Mike and Gary: Best Friends!
Oct 27, 2013 12:30:23 GMT -5
Post by Evelyn on Oct 27, 2013 12:30:23 GMT -5
Pals Mike Smith and Gary Stevens saddle up for Breeders' Cup
Veteran jockeys, close friends for many years, are looking forward to competing against each other at Santa Anita next weekend. Both believe they are riding potential winners.
By Bill Dwyre
LA Times
Most people think next weekend's horse racing extravaganza at Santa Anita is the Breeders' Cup. It's actually the Mike and Gary Show.
They are Mike Smith and Gary Stevens, the Peyton Manning and Tom Brady of their sport. They are long in experience and tooth, star jockeys who have been around ... and around ... and around.
Each has won more than 5,000 races and millions of dollars in racing purses. Each has won each Triple Crown race at least once, Stevens three times each. Stevens has won eight Breeders' Cup races, Smith has the record with 17.
Each has been inducted into racing's Hall of Fame, Stevens in 1997 and Smith in 2003.
But the most startling numbers? Stevens is 50, Smith 48. Santa Anita's daily reporter, Ed Golden, calls them the Geritol Jocks.
While youth must be served in all sports, and always eventually is, the Friday-Saturday Breeders' Cup competition has the look and feel this time of a Veterans Weekend. The Geritol Jocks have cornered the market on much of the top thoroughbred talent in the field.
Barring last-minute injuries to horses or riders, Smith will ride in 12 of the 14 Breeders' Cup races, Stevens in nine.
For Smith, it would have been 13 of 14, but his entry in the $1.5-million sprint, Points Offthebench, broke down Saturday morning during a workout and had to be euthanized. Smith was aboard but was not injured.
Of his Breeders' Cup rides, Smith says, "I'm not on one horse that I don't think belongs."
Stevens echoes, "Every horse I'm on has a real chance."
In this Breeders' Cup, the wagering public might not need all those complicated forms and sheets. There will be only one race without a Smith or Stevens aboard. With $25 million in purses at stake, bettors who go for experience in the irons might experience heavy wallets.
The biggest Smith-Stevens showdowns will come in each day's featured races.
In Friday's Distaff, worth $2 million, Smith will ride the favored Royal Delta, and among his main competition will be Beholder, with Stevens aboard. In Saturday's Classic, worth $5 million, Game On Dude and Smith are expected to get the biggest bump from bettors, with Mucho Macho Man and Stevens close behind.
Smith says, "I am blessed." Stevens echoes, "I've been very fortunate."
They've also been like brothers for nearly 30 years.
Smith says, "I'm happy for both of us, and if I don't win, I hope he does." Stevens, in a separate interview, says, "He's family, probably my best friend in life."
They met at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas in 1985.
"It was my first $500,000 race," Stevens says.
It was also Smith's wedding day and he invited his new friend to the wedding.
"I got there late, with Eddie D [Delahoussaye] and they were closing the bar," Stevens says. "We got it opened up again."
Veteran jockeys, close friends for many years, are looking forward to competing against each other at Santa Anita next weekend. Both believe they are riding potential winners.
By Bill Dwyre
LA Times
Most people think next weekend's horse racing extravaganza at Santa Anita is the Breeders' Cup. It's actually the Mike and Gary Show.
They are Mike Smith and Gary Stevens, the Peyton Manning and Tom Brady of their sport. They are long in experience and tooth, star jockeys who have been around ... and around ... and around.
Each has won more than 5,000 races and millions of dollars in racing purses. Each has won each Triple Crown race at least once, Stevens three times each. Stevens has won eight Breeders' Cup races, Smith has the record with 17.
Each has been inducted into racing's Hall of Fame, Stevens in 1997 and Smith in 2003.
But the most startling numbers? Stevens is 50, Smith 48. Santa Anita's daily reporter, Ed Golden, calls them the Geritol Jocks.
While youth must be served in all sports, and always eventually is, the Friday-Saturday Breeders' Cup competition has the look and feel this time of a Veterans Weekend. The Geritol Jocks have cornered the market on much of the top thoroughbred talent in the field.
Barring last-minute injuries to horses or riders, Smith will ride in 12 of the 14 Breeders' Cup races, Stevens in nine.
For Smith, it would have been 13 of 14, but his entry in the $1.5-million sprint, Points Offthebench, broke down Saturday morning during a workout and had to be euthanized. Smith was aboard but was not injured.
Of his Breeders' Cup rides, Smith says, "I'm not on one horse that I don't think belongs."
Stevens echoes, "Every horse I'm on has a real chance."
In this Breeders' Cup, the wagering public might not need all those complicated forms and sheets. There will be only one race without a Smith or Stevens aboard. With $25 million in purses at stake, bettors who go for experience in the irons might experience heavy wallets.
The biggest Smith-Stevens showdowns will come in each day's featured races.
In Friday's Distaff, worth $2 million, Smith will ride the favored Royal Delta, and among his main competition will be Beholder, with Stevens aboard. In Saturday's Classic, worth $5 million, Game On Dude and Smith are expected to get the biggest bump from bettors, with Mucho Macho Man and Stevens close behind.
Smith says, "I am blessed." Stevens echoes, "I've been very fortunate."
They've also been like brothers for nearly 30 years.
Smith says, "I'm happy for both of us, and if I don't win, I hope he does." Stevens, in a separate interview, says, "He's family, probably my best friend in life."
They met at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas in 1985.
"It was my first $500,000 race," Stevens says.
It was also Smith's wedding day and he invited his new friend to the wedding.
"I got there late, with Eddie D [Delahoussaye] and they were closing the bar," Stevens says. "We got it opened up again."