THOROUGHBRED RACING : Picking Eclipse Award-Winning Jockey Is Toughest ‘Race’ on Ballot

The toughest part about the Eclipse Awards ballot for 1991 wasn’t the horses, it was the jockeys.

The names of the potential thoroughbred champions are easy to recite--Arazi, Pleasant Stage, Hansel, Dance Smartly, Black Tie Affair, Housebuster, Tight Spot, Miss Alleged and a few others forged the best records, won the most compelling races. Few of the divisional titles are arguable.

But the winner of the Eclipse Award for best jockey is hard to predict. A case can be made for several riders, and no matter whose name is in the envelope that will be opened in Las Vegas on Feb. 1, the winner will be a mild surprise.

It was not a year like 1977, when Steve Cauthen, as an apprentice, won 487 races and led the money list with a record $6.1 million in purses. Cauthen was rated at 1-9 odds to win the Eclipse. In 1980, Chris McCarron led the nation in both categories, dragging the voters in his direction. Similarly, Jose Santos was a clear choice in 1988, when he rode horses that racked up a record $14.8 million in purses.

This time, the vote will be scattered, and the winner may not even register a majority among the 300 or so who will cast ballots. To win an Eclipse, a horse or horseman need only attract the support of the three groups that vote--the turf reporters, the Daily Racing Form and the track racing secretaries.

Here are the leading jockeys, with reasons why they will or will not get someone’s vote:

CHRIS McCARRON

Upside--He finished with an unofficial $14.4 million in purses, second to Santos’ record year. He won major races in California, New York and New Jersey and had more than 40 stakes victories.

Downside--He may have been too late in passing Day, after many Eclipse votes had already been cast, even though the deadline isn’t until next Wednesday.

JERRY BAILEY

Upside--Aboard Hansel in the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, he won two-thirds of the Triple Crown, and cleverly rode Black Tie Affair to victory in the $3-million Breeders’ Cup Classic, the richest race of the year. Out of the saddle, Bailey was also visible as the president of the Jockeys’ Guild during its well-publicized insurance negotiations with race tracks.

Downside--He had only two other major stakes victories, discounting the $1-million Triple Crown bonus, and would have finished seventh instead of fourth on the money list.

GARY STEVENS

Upside--Of his 40-plus stakes victories, nine came in major races, more than anybody. California-based, he impressed New York voters with his work aboard In Excess in four important races at Belmont. He could receive support from guilt-plagued voters from last year, when he led nationally in purses but was routed by Perret in voting for the award. Stevens suffered quietly through trainer Wayne Lukas’ harsh criticism over the midseason ride that cost him the mount on Farma Way.

Downside--He lost the mount on Farma Way. And how can he win the award for finishing third in purses when he didn’t receive it after finishing first in the money race?

EDDIE DELAHOUSSAYE

Upside--Rode winners of eight major races, with victories in California, New York, Arkansas and Kentucky, and finished with more than $11 million in purses.

Downside--Nothing, and he even won a Breeders’ Cup race with Pleasant Stage. But his name is hard to spell.

The Flawlessly-Kostroma rivalry will resume Sunday in the $125,000 San Gorgonio Handicap at Santa Anita, provided rain doesn’t force the 1 1/8-mile stake off the grass.

Flawlessly, who won five of six starts for trainer Charlie Whittingham last year after shipping to California from New York, is the high weight at 123 pounds, one more than Kostroma. Others entered are Formidable Lady, Paseana, Colour Chart, Free At Last, Agirlfromars, Laura Ly and Reluctant Guest.

In their last meeting, the Matriarch at Hollywood Park on Dec. 1, Flawlessly won by 1 3/4 lengths, while Kostroma abruptly dropped out of contention and finished sixth. That was Kostroma’s first loss of the year after victories in the Osunitas Handicap at Del Mar and the Las Palmas Handicap and Yellow Ribbon at Santa Anita. Kostroma conceded three pounds to Flawlessly in the Matriarch, carrying 123.

In the Yellow Ribbon, Flawlessly ran second, her only loss in seven grass starts, with Kostroma winning by two lengths.

Chris McCarron, who has ridden Flawlessly in all of her California races, has the mount Sunday, and Kent Desormeaux will be aboard Kostroma again.

The Flamingo Stakes used to be one of the important stepping stones for the Kentucky Derby, but when Hialeah lost its traditional winter dates, the race disappeared after 1989, and now it must earn its way back to major status.

Coming today, the Flamingo is too early on the calendar to attract much attention, with the 3-year-olds having just barely observed their birthdays, but it’s still a $300,000 race, and trainer Wayne Lukas has shown up with two starters, Blacksburg and Choctaw Ridge.

That entry is the 3-1 morning-line second choice, behind Pistols and Roses at 5-2, in the 12-horse field. Pistols and Roses won the Everglades Stakes at Hialeah, with Blacksburg third, beaten by 1 3/4 lengths. Pistols and Roses gains 10 pounds off that race, to 112, but he still has a 10-pound edge over Blacksburg under the Flamingo’s allowance conditions.

Sunday at Hialeah, Itsallgreektome will make his debut as a 5-year-old, having drawn the inside post among the 16 horses in the $200,000 Hialeah Turf Cup. Itsallgreektome was the national male turf champion in 1990, then won two of 10 starts last year. Jorge Velasquez, the last jockey to win with him, has the mount.

Horse Racing Notes

Run Retsina Run, undefeated in four starts in Northern California, is the favorite today in the $100,000 California Juvenile Stakes for 3-year-olds, which will be simulcast to Santa Anita. . . . The marathon windup negotiations between race tracks and the Jockeys’ Guild for health and accident insurance coverage were conducted in a telephone conference call. “We got it settled just in time,” said John Giovanni, national manager of the guild. “I was about to wind up with cauliflower ear.”