More than a century ago, African-Americans were the dominant riders in the world of thoroughbred racing.
Six of them won the Kentucky
Derby in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Isaac
Murphy and James Winkfield being the most prominent. Thirteen of the 15 riders
in the first Derby, run on May 1, 1875, and won by Aristides, were
African-American, and African-American jockeys won 15 of the Derby’s first 28
runnings. In the mid-19th century, the New
Wave in racing was contract riders, jockeys who rode exclusively for certain
stables. Eddie Arcaro and Steve Brooks were mainstays with the legendary Calumet
Farm, which won the Derby eight times, from 1941 with Triple Crown winner
Whirlaway, to 1968, with Forward Pass, who was moved up over the horse that
crossed the wire first, Dancer’s Image, through a medication disqualification
that remains controversial 40 years later. It’s a different ball game
these days. With countless intricate intangibles interspersed in
obtaining a rider’s services, you can’t tell which jockey is riding a horse
without a program. Trainers—and owners—select a rider by all manner of
considerations: skill, availability, personality and representation being
foremost. It’s rare these days when a jockey rides consistently for one
trainer. An exception is trainer Brian
Koriner and jockey Aaron Gryder. They are as inseparable as Itchy &
Scratchy, although their relationship is far less violent. Gryder has ridden for Koriner at
almost every opportunity at Santa Anita this meet, more than 81 percent of the
time. The 41-year-old Koriner has sent out 21 horses, and the 37-year-old Gryder
has ridden 17, winning once, with seven seconds and one third. It began as a business
association and has developed into a comradeship. "We’re friends off the
race track, but it was fast horses that got us close enough to be friends,"
Gryder explained. "I rode the first horse for him at Del Mar in 2006 and I
think I won on five of the first eight he put me on. Until that time I had never
spoken with him. In fact, I had never worked a horse for him before, but that
was a good introduction to a friendship. It’s a lot easier to get close to
somebody when you’re winning together. Since then, he’s been my biggest
supporter." That doesn’t hurt, especially
when you’re competing at the deepest colony in years, one that has already
seen the departure of respected veteran Clinton Potts and world-class newcomer
Julien Leparoux. "No matter how my business
has been, I know I can always rely on Brian to have some business for me,"
Gryder said. "We just have a good working rapport. We understand what each
other wants. If I ride a bad race or he thinks I didn’t ride a perfect race,
we talk about it and we’re fine with it. We learn from it. He’s been great
for my business and he’s become a great friend." That’s an anomaly. Most
contemporary trainers find it beneficial to play the field. "The advantage of using
different riders depends on what type of style you think might fit a certain
horse, one that has a quirk or two about him," said trainer Mike Machowsky.
"But a lot depends on what jockey or agent you have a rapport with, and who
the owners are happy with. "Generally, if you run a
horse, you like for the same rider to get back on him next time out, especially
if the horse runs well. You’d hate for a rider to take off, but a lot of
times, jocks will get on a horse in the mornings, so they have an idea as to
whether they want to ride it in the afternoon. "If you run a horse with a
low-profile rider, often owners will push for a high-profile rider. They bring
their friends to the track and they’d love to have their picture taken with a
guy like Garrett Gomez. They think their chances of winning are better because a
name rider is on their horse. But that’s not always the case. There are lots
of young riders who haven’t made a name for themselves yet who are pretty good
at this stage." The homestretch ”¡ Corey
Nakatani is expected to miss several weeks after breaking his right collarbone
in a training mishap aboard an unraced filly trained by Kristin Mulhall at
Hollywood Park Saturday. The filly, nicknamed "Dolly," broke her right
front cannon bone and was euthanized. ”¡ One of the West Coast’s
leading Kentucky Derby contenders after his smashing win in the San Rafael
Stakes, undefeated El Gato Malo (the bad cat) was one bad son of El Corredor
before he was gelded. "That’s why we did it," said trainer Craig
Dollase. "Before that, you didn’t want to mess with him." ”¡ If you think the Cowboys fell when they were
upset by the New York Giants, it was nothing compared to the plummet Super Bowl
ratings took by losing a prospective match between the Patriots and America’s
Team.
