Smith Goes Into Hall

The local jockey colony, which lost three Hall of Famers -- Chris McCarron, Eddie Delahoussaye and Laffit Pincay Jr. -- in less than a year, gained one back on Monday.

Mike Smith, who has been based in Southern California since the spring of 2001 after spending the last 12 years in New York, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on Monday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Joining Smith, who will turn 38 on Sunday, as the newest members were the late trainer Sonny Hine and thoroughbreds Precisionist and Dance Smartly.

Tied with Patrick Valenzuela atop the rider standings after the first 11 days of Del Mar, Smith has ridden more than 4,250 winners, 10 of them in the Breeders’ Cup.

Smith, a New Mexico native and the son of jockey George Smith, won two Breeders’ Cup races for the fourth time last Oct. 26 at Arlington Park near Chicago, taking the Distaff with eventual horse of the year Azeri and the Juvenile with 2-year-old champion Vindication.

“I was talking with Bob Baffert and he was trying to give me some advice about my speech,” Smith said. “He said, ‘The most important thing you do when you get up there is you have to start crying.’ And I said, ‘Bob, I’m sure I won’t have any problem with that, but if I do, I’ll just try to think back to last year when you took me off Vindication.’ ”

Carolyn Hine accepted the plaque for her late husband, best known for training Skip Away, a son of Skip Trial whom he bought for her birthday. Skip Away was the champion 3-year-old of 1996 and horse of the year in 1998.

“Sonny loved his horses, the racing world and his country,” Hine said. “He was one of a kind. He never failed to lend a helping hand. We did have a 38-year love affair.

“It could have been longer, but Sonny’s choice was his horses, his owners and his profession. I was fourth, but I accepted the role because he took such good care of me and because we had so much love and respect for each other.”

Dance Smartly, the champion 3-year-old filly of 1991, finished with 12 wins in 17 starts and earned more than $3.26 million. Accepting for the late Ernie Samuel, the man behind Sam-Son Farm, was his daughter, Tammy Samuel-Balaz.

“No one would have been more thrilled or touched by this recognition than dad,” Samuel-Balaz said.

Wanda Hooper, the widow of the late Fred Hooper, was the recipient of the plaque for Precisionist, a versatile performer who won 20 of 46 starts, including the 1985 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Aqueduct.

“Precisionist gave us tremendous pleasure and also some anxious moments,” said Hooper, who also thanked trainers Ross Fenstermaker and John Russell as well as McCarron, the horse’s regular rider. “Chris rode the horse beautifully. They were just a marvelous team.”

*

Trainer Bobby Frankel, who has won six of the first 12 Pacific Classics, will have two starters in the $1-million Grade I on Aug. 24.

Peace Rules, who went wire-to-wire to win the $1-million Haskell on Sunday at Monmouth Park, and two-time Santa Anita Handicap hero Milwaukee Brew will try to give Frankel another win in Del Mar’s richest race.

After the Haskell, Frankel had indicated that Peace Rules might join Empire Maker, who lost as the favorite in Sunday’s Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga, as a starter in the $1-million Travers on Aug. 23 at Saratoga. But he said Monday morning that the 3-year-old will run in California instead.

If the son of Jules, who is owned by Ed Gann, was to win the Pacific Classic, he would become the fourth 3-year-old to do so.