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He Wanted His 10% of First Place, Not Second

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Times Staff Writer

A jockey agent’s main job is to make sure his clients get the best mounts. So Scotty McClellan, who was Chris McCarron’s agent when he was still riding, was a little concerned when he learned about the role McCarron was offered in the movie “Seabiscuit.”

“I called Scotty to tell him I’d been offered a part in a movie,” McCarron said at the Pasadena Quarterbacks Club luncheon Friday. “I told him they wanted me to play Charlie Kurtsinger, War Admiral’s jockey in his match race against Seabiscuit in 1937.

For the record:

12:00 a.m. Oct. 15, 2003 For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday October 15, 2003 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 0 inches; 35 words Type of Material: Correction
Horse racing -- Jockey Gary Stevens was thrown from his mount in the Arlington Million on Aug. 16. The date was incorrectly reported as Aug. 26 in a Morning Briefing item in Sports on Saturday.

“Scotty says, ‘Where does War Admiral finish in the race?’ I say, ‘Second.’ He says, ‘Hold on, let me make a call and see if I can’t get you on Seabiscuit.’ ”

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Trivia time: McCarron rode nine Breeders’ Cup winners. Who was his first?

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A time to bet: McCarron said he rarely bet on his mounts.

“I bet, maybe, 50 times,” he said. “I don’t get a charge out of gambling, unless it’s a Nassau out on the golf course.”

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Picture this: Another jockey, Gary Stevens, who is working as a guest analyst on the TVG show “The Works” this weekend, has sent out notice that he is looking for a particular photographer.

A tape of his spill aboard Storming Home at the Arlington Million on Aug. 26 showed that the horse was spooked by a photographer dressed in white who had strayed out onto the track.

“If his location can be found, well, let’s just say there is a bounty on his head,” Stevens told the Daily Racing Form.

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Tough crowd: When Oklahoma and Texas get together for a little football, as they will again today in Dallas, it’s really more than just a little football.

Texas center Jason Glynn has a grandmother in Oklahoma who razzes him about the Longhorns’ three-game losing streak against the Sooners.

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“This game means a little more to everyone,” Glynn told Associated Press. “Some of us have grandmas trash-talking if we don’t win.”

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Tough crowd II: Dania Ramos, a Yankee fan who moved to Boston from New York in late September, tried to stifle her cheers in a Boston bar Thursday during the Yankees’ 6-2 victory over the Red Sox.

“Is it hostile? Oh yes, it’s like a cult,” she said. “Everyone jumps down your throat. And then they all try to convert you.”

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A word of caution: David Letterman’s top-10 list, titled “Pieces of advice Gray Davis has for Arnold Schwarzenegger,” was presented by Gray Davis on Friday night. No. 9 on the list: “Body-building oil will stain the mansion’s Italian silk sofa.”

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Trivia answer: Precisionist in the Sprint in 1985 at New York’s Aqueduct.

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And finally: Pasadena City College’s football team dropped to 0-5 last weekend with a 44-20 loss to Palomar.

On Friday, Coach Tom Maher said, “You know the old line about a billion people in China who don’t care? ...

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“Well, this week I went by our campus gym and the Chinese Olympic youth basketball team was there, working out. And they came up to me and said, ‘You’re a loser.’ ”

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Larry Stewart can be reached at larry.stewart@latimes.com.

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