THE CONVERSATION
Recently I had the distinct privilege of interviewing one of the top race riders of the last half century. It seemed like it all happened in seconds.
My brother Pat met Jose Santos at his workplace and called me immediately to discuss the possibility of an interview. I was floored. I said “of course, he is a legend.” Within moments I was on the phone with Jose. He said that he would be glad to do it. A few days later he joined me for lunch at my home. I had sent him a list of questions that I thought pertinent to his Hall of Fame career. During the interview he also added aspects of importance in a back and forth. The following are highlights of a conversation with a master of his trade.
IN HIS FATHER’S FOOTSTEPS
Jose’s story starts as a young teenager in his home country of Chile. His father Manuel was a jockey who rode at the bush league tracks that dotted the Chilean landscape. As Jose puts it, “My father was a lousy jockey. On the other hand, he was a great teacher.” To this day Jose credits his dad with giving him the tools that would take him to dizzying heights later in his career. At age fifteen Jose rode in his first race. For two years he plied the circuit that his father had before him.
His final appearances in Chile came at the country’s fabled racecourse Club Hipico de Santiago. Universally considered one of the most elegant palaces in horsedom, it is an architectural mixture of both Versailles and Longchamp. It was befitting that he would say his goodbyes to Chile from there.
A COLOMBIA EDUCATION
If you are under the impression that Jose’s education continued at the Ivy League Institution at 116th Street and Broadway in New York City, you are on the wrong page. Jose’s version of Columbia was a South American Country that had racetracks with larger purse structures than in Chile. There he was able to make a better living and sharpen the skills that were necessary to ride in the big time.
During 1983 a turn of events took place that would change the course of Jose’s career. After a six-year stint on the Colombia circuit Jose was offered the opportunity to ride a horse in a Stakes Race in Puerto Rico. When he arrived, the offer was rescinded. He was now in a predicament of choosing the right path for his future. Rather than staying put or returning to Colombia, he decided to take a shot at South Florida’s lucrative racing scene. He was an immediate success. Jose led all jockeys at the Gulfstream Park meeting and continued with his winning ways at Hialeah. It wasn’t long before Jose’s eyes were fixed firmly on New York and “The Big Time.”
ASSAULT ON THE BIG APPLE
Jose made his debut on the New York Circuit in 1984. In a short two-year span, he vaulted to the top of the list of money winning jockeys in the country. For the next four years beginning in 1986 he owned that title. The year 1988 was especially sweet. He broke the great Laffit Pincay’s record for money earned in one season with over fourteen million dollars in purse winnings. Jose Santos was now a very big star; a one man shows. With the massive success came perks. Jose was courted by top owners and trainers alike who demanded the best. In his native tongue he was now “Soy Numero Uno.”
RIDING CHAMPIONS
It is pretty much a standard question to put to a great jockey. I asked Jose who was the best horse he ever rode. He immediately answered, “Criminal Type.” It wasn’t a surprise. The last in the line of the legendary Calumet Farms champions, he beat many of the greats of his era. Count Sunday Silence, Easy Goer, Black Tie Affair, and Housebuster among them. So talented was this criminal, he easily heisted Horse of the Year honors for the year 1990.
When I asked him about Manila, arguably America’s greatest turf champion, you could see Jose’s face light up. He had memorable moments on this Hall of Famer. In fact, he piloted Manila to five consecutive victories. In the United Nations Handicap at storied Atlantic City Racecourse, Manila blistered that grass surface with a track record for the mile and three sixteenths under the urging of the Chilean Master.
ON THE FUNNY CIDE OF THE STREET
Jose shined in Triple Crown events. His first taste of victory came in the 1999 Belmont Stakes. He rode a colt named Lemon Drop Kid. The Kid was owned by Laddie Dance, fondly remembered for his outstanding skills as an auctioneer at the Fasig Tipton Sales, just yards from the home base of this publication.
It looked like the year of Charismatic. He had taken the first two legs of the Triple Crown and was looking to add the Belmont Stakes and immortality. Jose had other plans. Coming from way off the pace, he put the Kid in high gear and overtook Charismatic to claim his first Triple Crown race trophy. Four years later Jose Santos was about to become part of a horse racing fairy tale and all the fun that went with it.
Let’s set the stage. A consortium led by Saratoga resident Jack Knowlton, and an Albany businessmen Gus Williams, invested seventy-five thousand dollars in a New York bred gelding. In his first start he won a Maiden Special Weight event by fifteen lengths. He also took two stakes races in the fall of his rookie season. Jose was confident that he had a Derby contender. Funny Cide opened his sophomore campaign with a lackluster effort in the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream. He then headed to New Orleans where he finished a game third in the Louisiana Derby.
