HORSE RACING : Conditions for Shoemaker’s Final Ride Really One for (Rule) Book

The California rules of racing deal with everything from the feathered tips of leather whips to license fees and lip tattoos. But nothing in the more than 2,000 regulations cover the curve thrown by Santa Anita when it announced the conditions for Bill Shoemaker’s final ride.

Backed into a corner by a national television commitment and a massive advertising campaign, track management needed to nail down every conceivable worst-case scenario that might prevent the 58-year-old Shoemaker from fulfilling the final engagement of his 41-year career.

Short of wrapping Shoemaker in cotton and storing him in a vault until the big day arrives, the promoters have to hope that lightning won’t strike the 4-foot-11 jockey between now and a week from Saturday, when his final ride will be televised as part of ABC’s “Wide World of Sports.”

Still, in their darkest dreams, track officials feared that a last-minute snafu could deflate the event and embarrass Santa Anita on national TV. There is always the possibility, in any given race, that a horse might not make it to the starting gate because of injury or unsoundness. And since Murphy’s Law is still on the books, there is a chance that horse could be Shoemaker’s in the fifth race on Feb. 3.

Cliff Goodrich, Santa Anita president and chief operating officer, had to think the unthinkable in preparing for the last ride.

“What could be worse than to have 50,000 fans at the track and a national television audience watch Shoemaker hitch a ride back to the jocks’ room in the track ambulance if his horse was scratched?” Goodrich said.

To avoid such an embarrassment, the first and last running of the $100,000 Legend’s Last Ride at one mile on the turf carries a peculiar set of provisions. According to the entry form, participants must agree that their jockey could be replaced by Shoemaker any time between entries and post time if “the Legend’s” horse is scratched.

Conspiracy theorists had a field day the moment the race was announced. They envisioned Shoemaker’s longshot coming down with a mysterious virus on the morning of the race. The special conditions would be triggered and--presto!--Shoemaker lands on the race favorite.

The Santa Anita stewards required little imagination to anticipate possible abuses of the loosely worded conditions. It was their contention that the public should be aware of all possible variations.

Steward Pete Pedersen was not at all pleased when he read the original nomination form. “If I was a fellow betting the Pick Six that day, and all of a sudden I lost Laffit Pincay or Chris McCarron in favor of Shoemaker, I think I’d have good reason to complain,” Pedersen said.

So, to mollify the stewards and attempt to short-circuit criticism, the track tightened the specifics of the Legend’s Last Ride.

“Shoemaker and his agent will do what they’ve always done and try to get him the best possible mount from the list of nominees,” Goodrich said. “At the same time, they will also line up a second and third preference.

“Everything will be published on the day entries are taken,” Goodrich added. “The public will be aware of not only his first choice, but his two alternate choices as well, listed as preference A and preference B. We’ve tried to think of everything, and this seems the fairest to everyone.”

But what happens to the jockey bumped by Shoemaker in case Shoemaker’s horse is scratched? Is he out of luck if Shoemaker wins or gets a part of the purse?

Racing secretary Tom Robbins said: “Some precedent was set last summer at Canterbury Downs. When Shoemaker went there for a special day, he replaced three riders already named on horses. Shoe just signed over any purse winnings to those riders.”

In his column in last Monday’s New York Times, racing reporter Steven Crist suggested the local jockeys would go out of their way to make sure Shoemaker was a winner in his last ride.

“Does anyone really believe that the other jockeys in the Legend’s Last Ride . . . will fulfill their legal requirement to put forth their best effort to win?” Crist wrote.

While a healthy streak of cynicism is a valuable asset for any horseplayer, the thought of Pincay or Alex Solis pulling a horse to let Shoemaker beat them one more time on national television was not taken very seriously by the local riding fraternity.

“Hah! Very funny,” Gary Stevens said. “On second thought, I think that makes me mad. Kind of an insult to our integrity, don’t you think?”

Russell Baze was already counting on getting a chance to spoil Shoemaker’s final day. “The guy who beats him in that race will be immortalized,” Baze said. “He’ll be remembered forever. Maybe not too kindly, but that doesn’t bother me one bit. He’ll be on his own out there, just like always.”

Pincay is Shoemaker’s best friend among the active California riders. Surely, Pincay will give Shoemaker a break on the day of his last hurrah.

“I’ll be rooting for him before the race,” Pincay said. “And if he wins, I’ll be very happy. But if it comes down to him or me, of course I’ll try to beat him. This business is too tough for it to be any other way.”

Shoemaker himself feigned shock and indignation at the thought of a tainted final ride. Asked if he thought the other riders would give him a break, he said, in mock horror: “Why, that would be unfair. Anyway, I can’t believe these guys feel too sorry for me.”

Horse Racing Notes

After jogging three miles a day for a week, Kentucky Derby future book favorite Grand Canyon began a regimen of daily 1 1/2- to two-mile gallops Wednesday at Santa Anita. Trainer Wayne Lukas has circled the March 18 San Felipe Handicap for Grand Canyon’s debut as a 3-year-old. . . . One of the first nominees to the Legend’s Last Ride was 1989 North American grass champion Steinlen. Jose Santos has the mount if Steinlen runs.

Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Prized could make his first start of the year in the $1-million Santa Anita Handicap on March 4, according to Barry Irwin, Clover Racing Stable spokesman. The 4-year-old colt is in training at Hollywood Park with Neil Drysdale. . . . La Centinela Stakes winner Fit to Scout and Pasadena Stakes winner Special Happening head a field of six drawn for the seven-furlong Santa Ynez Stakes Saturday.

Dept. of Numerology: On Wednesday, security agent George DeWitt spotted a fan in Santa Anita’s paddock gardens staring at the blackboard used in the Handicappers’ Forum, copying the selection numbers onto his program. “Sir, those picks are from last Sunday’s card,” DeWitt said. “I know,” the fan replied. “But sometimes the same numbers come up again.”