THOROUGHBRED RACING : Vote for Perret May Eclipse Stevens

The best way for a jockey to win an Eclipse Award is to lead the country in purses and, short of that, the next best way is to be No. 1 in races won.

In 13 of the 19 years that an Eclipse has been given to a jockey, it’s gone to the rider with the most money next to his name. Four other times, the jockey who won the most races received the Eclipse. Only two riders, Bill Shoemaker in 1981 and Pat Day in 1987, have won the Eclipse without leading the nation in either purses or wins.

In 1990, Gary Stevens’ mounts earned $13.8 million, second only to Jose Santos’ record of $14.8 million in 1988, but the betting back East is that Craig Perret will edge Stevens for the jockeys’ Eclipse Award.

Stevens, like other California racing figures and horses, has a built-in disadvantage at Eclipse time in that most of the 272 voters--turf writers, Daily Racing Form representatives and racing secretaries from most major tracks--are in the East. The deadline for voting is Monday, and all of the Eclipse winners, including horse of the year, will be announced on national television on Feb. 9.

Virtually the entire electorate knows Stevens, who won the Kentucky Derby with Winning Colors in 1988 and the Arlington Million and the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Belmont Park this year, but the California voters, who are most familiar with the 27-year-old jockey on a daily basis, are in the minority because there aren’t as many newspapers and tracks on the West Coast.

Perret, with only half the mounts that Stevens had, finished third nationally with about $11.7 million in purses, a total that includes the $1-million bonus earned by Unbridled, Perret’s mount, for doing the best in the Triple Crown races. About one-third of Perret’s victories came in stakes as he won 57 added-money races, tying the record set by Jorge Velasquez in 1985.

Stevens won about 90 more races than Perret. Unofficially, Stevens won 13 fewer stakes than Perret, but in major races, Stevens held a 10-6 edge. Perret won two $1-million races, the Travers and the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, plus the Kentucky Derby. Stevens won the Santa Anita Handicap, the Arlington Million and the Breeders’ Cup Turf, each worth $1 million or more.

It is a tough call for the voters, and to nudge some of them along, Roger Sutton, Perret’s agent, began calling turf writers a few weeks ago with friendly reminders of his rider’s achievements. Sutton even considered a mail campaign but abandoned that notion when he was warned there might be a voter backlash.

Stevens and his agent, Ray Kravagna, have been low-key, talking about the Eclipse only when it’s been mentioned to them. However, there was no doubting Stevens’ determination to outfinish Santos on the money list this year. In mid-November, Stevens went down in a five-horse spill at Hollywood Park, breaking an elbow. Estimates had Stevens sidelined for three or four weeks, but less than two weeks later, he was not only back in the saddle, but winning the Hollywood Starlet with Cuddles.

Stevens seems to be almost cushioning himself for the disappointment that would come with not winning the Eclipse.

“The money title was more important than anything,” he said. “That was the goal that we set for ourselves as far back as March. I’ve got no control over the other thing, the Eclipse Award. The money title is something I’ve accomplished on the track, and no one can take that away from me. No matter what happens, I’m comfortable with the year I’ve had. I’m proud of the fact that I’ve won all these races and all those purses without having one big horse behind me.”

Horse Racing Notes

Trying to continue his success into the new year, Gary Stevens will ride Stormy but Valid Saturday at Santa Anita in the $100,000 Las Flores Breeders’ Cup Handicap. Under Eddie Delahoussaye, Stormy but Valid won the race last year, running six furlongs in 1:08 1/5, a stakes record. . . . Stormy but Valid, who will be opposed by six other fillies and mares, carries 121 pounds, five more than Devil’s Orchid and Hasty Pasty.

When the incorrect number of the winning horse was posted on Santa Anita’s television monitors after last Friday’s first race, the track paid out more than $1,500 on a horse that hadn’t even finished in the first three. The mistake was corrected 62 seconds after the wrong number went up. George Haines, manager of Santa Anita’s mutuel department, said one bettor, realizing that he had benefited from the error, returned to a window and paid back $58. “He said it was money that he really didn’t have coming to him,” Haines said. “Truly an honest man.”

John La Follette, a member of the California Horse Racing Board, died of cancer last week in Newport Beach. He was 68. . . . Tex’s Zing, winner of the controversial Final Fourteen at Bay Meadows, was destroyed in Florida last month after being stricken with an incurable hoof disease. Tex’s Zing was declared the winner of the Final Fourteen when Ricky Frazier, first across the finish line with Alijeba, didn’t have the proper weight at the postrace weigh-in. The outcome is being appealed by Alijeba’s owner.

Laffit Pincay has hired Bob Meldahl, who becomes the jockey’s third agent since Pincay and Tony Matos split less than a year ago. Meldahl previously worked for Pat Valenzuela, who is serving a six-month suspension. . . . Lou Eilken, former racing secretary at Santa Anita and several other tracks, is listed in stable condition at Foothill Presbyterian Hospital in Glendora. Eilken is in intensive care with what has been called a bleeding condition. . . . Jane Goldstein, director of publicity at Santa Anita since 1976, has been given the new position of director of communications. The track plans to hire a media relations manager, who will work with the press on a daily basis.