John Pricci

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - When Jerry Dale Bailey officially announced his retirement at age 48 it was at once expected and surprising. The decision has been imminent for some time, especially when it was learned during the past Saratoga summer that he had signed with a theatrical agency. That the announcement came before he could become racing’s all-time earnings leader was a goal not realized but Bailey now will begin a new career as a racing analyst for ESPN/ABC Sports, starting with the Dubai World Cup broadcast in March.

Bailey’s last ride came on the Sunshine Millions program Saturday at Gulfstream Park where he began to fashion a Hall of Fame career two decades ago. Bailey was a natural on horseback and will be no less so on the small screen. He will bring to television what he brought to his craft; intelligence and timing. He will be as much at home in front of a camera as he was when most often its subject. He is the greatest race rider I ever saw.

No one can be sure of such things, of course. If you’ve watched riders for four decades, you understand how difficult it is to make comparisons, maybe even sophomoric. Best-of arguments don’t work because comparisons of athletes from different eras measure different skill sets and technologies. How exactly does one choose between Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio, compare Oscar Robertson to Michael Jordan, Bill Shoemaker to Bailey. By objective standards it’s impossible. Intangibles are in the eye of the beholder.

As a kid growing up in Queens, New York, Eddie Arcaro was the first great jockey I saw live, but teenage race watchers really can’t know what they’re seeing. I since have learned that race riding is a most dangerous athletic endeavor yet rife with subtlety and nuance. Anyone could see Arcaro’s strength and courage, slicing through narrow openings like every jockey that threads thousand-pound animals through slivers of daylight at 40 miles per hour. Arcaro would ride you this close, and never gave an inch.

He had great timing, as was demonstrated on Memorial Day, 1961, the day I broke my maiden at a thoroughbred track. The speedy All Hands was home, four in front with a sixteenth of a mile to go until Arcaro and Kelso roared down the center of the track. The grandstand shook all the way down to the track’s apron. Under 130 pounds, Kelso won the Metropolitan Handicap by a neck. Later that summer the team completed a sweep of the old handicap triple crown, winning the Suburban easily before Arcaro needed all his strength to push Kelso home in the Brooklyn under a steadying 136.

The lesson learned early is that jockeys are the most under appreciated and unsung of all athletes, the great ones raising their game when the stakes are highest. The best compliment you could pay a jock is to dub him, or her, a “money rider.” A jockey never can be in total control, depending instead on a highly strung four-legged creature capable of anything. No matter how long the race, a jockey never gets to call a time out to re-group, alter strategy, change momentum or freeze the opponent. Move right now, or finish second best.

After Arcaro came Manuel Ycaza, “Yak-A-Zak” to the bettors in Aqueduct’s section 3P. Fearless, he finished like the wide, dangerous many said, a reputation that followed him everywhere. On Memorial Day 1967, the great Dr. Fager was 3-10 to defeat three rivals in the Jersey Derby at old Garden State Park. Going wire to wire, Dr. Fager won by 6-½ lengths eased up but after an insufferably long stewards inquiry, he was disqualified for crossing over and crowding the field on the first turn. It was a marginal infraction that didn’t remotely alter the outcome but Ycaza would be punished for a needless display of intimidation. It was the last time trainer John Nerud gave him a leg up on “the good doctor.”

With a tip of the crop to the cool, collected and complete package of Braulio Baeza, the legendary timing Bill Shoemaker, the Herculean strength of Laffit Pincay Jr., the Job-like patience of Pat Day, racing’s greatest communicator on horseback, the skills and timing of Gary Stevens, Eddie “Money” Delahoussaye, the ultra consistent and athletic Chris McCarron, and countless other greats, Angel Cordero Jr. was the best I saw until Bailey came along.

No one in the modern era dominated a race like Cordero. He positioned himself wherever he wanted, his greatest gift the ability to ride more than one horse in a race. As aggressive as Ycaza only less dangerous, Cordero always pressured the competition, forcing one rival out, another in, making riders to react to him rather than concentrate on their mount. Cordero defined the term “race rider,” the ability to effect the outcome at almost any stage. But he was no innocent and two incidents stand out.