Next up, New York’s major Derby Prep, the Wood Memorial. Here Funny Cide showed vast improvement. He contended with the two-year-old champion Empire Maker and was beaten by only a half a length. This guy was peaking at the exact right time. For Jack Knowlton and his merry men, it meant only one thing. They were about to catch “Lightning in a bottle.”
On the first Saturday in May all roads led to Louisville for the one hundred and twenty ninth rendition of the Kentucky Derby. Empire Maker was favored to take home the roses. Funny Cide was overlooked by the betting public. He went to the post as a twelve to one longshot. The bell rang and Jose got the gelding off to a good start. He maneuvered his mount close to the pace and stayed that way down the backstretch and into the far turn. Then he began his move. At the top of the stretch Jose unleashed all the power and fury that churned beneath him. Midstretch, Funny Cide took the lead. Empire Maker made a futile run at him. It was too little, too late. Jose had captured America’s greatest horserace. Funny Cide had become the first New York State Bred to win it and the first gelding to prevail in the Derby since 1929.
Jose Santos, Jack Knowlton, his partners, and trainer Barclay Tagg, were sitting on top of the horseracing world.
The Funny Cide story was taking on folklore status. He and his connections had gripped the imagination of the sporting public. Now he was looking to take the Triple Crown for the first time in a quarter of a century. Funny Cide returned to his homebase Belmont Park as a conquering hero. He was “The Toast of the Town.” Over one hundred thousand fans came out to root for Funny Cide in the Belmont Stakes. Unfortunately, torrential rains had made the track sloppy. The fan favorite didn’t handle the surface very well. This time the tables were turned. Empire Maker got the best of him. The Funny Cide saga had ended, yet the legend would live on. Jose thoroughly enjoyed the run. In his words, “It was one of the most fun periods of my career.”
JOCKEYS, RACETRACKS, AND SARATOGA
I asked Jose who he thought were the top riders of his generation. Without hesitation he answered, “On the New York Circuit, Angel and Jorge.” To us mere mortals that would be Angel Cordero Jr. and Jorge Velasquez. As for racing in California, it was a no brainer. He answered almost in awe, “Laffit Pincay, the best.” As far as jockeys of today he rates the Ortiz brothers as the best out there. He is also high on Tyler Gaffilione. Jose sees an opportunity for greatness from this young star.
When asked about riding on the grass where he excelled, he had this to say. “Winning races on the turf demands a quality horse beneath you. The fields are so well matched that every extra step can be the difference in winning or losing.”
Another interesting point was made by Jose. I asked him the difference riding in California versus New York. He stated that New York riders gauge the race with their horses’ strong points and that the race materializes from there. In California the Jocks come flying out of the gate like kamikazes, as if they are riding a quarter horse. If you don’t follow suit, you find yourself out of the running quickly.
Jose found his stride and massive success on the New York racing scene. Without hesitation he lists Saratoga, Belmont, and Aqueduct as his favorite stomping grounds. He became hooked on Saratoga the first year he rode here and has been coming back ever since. That’s quite a statement from a man who has traveled the world.
LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE RECORD
Tammany Hall’s favorite son Al Smith, Governor of the Empire State during “The Roaring Twenties” coined this quotable slogan; “Let’s look at the record.” It’s time to look at the record of Jose Santos.
Let’s start with this mind-boggling number. Jose’s mounts earned in excess of 187 million dollars in purse money during his twenty-four-year career. In the four consecutive years that he was leading jockey in the country, his mounts took home an unprecedented 53 million dollars.
In 1988, he won an Eclipse Award for outstanding Jockey of the Year. He feels that he was worthy of two more in years that he led the country in both monies earned and stakes wins.
He got his career Triple Crown taking both the Derby and Preakness with Funny Cide, and the Belmont with Lemon Drop Kid. Add to that seven Breeders Cup winners, including the Breeders’ Cup Classic with Volponi in 2002. Of note to fans here at the Spa he took the 1999 Travers Stakes with Lemon Drop Kid. He also scored in the 1995 Whitney Stakes with longshot Mahogany Hall. His magnificent career ended in 2007 after a serious accident on the racetrack. The best was yet to come.
A WALK DOWN HISTORIC UNION AVENUE
Just six months after his career ending accident, it was time for Jose to reap the most coveted award of them all. He was to be inducted into the Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame. He, as so many of the all-time greats before him, walked down Union Avenue and into the brick building that was about to insure his immortality. He made a powerful, yet humble speech that drew a standing ovation from his fellow Hall of Fame members. The young kid from Chile had realized a lifelong dream. For that one memorable day in August of 2007 Jose Santos was again “Soy Numero Uno.”
