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Posted On: 06/10/2018 8:29:33 PM
Post# of 27272
dw, Justify's jockey, Mike Smith was the leading jockey at my local horse track Canterbury Park in 1987. He was also the leading rider at Turfway park in Kentucky, another mid sized track, money wise.
I was at Vegas the next winter simulcasting other horse tracks. Mike was at Aqueduct and had a ride on MD's Red in a mile race. The horse would always get the lead, then fade to 3rd or worse. Mike got him to win somehow. The some other players at the sports book were saying, "Who is Mike Smith", he won on a horse the big named jockeys could not win with. I told them about being the lading jockey at two smaller tacks and trying to move up. My guess is that win on MD's Red got him a lot of rides and was a springboard to his success.
Bottom line though, he is a nice guy. I am happy for him. He is now the oldest athlete to win something like that. Jack Nicklaus won the Masters at age 46, for an example.
https://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm...p;eID=1770
I was at Vegas the next winter simulcasting other horse tracks. Mike was at Aqueduct and had a ride on MD's Red in a mile race. The horse would always get the lead, then fade to 3rd or worse. Mike got him to win somehow. The some other players at the sports book were saying, "Who is Mike Smith", he won on a horse the big named jockeys could not win with. I told them about being the lading jockey at two smaller tacks and trying to move up. My guess is that win on MD's Red got him a lot of rides and was a springboard to his success.
Bottom line though, he is a nice guy. I am happy for him. He is now the oldest athlete to win something like that. Jack Nicklaus won the Masters at age 46, for an example.
https://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm...p;eID=1770
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