Cordero insinuated himself into the four-horse Travers of 1978 aboard a hopeless longshot named Shake Shake Shake. Cordero’s mount rode herd on Affirmed during the backstretch run efforting to take the Triple Crown winner out of the race. At once, the tack worked, then didn’t. Affirmed finished first but was disqualified and placed second for coming over on legendary rival Alydar, Pincay and Affirmed reacting to Cordero’s tactics with their own display of macho athleticism.

Slide show   Images of the Triple Crown See images from the 2005 Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.

Then, of course, there was Cordero’s winning ride aboard Codex in the 1980 Preakness that resulted in a lengthy investigation into the incident on the far turn where Cordero and Codex mugged Derby-winning filly Genuine Risk. Calling Cordero a fierce competitor is woefully understated. Then along comes the quiet intensity of Bailey.

It is doubtful Jerry Bailey would allow his son Justin to beat him in a game of jacks. Despite success in the high-life world of the jockey, Bailey’s desire to win drove him to drink, noted in last year’s autobiography, “"Against the Odds: Riding For My Life." With support from his wife Suzee and the determination demonstrated on the racetrack, Bailey continues to win a battle with alcoholism. In retirement he could become, like good friend Pat Day, a role model for those who battle personal demons. Whatever the game, don’t bet against him.

What separates Bailey in the pantheon of Hall of Fame riders is extreme intelligence, from pre-race handicapping that yields a winning game plan, to in-race adjustments, to perfect positioning. Bailey rides the sweet spot of every race. He understands the benefit of saving ground, building a career riding the rails. He studies his horse and trainer so that he knows what to expect when the going gets tough. He understands the competition and their tendencies better than anyone: Don’t go inside this horse, he lugs in; don’t go outside that one, he bears out. After two rides he could tell you whatever you needed to know about that day’s surface. Not only were his mounts seldom compromised by a track’s bias but he took winning advantage of such trends. After the race he could tell his trainer all he needed to know, usually direct and to the point.

But Bailey wasn’t easy. He devoured everything written about him and was known to call newspaper editors to point out minute factual errors, much less any perception that he made a mistake. Bailey made his championship bones and a small fortune riding turf horses for fellow Hall of Famer Bill Mott, becoming a household name aboard a Mott horse named Cigar. But when Mott slumped for a short period Bailey gave first call to greener outfits. He fired the agent that helped make him a star.

Slide show   The Week in Sports Pictures Manny messes up, the Tour takes off to Spain, Nomar returns and more. more photos

Jerry Bailey possesses the kind of intensity and drive for perfection that made him, for me, the best ever. His last important victory, the 2005 Breeders’ Cup Classic aboard Saint Liam, was a masterpiece. When Saint Liam turned right instead of left into the long, long Belmont Park backstretch after the race started, Bailey never rattled. Instead, he gathered his mount and sat quietly, calling upon Saint Liam at precisely the right moment. It was a ride that likely secured a Horse of the Year title.

Last year’s Classic was a prime example why Bailey was everyone’s first call in big races and on racing days that matter, riding for the Frankels, Bafferts, Motts and all the rest. Over the last two seasons, he has ridden for Mott almost as much as he had in the glory days of Cigar. So after making his decision, he approached Mott and asked him to save a winning ride for January 28 when family, friends and fans could be trackside to celebrate a legendary career in the saddle. As expected, that ride came in the last race of the day on the Gulfstream Park turf course; it was a winning ticket that goes uncashed.

MORE FROM HORSE RACING

Pioneerof the Nile retired with leg injury

Pioneerof the Nile retired with leg injury Dutrow suspended 30 days for drug violation   Video: Filly Rachel Alexandra wins Preakness thriller   Watch replay of Mine That Bird's victory Interactive: Triple Crown winners, near misses Vote: When will we see next Triple Crown winner? Equibase: Quick results from top tracks Equibase: Results ticker from top tracks Equibase: Top earners   Add Horse racing headlines to your news reader: