There must be a dearth of soccer news because the mucky-mucks at the NYT have decided to give Joe Drape an assignment and feature a Derby-themed story and run it on the first page of today's sports section. Joe might even be allowed to go to the Derby, but let's not get too excited yet.
Today's story is about the jockey Kendrick Carmouche, a more than capable jockey on the NYRA circuit who is a fantastic "gate jockey," one who can break a horse out of the gate and take the lead if they want to. I don't know if there are statistics on front-running victories, but Kendrick would be up there with the leader, if not the leader.
I remember a jockey in the late '60s, early '70s who was also considered a great gate jockey, John Ruane. I think he'd ride for Hobeau Farm, Jack Dreyfus's stable whose horses were trained by the great Hall-of-Fame trainer Allen Jerkens.
Jerkens usually had more sprinters than routers, and with Ruane getting a great jump on the field he established a advantage as soon as the flag was waved. In those days, there was a flagman at the starting gate who waved the flag just as the horses got a little past the gate. This was to indicate that the timing should start. Times were based on a running start. "The flag is up" was always the word that the gates were about to open. I spent many a Saturday at Aqueduct cursing Ruane when I didn't have him.
Joe's story today updates us on Kendrick's origins from the bush tracks in Louisiana, to being a meet-leading rider at Aqueduct. His journeyman father was also a jockey who taught him everything.
Apparently in 1990 Kendrick's father Sylvester pulled a stunt that vaguely sounds familiar. It fittingly cost him his jockey's license. As Joe tells us:
"On January 11, 1990. a thick fog settled on Delta Downs in Vinton. La. and Sylvester Carmouche could barely see the nose of his horse, let alone the one competing alongside him in the 11th race. Sylvester aboard Landing Officer appeared to win easily.
Perhaps too easily.
Landing Officer , a 23-1 long shot. won by almost 25 lengths and nearly tied the track record for a mile race. Afterward, the track veterinarian noticed that neither horse nor jockey seemed winded or dirty. [This would be called a clue.]
Sylvester Carmouche was accused of slipping Landing Officer out of the race near the start, hiding in the fog until the other horses rounded the track and then charging back into the race, ahead of the pack near the final turn. The Louisiana Racing Commission found him guilty and suspended him for 10 years."
From one of the American Racing Manuals I keep I looked up the configuration of Delta Downs. It is a 6f (¾ mile) "bull ring" track, with a 1 1/16 chute on the grandstand side. Thus, a mile race would start in this chute, lead into the oval, and go once around to complete the mile distance.
Sylvester would have had to enter the starting gate with Landing Officer, leave it in no hurry, and then park himself at the top of this 6f track's stretch, wait for the field to get near enough to him that he thought if he just jumped into the race no one would see him. That's some fog.
Since the starting gate would likely stay in the chute, the crew would not have to move it for the horses to complete their circuit, thus they would have no chance to see Sylvester idling at the top of the stretch waiting to jump in.
Basically, Sylvester did what Rosie Ruiz did in the 1980 Boston Marathon: start the race, leave the course, ride the subway to get off near the finish line, and then jump into the race and run to the finish line. She was declared the female winner, probably much to her surprise. She probably only really wanted to cut the course, but she was stuck with the consequences of her miscalculation of when to jump in.
Rosie was outed when Bill Rodgers, the male winner, didn't feel Rosie looked enough like a female marathoner. She didn't look tired. A review of the race stripped Rosie of the title eight days later. Rosie never competed again.
There can be thick fog, or even snow, that descends over a race course. I've watched these races and the announcer tries their best, but basically gives up trying to call the race until they have a better visual of the race. The official chart puts SNOW, or FOG at the call points.
Since Mr. Drape's story is about Kendrick, there is no further detail about the father's winner in he fog. Reading one of the news stories after the legal proceedings were completed against Sylvester, it would appear that the stewards disqualified Landing Officer 15 minutes after the race when a jockey complained that Landing Officer didn't really run the full race. Sylvester had done a Rosie.
If that's the case, then there was no payout on Landing Officer, and therefore no one cashed in winning tickets on the horse at 23-1, a payoff in the neighborhood of $48. What would have been a betting coup was a betting dud. Someone would have been really disappointed.
I'd love to read the chart on the race. Every race is charted, giving running positions, leads over the other horses at call points, times, fractions, breeding, ownership, trainer, odds and payouts. There is always a running commentary on how the race took shape, with brief blurbs provided on each horse's effort in the race.
The Keeneland Racing Library has helped me out in the past when I did a posting on Career Lady, a mare who won with Dr. Fager-like imposts in Starter Handicap races at Aqueduct.
How nice it was this morning to open the NYT sports section and not have to read about the troubles in the world of soccer. Hopefully, Joe will be allowed to actually go to Churchill this year, since they are allowing a limited-size crowd there, and file more Derby stories.
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