what now for the public face of UK horse racing? It won't be simple to step away completely, whether or not Dettori pursues his apparent desire to accept some mounts in South America, something that he always wanted to experience”. It is not, in fact, 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 an international ambassador with the soccer agent Kia Joorabchian's growing Amo Racing enterprise. Dettori told racing presenter Matt Chapman last Friday this was the main reason for his departure now, as well as being able to conclude at the Breeders’ Cup. “Such chances don’t come along, frequently. I appreciate the structure – this is a young team with huge goals,” explained the jockey.

Joorabchian, himself, was effusive in his compliments for his new ambassador on Thursday at Del Mar. “He is an icon, he is a true legend of the sport,” Joorabchian said. “When discussing elite athletes like LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Messis and Pelé and similar figures, Frankie represents that to 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 entertain people, he's here to work and he will working with us closely. He will be involved in every area of our operations [but] he won’t be a racing manager. He is a global ambassador.”

Reality TV are another option, although earlier outings on Big Brother and I’m A Celebrity … have tended to reveal a more somber aspect 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 will do and how to spend his time once his race-riding days ends. And for at least 24 hours at least, he remains an elite professional jockey, focused on three rides at one of the globe's prestigious and glamorous events on the schedule.

The Final Ride

A five-year-old mare named Argine will be his last top-level ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile, the same race where he achieved his initial Breeders’ Cup win back in 1994. Her form at home in Japan suggests that she has something to improve to compete, yet few jockeys in history have ever excelled in big moments like Lanfranco Dettori.

For one final time, cue Frankie?