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.nil I JOCKEY ERIC GUERIN i : : , , OReilly on Racing Guerin Eager to Ride Some Of Native Dancer s Children By TOM OREILLY JAMAICA. L. I., N. Y., May 9. — Eric Guerin, one of Americas richest jockeys, finds himself in a peculiar position these days. Alfred Vanderbilt. his contract employer, has sold most of his horses and is only, racing a small string out West. Instead of cutting in on those big purses hung out for Native Dancer, Guerin now is waiting to ride The Dancers children. "Mr. Vanderbilt hopes to be back next year." said the dark, brown-eyed Guerin, in his soft Cajun accent. "Hell have a lot of two-year-olds and. of course, some of them will be by Native Dancer. I can hardly wait. Mr. Vanderbilt said I could have the job of riding for him as long as I wanted it." Guerin, who has been riding for 16 years, says the departure of the Vanderbilt stable has not been too tough on him. ■Riding this way has its good points and its bad points. It doesnt hurt too much. Last year I had several chances to ride Summer Tan. who wound up on top, but, of course, I had to give them up to ride Find for Mr. Vanderbilt. You see all he had last year were a few older horses — Find. Flotsam. First Glance and Crash Dive — and some two-year-olds." . Does he have much trouble making weight? "Yes, I do," smiled the 33-year-old rider seriously. "I always have. I can make 115 all right and— in a pinch 114. For some str?nge reason its tougher to do in the winter time down in Florida. Its not too tough here in the summer, if I watch myself, but I must watch myself carefully. "A lot of jocks tell me that making weight is tougher in Florida than up here. I dont know why but maybe its the air. You see that salt air makes you thirsty. And it seems to stay with you more down there than it does up here. Dr. Kaye put me on a diet back in 1947 when I was in the hospital with a fractured vertebrae, after a fall at Belmont Park. I more or less guide myself by that diet. 1,000 Calories Per Day "It limits you to 1,000 calories a day. You can eat normally enough. A light breakfast, lunch and dinner but you must select your foods. Pick you meat and vegetables. No starches. If you do that you can eat normal portions. I never hit the road but I do get in the sweat box at times. In Florida two or three of the boys hit the road but most of them use the box. I find the box easier than running in that rubber suit." Why didnt he go west with the stable? Guerin grinned again. "Listen, man, its tough enough riding out there with a good stable let alone a pick-up bunch like this. Remember, youve got riders like Johnny Longden. Willie Shoemaker. Ralph Neves and Ray York booking rides against you. Theyre popular men and naturally get most of the work." Guerin hasnt made as much money, to date, this year as he did last but he says: "The seasons young yet. Its not too tough. You see. these are just about the smallest spring fields anybody has ever, seen at Jamaica. And that cuts down on your riding chances." Up to this writing, Guerin has had 100 rides and been in the money 39 times with II victories, including Wednesdays Rose-dale winner, Poly-Hi. Biggest stakes hes ridden in, thus far, has been the Wood, where he handled Joe W. Browns Tenacious. The horse just didnt have it. He is scheduled to ride Greek Spy, for Mrs. C. U. Bay in Saturdays Grey Lag Handicap. Guerin, like so many other jockeys, expressed sympathy for Willie Shoemaker, after he committed that 00,000 boo-boo in the Kentucky Derby, misjudging the finish line on Gallant Man. "Anybody could make that mistake." he said. "Yoknow you cant just concentrate on the finish line when youre comin down that stretch. You have to work on your horse, too. It would be a real help if they moved the finish line back even with the winners circle." Well, if they really want to fix it up. why not bend the whole track around and make it a straight-away, just for the boys? I must speak to Bill Corum about this. In the meantime I wish Mr. Guerin, one of our more personable riders, better luck this year. The end!
