134th Preakness Field Close to Set

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Originally Posted by DaHoss9698

Smith is a shell of his former self at this point in his career. I won't deny he has lost more than a few steps and he is no longer a go to rider. But, when he was riding Lure and Holy Bull he was at worst the second best rider in NY in my opinion.

People forget he was the leading rider in NY from 1991-1993. He won the eclipse in 1993 and 1994 as top rider. In 1994 he won 20 grade 1 stakes and a total of 68 stakes races, which at that time broke his own record for stakes wins in a year. There is a reason he was riding good horses, he was a very good jockey. I think he's leary of going inside now due to his horrific falls in 1998. I'm not making excuses for him treating the 4 wide path as the rail nowadays, but it wasn't luck that got him those mounts. He earned them.

Actually I agree, good citations of bringing up those stats from his good years. He was always in Bailey's shadow and whether one likes Bailey personally or not, no one could dispute he was a great rider. The difference from the 2 in my opinion is Bailey could make a difference in a horse's performance often bringing in the less superior horse, problem is you still wouldn't get fair value because people bet jockies. Mike's wide moves were also well suited for Belmont and I often wonder wouldn't N.Y be better suited for his riding style, Though I do understand why he moved due to declining mounts.