Shoemaker Picks Up a Bonus From Owner

Bill Shoemaker has received a lifetime breeding right to Lord at War, but Peter Perkins, the owner of the Santa Anita Handicap winner, said Wednesday that the arrangement had nothing to do with which horse Shoemaker chose to ride in the $500,600 race.

Shoemaker, who had ridden both Lord at War and Greinton before the Big ‘Cap, picked the right horse as Perkins’ 5-year-old chestnut won the March 3 race by 1 3/4 lengths, with Greinton finishing second. Chris McCarron wound up riding Greinton. Both horses are trained by Charlie Whittingham, but Greinton has different owners, belonging to a partnership that includes Whittingham, Mary Jones Bradley and Howell Wynne.

“I don’t want this to cause any hard feelings among any of Charlie’s other owners,” Perkins said from his Wimborne Farm at Paris, Ky. “There was no squeeze put on Shoemaker behind Charlie’s back.”

After saying that, Perkins related this scenario in the days leading up to the ‘Big Cap:

Monday--”My wife, Diane, and I were agonizing over which horse Shoemaker would ride. We said to ourselves that we would scratch Lord at War if we didn’t get Shoemaker. He’s a perfect fit for this horse. He could sit up there and shuffle a deck of cards and still ride him.”

Tuesday--Perkins called Whittingham, who told the owner that the decision was in Shoemaker’s hands. “Either way, you’ll be all right,” Whittingham assured Perkins. “McCarron’s a good rider, too, maybe even better than Shoemaker at this stage.”

Friday morning--Entries for the Big ‘Cap were drawn, with Shoemaker being named to ride Lord at War.

Friday afternoon--The Perkinses arrived at Santa Anita. “It wasn’t until we got there that I knew Shoemaker was going to ride my horse,” Peter Perkins said.

Saturday morning--Perkins said that he was standing at Whittingham’s barn, looking at Lord at War when Shoemaker said to him: “Is there any chance you might let me breed to this horse a couple of times?” Perkins said he answered by saying: “You’ve got a (breeding) service with this horse as long as he lives.”

The day after the Big ‘Cap, Perkins said he sent a letter to Shoemaker, confirming the lifetime breeding right. “I hope Shoemaker continues to ride him as long as he’s on the track,” Perkins said. “But he’s under no obligation because of the breeding right. If he sees another horse in a race that he prefers to ride, he’s entitled to do it.”

Bradley, who lives in Santa Monica, said that she wasn’t aware of Shoemaker’s breeding right until Wynne told her it had been mentioned in an article in The Thoroughbred Record.

“I was surprised to hear such a thing,” Bradley said. “I’ve been in racing for 20 years, and it’s something I’ve never done.”

Perkins said he couldn’t estimate what the market value of Lord at War is now, adding that syndicate money is so tight that no attempt has been made to put together a breeding package for the horse.

The Daily Racing Form is going to be getting some competition in California.

Jack Cohen, publisher of Sports Eye, a New York racing paper that also runs detailed past performances of horses and charts of horses, says that his publication will be available to fans at Santa Anita “in a couple of weeks.”

Sports Eye has been in business since 1964, but its circulation area has consisted of New York and Maryland tracks until now. The newspaper claims that it outsells the Racing Form in Maryland.

Cohen said a 24- to 32-page issue of Sports Eye will be sold at Santa Anita (at a price of $1) and at off-track locations (probably for $1.25). The Form’s price is $1.75.

In July, 1983, Sports Eye filed a $10.5-million lawsuit against the Racing Form and Hollywood Park, charging antitrust violations. Hollywood Park has denied Sports Eye representatives admission to the track to chart races, something the newspaper has been able to do at other California tracks. The suit was postponed last year and isn’t scheduled to reach court until this November.

Cohen was asked how Sports Eye would be able to operate when Santa Anita closes on April 22 and Hollywood Park opens on April 24.

“Publishing out there will make it a little harder,” he said, “but somehow we’ll get the information. We hope to be able to sell the paper on the perimeter of Hollywood Park.”

Michael Sandler, publisher of the Daily Racing Form, declined to comment about Sports Eye’s publishing plans.

Racing Notes

Princess Rooney, champion older filly or mare last year, is scheduled to be bred to Danzig this year and Halo in 1986. . . . John Veitch will saddle his first horse in California when Aspen Rose starts Saturday in the $100,000 Santa Ana Stakes at Santa Anita. Aspen Rose is scheduled to be retired for breeding after the race. . . . Jockey Gary Stevens has bought a three-bedroom home with a swimming pool in Arcadia. Stevens came to Southern California from Longacres just to ride part of the year, but has had so much success that he’s decided to stay. . . . Albert Finney has five mares that are in foal to Seattle Slew. . . . The Pick Six will be introduced to New York racing when Belmont Park opens May 8. . . . New York horseplayers have until April 1 to cash $1.2 million in outstanding tickets from last year. After that, the money goes to the state.