Top Jockeys to Guide Pimlico Special Favorites

Mike and Jerry.

Sounds like a couple of cartoon characters, or maybe a brand of ice cream.

But in horse racing, the names Mike Smith and Jerry Bailey are synonymous with the best riding on the East Coast. The two jockeys have replaced Angel Cordero Jr. as the dominant force at the New York tracks and periodically grab national headlines.

Saturday, they will bring their traveling stakes show to Pimlico Race Course when they ride the two heavily backed favorites in the Pimlico Special.

Smith snags the titles -- double Eclipse Award winner in 1993-94, symbolic of the national riding title.

But Bailey gets the money -- at least in the sport’s most visible races -- being a three-time winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic and a winner in each of the Triple Crown events. Last weekend, he was second in the Kentucky Derby after an aggressive ride on Tejano Run and will try again with the horse next Saturday in the Preakness.

At age 37, Bailey was recently elected to two Hall of Fames -- the National Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and the University of Texas sports Hall of Fame in El Paso.

“The only other jockey in there is (Willie) Shoemaker, so I feel pretty good about being in that company,” Bailey said of the Texas induction.

Smith and Bailey seem almost interchangeable.

“Both have good heads, good hands and horses run well for each of them,” says trainer Bill Mott.

They also take turns hopping on and off each other’s mounts, which is exactly what is happening tomorrow in the Pimlico Special.

“They’re friendly, but competitive,” Mott added. “They are both in the same game and after the same dollar.”

Smith once rode the Special’s 3-5 favorite, Cigar, for Mott. But when Smith committed to riding Devil His Due in the NYRA Mile last fall, Mott turned to Bailey and the rest is history. Cigar has since been invincible, winning four consecutive Grade I races by a total of 22 lengths.

The mount on Cigar was particularly fortuitous for Bailey after trainer Dick Small fired him this winter as Concern’s rider. Bailey won the $3 million Breeders’ Cup Classic with the Maryland-bred champion last fall. But Smith now has the mount, and Concern is the 2-1 second choice in the Special.

At the time, Small made a public statement that “a lot of things” contributed to Bailey’s firing. That was the last of the low-key trainer’s public utterances on the subject.

Bailey holds no grudges.

“It certainly took the burden of decision-making off of me if I had had to choose between the two horses,” he said.

Bailey describes the firing as a miscommunication.

“I worked the horse between races at the (New Orleans) Fair Grounds this winter (where Small wintered). They have two wires there and I wasn’t aware of it. I stood up on Concern a sixteenth of a mile too early. And after the work I had to ride a race and didn’t get a chance to see (Small).

“From what I’ve heard, he was pretty steamed. But to this day, I’m not sure why I lost the mount. I can speculate on a few things, but I’m not going to. I really like the horse. I like Dickie and I like Mr. Meyerhoff (the owner).”

Saturday, Bailey is expected to grab the immediate advantage on Cigar. The horse runs on or near the lead. He will come out of the 1-hole in a six-horse field that is devoid of any other true speed horse, and it’s quite conceivable Bailey will attempt to go wire-to-wire with Cigar.

“But,” said Mott, “the question is: Can my horse stay the whole trip? You never know what’s going to happen.”

One thing’s for sure: Concern, who rallies from off the pace, is trained to the minute and will come after Cigar in the stretch.

Bailey said he has no advantage because of his experience with Concern. “What I know about him, everybody knows,” Bailey said. “He comes from behind. There are no real tricks to riding him, except you have to be real patient.”

He did work Cigar at Belmont Park for Mott last week and believes the horse is as good as he’s ever been.

“I’ve only worked him six furlongs twice,” Bailey said. “Once before he won either the Donn or Gulfstream handicaps this winter. And now before the Pimlico Special; he worked just like he did down in Florida.”

Neither Smith nor Bailey has won the Special. Bailey’s best effort was second with Proper Reality to Blushing John in 1989.

Bailey said Pimlico holds a special place in his heart.

“It’s where I won my first Triple Crown race (the Preakness, with Hansel, in 1991),” he said. “The Special is a great race. It’s got a lot of history. I’ve never won it. That’s enough to get me inspired.”