Gary Stevens

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When Millennium Wind and Point Given burst from the starting gate tomorrow in the 127th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, they'll carry jockeys who already have beaten the odds. That Laffit Pincay Jr. will be aboard Millennium Wind and Gary Stevens aboard Point Given is a testament to the riders' determination, discipline and addictive love of competition. Three years ago, Pincay's career hit the skids. He considered moving his tack from southern California to northern California or even Washington, where racing is minor-league.

This was for every guy who ever had a mid-life crisis and tried to do something nobody thought could be done. Fifty-year-old Jockey Gary Stevens took Oxbow to the front early and never looked back on the way to an upset victory in the 138th Preakness Stakes that was truly one for the ageless. Oxbow was a 15-1 shot when he left the gate, and he wasn't the one beating the longest odds at Old Hilltop on Saturday. Stevens became the first grandfather ever to win a Triple Crown race, and he did it against a Kentucky Derby winner - Orb - that was considered almost unassailable.

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- Ninety-two horses were entered for the Breeders' Cup -- 71 American, 21 European. For the first time there are European-based horses in every race. But the Florida heat is expected to hurt their chances, just as it did at Gulfstream in 1989 when the European contingent was winless.* Pleasant Tap is the lukewarm favorite to win the Classic. He has run in three previous Breeders' Cup races without winning. He was sixth in the '89 Juvenile with Eddie Delahoussaye riding; eighth in the '90 Turf with Jerry Bailey up; and second in the Sprint last year with Delahoussaye again in the irons.

He kept coming back, year after year, horse after horse, trying to get another victory in the Preakness Stakes before he was done. Going into the 138th running of the Triple Crown's middle leg, D. Wayne Lukas had tried eight times since Charismatic won at Pimlico Race Course in 1999 - with 12 different entries. The best any of his horses could do was third place - twice - with Proud Citizen in 2002 and Scrimshaw in 2003. But as the 77-year-old Hall of Fame trainer pointed out after 15-1 shot Oxbow took the lead nearly out of the gates and held off Itsmyluckyday by 1 ¾ lengths to give Lukas his sixth victory in the Preakness, even winning a record 14th Triple Crown race was not going to change his career plans.

1. Personal HopeHorse: He is big, determined and strong. His tactical speed suits the way the Preakness usually unfolds. The grandson of Northern Dancer held on well to finish fourth in the Kentucky Derby after battling pacesetter Storm Tower, who finished 16th.Owners: Lee and Debi Lewis. Lee Lewis, 41, operates a multimillion-dollar construction firm in Lubbock, Texas. He bought Personal Hope for $75,000 at the 1991 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale.Trainer: Mark Hennig. Hennig, 28, spent five years as a part of D. Wayne Lukas' stable, heading Lukas' Kentucky division.

Prince Ahmed Salman was home in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, yesterday afternoon. But his strategy suggestion was followed closely by jockey Gary Stevens as he rode Point Given to victory in the 126th Preakness. "Prince Ahmed is a horseman," Stevens said of Salman, a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family who heads The Thoroughbred Corp., a group of international businessmen from his country, Europe and the United States. "He understands horses and the bit about strategy. He loves strategy."

This was supposed to happen, Gary Stevens said. So it makes sense that Stevens didn't act giddy after he'd ridden Point Given to victory in the Preakness yesterday. Instead, the 38-year-old jockey spoke calmly and sipped on a beer while attendants in the barn removed his silks - caked with dirt that covered green and white stripes - so they could be shipped back to his home in California. It was Stevens' first Triple Crown victory since returning from knee injuries that forced him to retire for 10 months.

He kept coming back, year after year, horse after horse, trying to get another victory in the Preakness Stakes before he was done. Going into the 138th running of the Triple Crown's middle leg, D. Wayne Lukas had tried eight times since Charismatic won at Pimlico Race Course in 1999 - with 12 different entries. The best any of his horses could do was third place - twice - with Proud Citizen in 2002 and Scrimshaw in 2003. But as the 77-year-old Hall of Fame trainer pointed out after 15-1 shot Oxbow took the lead nearly out of the gates and held off Itsmyluckyday by 1 ¾ lengths to give Lukas his sixth victory in the Preakness, even winning a record 14th Triple Crown race was not going to change his career plans.

Lite Light will return to New York for a rematch against Meadow Star in the Coaching Club American Oaks July 6, but it's going to be hard to match their awesome duel in the Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park a week ago.Meadow Star won by about a half-inch, giving a fitting end to what the New York Racing Association rightfully called the year's best weekend of racing in the country.Unwarranted criticism of jockey Corey Nakatani, who rode Lite Light, will long be forgotten when the 1991 Mother Goose is included in a list of memorable races.

Trevor Denman won't be at Pimlico Race Course to call race in May and June, as he was the previous two years. Denman has been hired to announce at Hollywood Park, making him a virtual year-round employee at Southern California's three major tracks.The development is apparently good news for Dave Rodman, new announcer at Pimlico and Laurel race courses. When Denman came in to replace Milo Perrins last year, the implication was that Perrins did not have the "name" of Denman and could therefore be shunted aside when Denman was available.

