Santos Nips at His Heels as Stevens Bids for Riding Title

Gary Stevens, the popular 27-year-old jockey from Caldwell, Ida., who has been riding in Southern California for six years, is on a mission to deny Jose Santos a fifth straight national riding championship.

The drama of leader Stevens’ quest was heightened this month when Santos, who has been stationed in the East since his U.S. arrival from Chile in 1984, moved his base to Hollywood Park.

Stevens began Hollywood Park’s fall meeting, which commenced Nov. 7, about $700,000 ahead of Santos with purse earnings of approximately $12.5 million.

Santos’ agent, Frank Sanabria, believes Santos would have had an excellent chance of overtaking his Western rival had Santos remained in the East to ride days in New York and nights in nearby New Jersey. Santos nonetheless decided to go ahead with the move to Hollywood Park that had been planned for some time.

Santos still could turn the tide with a victory or two in some of the fall meeting’s major stakes. The $1-million Hollywood Futurity, for instance, offers a winner’s share of $550,000.

“Jose and I are very good friends,” Stevens said. “I really respect him as a rider. We have the toughest riding colony in the country, I feel, and it’s great to have Jose out here. I say that because I don’t think you can ever have enough good riders. It’s great to go out and ride with the best in the game. It’s a great challenge.”

On his success this year, Stevens said, “Everything basically has just fallen into place. Early in the year, we really didn’t have any goal to be national leader. I was still coming back from the broken wrist at Del Mar that cost me seven weeks and just trying to establish my business again. Then along about March, I was riding Mister Frisky, who won the Santa Anita Derby. We picked up Ruhlmann for the Big Cap. Boom, all a sudden, we’re $1 million in front.”

Stevens said it has been one of those years where everything really has fallen into place.

“Two months ago, for example, I had seven mounts for the Breeders’ Cup. It looked like I was going to have four that were going to be either the favorite or one of the favorites. It looked like I had a great shot to win maybe three or four Breeders’ Cup races. Within a month of the Breeders’ Cup, I was down to three horses, and it looked like my only legitimate shot might be with Golden Pheasant. He broke down the week before. Boom. There I was with nothing for the Breeders’ Cup. But then I picked up In The Wings five days before the Breeders’ Cup and we win the $2 million. It’s been that kind of year.”