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light ugiiL vi of day uay nam » — _ , ♦ Nqgler on Racing American Racing Manual Is Handy Book to Have Around By BARNEY NAGLER JAMAICA, L. I., N. Y., May 15.— The locker assigned to Ted Atkinson in the jockeys room is down a way from the door, in a line leading to a window, and the light ugiiL vi of day uay frames nam es a a Dad paa oi of burnt Durnt orange-colored oranec -colored naner paper hooked hrw-iir tn to th the cn-iiiumi-ir grillwork es a a Dad paa oi of burnt Durnt orange-colored oranec -colored naner paper hooked hrw-iir tn to th the cn-iiiumi-ir grillwork opening. Each morning, Atkinsons hired hand lists the riders mounts for the day on the pad. When Atkinson arrives for work he cheeks the pad to learn how many mounts he will be riding. Atkinsons pad is heavily penciled because the articulate jockey is one of the busiest riders in the country. Indeed, a hasty opinion would be that he rides more races than any other boy in North America. This is an erroneous impression. The busiest rider last year was Johnny Heckmann, who handled 1,496 horses in competition. Poor Ted has to be content with only 1.394. A visitor in the jockeys room wouldnt believe the statistics of Atkinsons enterprise, however, and a man working in the dress- i ing chamber said, "Thats what we thought last year, that Ted was the busiest jockey around. But it wasnt like we thought." "What it like?" "«»w was nac xv ii.rk.xz: "«»w was nac xv ii.rk.xz: "It was the way we told you, 1,496 rides for Heckmann and 1,394 for Atkinson ■ How many riders have more than 1,000 mounts a year9" Ad"IdwSAyf?0t m°re than 20" a fellow said* "The Americ ™ Racing Manual, was n produced. A finger down n produced. A finger down ran the records off riders who had won one race or more in 1956. "Its like I said," the man with the finger said, "only 26 riders had more than a thousand mounts last year. Atkinsons among em." "Ill bet," a valet said, that Atkinson rides more favorites than any rider in the country." "Even more than Arcaro?" ."Even more than Eddie," a fellow said. "Arcaro wins more races, but Atkinson seems to get more favorites. Youve got to give him credit. Hes in there pitching all the way." Choquette Hod 907 Mounts in 1956 Just then Johnny Choquette passed by, on his way to the hot box. a towel draped his middle. He is a bony faced lad who is frugal verbally. "Take Johnny here," somebody said. "Hes a busy fellow, but how many rides do you think he had last year?" "Choquette," a valet said, "had more than a thousand." "Wrong by almost a hundred. He had 907. Rode a winner one out of every nine times." "Thats an average average, you might say," a visitor said. "Its average, that is, for good jockeys. Some of the owners fall behind, but the top ones keep going that way." The visitor turned from the group gathered in front of Atkinsons locker. He went down the room a piece and encountered a valet who was busy applying black polish to a riders boots. "I heard the talk up there," the valet said. "Let me tell you something. I remember, when I first came to New York, they didnt have eight races a day. Had -six week days and seven Saturdays, and a jockey Mas lucky to ride 500 a year, not « more than a thousand, like now." "Was that the only difference in racing?" | "Oh. theres a lot of difference," the valet 3 said. "When I came to New York, in 1927, C the people in the business were different, v Continued on Page Forty-Nine Nagler on Racing Continued from Page Four A lot of them are still around, racing the old colors, but a lot have died off and the owners are spread all over, the place." "Is this good or bad?" "I guess its good. I guess the whole base of racing is broad now, not like it was before. Before, people didnt have money they have now and they couldnt have the fun of a day at racing. The place wasnt as crowded." "And pari-mutuels werent in." "Oh, no. In those days theyd run the races off real fast, and the jockeys used to take their horses up to the wire without todays post parade. Before you knew it the horses were off. Many a guy was left trying to get a bet down them days." "Was that good?" "Jt was different. Racings better run now than its ever been. Everybodys got a shot at the good things in it. You take that horse Nah Hiss that Jules Schwartz has entered in the Preakness. Schwartz is a fellow who owns the company that cleans up at 21 tracks. Hes got a horse good enough for the Preakness." "Is it a good horse?" "Fellow bred it himself," the valet said. "I think Waymark, his dam, js Schwartz , own horse. But it would be wonderful if Nah Hiss could pull a miracle at Oimlico. And it wouldnt be a miracle. That horse has shown good form." "Usserys riding him, isnt he?" "Thats right. Hes a kid thats been t going great here this year, leading the ■ riders. You were talking about guys riding more than 1,000 mounts. He had more ■ than a thousand last year. Not as many as I Atkinson, but enough. Enough to keep • him busy."