Gary Stevens became the oldest jockey to win the Preakness on Saturday, and the 50-year-old Hall of Famer has Clark Masterson to thank. Masterson, a personal trainer based in Bellevue, Wash., helped the 50-year-old jockey lose 25 pounds and nearly 8 percent body fat during two months of workouts last year. It allowed Stevens to come out of retirement after seven years and resume a riding career that produced eight Triple Crown victories and nearly 5,000 other victories.Running in his 17th Preakness, Stevens rode Oxbow to his third win. Stevens also won the race in 1997 (aboard Silver Charm)

Nearly a quarter century ago, Gary Stevens was an up-and-coming jockey in Southern California, hoping to make his mark on the sport, put a lot of money in the bank and move on to something else as quickly as possible. A conversation he had with one of horse racing's iconic riders still resonates with Stevens as he gets ready to ride Oxbow in Saturday's 138th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course . Given where Stevens has been - including retirement for seven years - it seems almost humorous.

Tomorrow at 5 p.m., NBC goes in the Kentucky Derby, Gary Stevens up. Stevens, a three-time Derby winner, makes his Triple Crown announcing debut, and he has been preparing as if he were still donning the silks. "I've been keeping track of these horses since the fall," Stevens said in a conference call Wednesday, "kind of like I would have if I was still a jockey." But, Stevens pointed out, now he doesn't have to choose just one to ride. Heading into the race, he said he likes at least six horses for a chance to win, then he named seven - Barbaro, Brother Derek, Sweetnorthernsaint, Lawyer Ron, Bluegrass Cat, Point Determined and Bob and John.

Gary Stevens went to a lot of trouble to ride in the Preakness yesterday, flying in from France just to take the mount on Rock Hard Ten. He obviously thought something special might happen, and it did, but Stevens could only watch as Smarty Jones pulled away in the stretch at Pimlico Race Course to win by almost a dozen lengths. Stevens, a two-time Preakness winner, finished second on Rock Hard Ten and said that made his trip worthwhile. But what really made his day, he said, was the chance to see Smarty Jones in action.

ARCADIA, Calif. - This being California and this being the Breeders' Cup, it's appropriate that stars are prominent. And the most prominent star in this Hollywood racing firmament is a jockey. Gary Stevens, a Hall of Fame jockey, played the role of George Woolf, a steely old-time rider, in the movie Seabiscuit. In that world, Stevens the actor proved a natural on the big screen with his booming confidence, keen intelligence and movie-star looks. In the real world, Stevens the jockey thought he was going to die two months ago in a freakish spill at Arlington Park.

Prince Ahmed Salman was home in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, yesterday afternoon. But his strategy suggestion was followed closely by jockey Gary Stevens as he rode Point Given to victory in the 126th Preakness. "Prince Ahmed is a horseman," Stevens said of Salman, a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family who heads The Thoroughbred Corp., a group of international businessmen from his country, Europe and the United States. "He understands horses and the bit about strategy. He loves strategy."

Tomorrow at 5 p.m., NBC goes in the Kentucky Derby, Gary Stevens up. Stevens, a three-time Derby winner, makes his Triple Crown announcing debut, and he has been preparing as if he were still donning the silks. "I've been keeping track of these horses since the fall," Stevens said in a conference call Wednesday, "kind of like I would have if I was still a jockey." But, Stevens pointed out, now he doesn't have to choose just one to ride. Heading into the race, he said he likes at least six horses for a chance to win, then he named seven - Barbaro, Brother Derek, Sweetnorthernsaint, Lawyer Ron, Bluegrass Cat, Point Determined and Bob and John.

ELMONT, N.Y. -- In one of the most crushing defeats in Triple Crown history, Real Quiet lost his bid for immortality yesterday in an excruciating photo finish in the 130th Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park.Victory Gallop, flying down the stretch before a delirious crowd of 80,162 -- the second-largest at Belmont Park -- nipped Real Quiet by the narrowest of margins after a rough and dramatic stretch duel. The nose defeat derailed Real Quiet's quest to become the Triple Crown's 12th winner.None of the 13 previous winners of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness who contested the Belmont lost the coveted crown by so little.

After failing in the Kentucky Derby to fulfill lofty promise, Point Given redeemed himself yesterday in the Preakness by scoring a decisive victory with a cruel twist. Point Given's triumph at Pimlico deprived racing of any chance for a Triple Crown winner - for the 23rd year in a row. Monarchos, who prevailed in the Kentucky Derby, ran sluggishly in the Preakness and finished sixth.Shifting tactics after a disappointing Derby, jockey Gary Stevens allowed Point Given to relax early at the back of the pack and then accelerate steadily around horses.

This was supposed to happen, Gary Stevens said. So it makes sense that Stevens didn't act giddy after he'd ridden Point Given to victory in the Preakness yesterday. Instead, the 38-year-old jockey spoke calmly and sipped on a beer while attendants in the barn removed his silks - caked with dirt that covered green and white stripes - so they could be shipped back to his home in California. It was Stevens' first Triple Crown victory since returning from knee injuries that forced him to retire for 10 months.