Rappin' with Ronnie · 28.05.10
… Turcotte, that is. This past Thursday, the special guest on At the Races with Steve Byk was Hall of Fame jockey Ron Turcotte. He chatted with Steve for almost an hour, reminiscing about his career, in particular his races with such racing immortals as Secretariat, Riva Ridge, Shuvee, Damascus, Tom Rolfe, and Northern Dancer. Among other things, Turcotte revealed:
- forced to choose between riding Shuvee and Riva Ridge on the same day in 1971, he chose Riva — Shuvee’s trainer forgave him only because he understood that Turcotte didn’t want to risk losing the mount on the next year’s likely Derby favourite;
- urging trainer Lucien Laurin to run Secretariat in the Jersey Derby the week before the 1973 Belmont, feeling that the horse was so fit that he needed a race to “take the edge off”;
- his satisfaction on riding Riva Ridge to victory over Bee Bee Bee in the 1973 Massachusetts Handicap, avenging their loss in the previous year’s Preakness.
The full interview is available here.
Incidentally, listening to Steve Byk’s show has become part of my afternoon routine at the Day Job. In addition to interviews with special guests like Turcotte, he takes phone calls live on the air, features regular contributors like Steve Haskin, Satish Sanan, and Steve Davidowitz, and offers his own perspectives on the horses, the people, and the events in the racing world. His commentaries, especially those regarding the current fuster-cluck that is the NYRA, occasionally grow into some of the most entertaining rants this side of Dennis Miller. Check him out.
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Good rider. Ashamed what happened to him. Read that there are now over 60 riders in wheel chairs.
— humphrey · May 29, 12:05 PM · #