Hall of Famers set to ride one more time

Angel Cordero Jr. (center right) playfully got to his feet when Laffit Pincay Jr. (center left) was introduced to the crowd at Santa Anita Friday (Benoit Photo) Retired Hall of Fame jockeys Angel Cordero Jr., Pat Day, Sandy Hawley, Julie Krone, Chris McCarron, Gary Stevens, Jacinto Vasquez, Laffit Pincay Jr., Eddie Delahoussaye and Jorge Velasquez were at Santa Anita’s Clockers’ Corner Friday morning as guests of the Oak Tree Racing Association in a prelude to Saturday’s Living Legends Race, which also will include Jerry Bailey. The 11 icons won a remarkable 71,872 races combined, with total earnings of nearly $2 billion. Delahoussaye, Pincay and Velasquez are serving as Living Legends ambassadors, while the other eight will ride in a seven-furlong allowance/optional claimer presented as the 4TH race on Saturday’s 10-race program. “When I first heard about it, I got goose bumps,” said McCarron, now 53 and proprietor of a jockeys’ school in Kentucky. “It’s not just an opportunity to get out there again in a race, but a race with the absolute best I ever rode against. Obviously, there are a couple of exceptions, like Laffit and Shoe (Bill Shoemaker) and Eddie, but it’s really exciting.”

“It’s nice to be here, and I’m glad I’m still healthy enough to ride,” the
64-year-old Vasquez said. “That’s all that counts. I’ve been ill a few times,
but I’ve been very fortunate to bounce back right away.”

“This is exciting to be with my old friends, to see them all in a group
together,” said Cordero, 65, fresh from exercising one of Bobby Frankel’s horses
at Santa Anita earlier Friday. “It’s great to see all the retired jockeys, even
the ones who are not going to ride here. I’m very happy about that, and I’m
looking forward to the race. I was going to ride Curlin (Smart Strike), but I
can’t do the weight.”

“It’s great to be back here on such a beautiful morning in Southern
California and renewing some old acquaintances and making some new ones,” said
Day, 55. “I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow and (I’m) really excited.
It’s really nice to be here.”

Ditto for the 45-year-old Krone.

“I’m very excited, obviously,” she said.

Hawley, 59, made the rounds on the backside of a track where the native of
Canada embellished his resume en route to the Hall of Fame.

“This is a wonderful occasion,” Hawley said. “Seeing everyone again is
inspirational and stimulating. This is something we won’t experience again.”

Stevens, along with Krone, the youngest of the Legends at 45, has been
working horses regularly and is race-fit.

“It’s nice to have everybody here,” the three-time Kentucky Derby
(G1)-winning rider said. “We’ve all been looking forward to it, sort of like a
little kid waiting for Christmas. It’s Christmas Eve right now.”

Jerry Bailey, 51, will be aboard the 5-2 morning-line favorite, Dee Dee’s
Legacy (Bartok [Ire]).

Coordinating and bringing such an unprecedented event to successful fruition
was a daunting challenge. The Legends Race germinated from the Breeders’ Cup
Legends Tour featuring Cordero, Day and Pincay.

“This is the toughest thing I think we’ve done,” said Oak Tree Director and
Executive Vice President Sherwood Chillingworth. “Getting everyone to agree to
participate, obtaining insurance policies, waivers, you name it, took a lot of
time and effort. There were a lot of hurdles to overcome, so I think it’s safe
to say that no one will ever be able to do this again. But everybody’s here, and
it’s going to be a great addition to our Breeders’ Cup celebration.”

The riders were licensed for competition at the California Horse Racing
Board’s office at Santa Anita Friday morning.

All 11 riders will be available to give autographs to the public from 11 a.m.
(PDT) until the first race, scheduled for 12:30 p.m. The signings will take
place in front of the saddling stalls in the Paddock Gardens.