Steve Cauthen

By Allyson Turner

Few people have burst onto the horse racing scene like Steve Cauthen. In 1978, after riding Affirmed to victory over Alydar in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, the 18-year-old Cauthen became the youngest jockey to win the Triple Crown.

After riding in 110 consecutive races without a victory, Cauthen in '79 accepted an offer to ride in England for more than $1 million. There, he regained his form and enjoyed much success; he was the leading rider in England in 1984, '85 and '87.

In '94, following a career that spanned 1976-1993, Cauthen was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Cauthen, now 39, is vice president of Turfway Park in Kentucky. He also runs his own horse farm and breeds horses, as well.

Steve Cauthen is the only jockey to win the Kentucky, Epsom, Irish, French, and Italian Derbies. (AP)

How did you get involved with horse racing?
My father was a horse shoer. My grandfather owned race horses and I had two uncles that were trainers. So racing was in our family. We lived on a farm, and raced a few horses from time to time. But really, I just loved sports and when I realized I wasn't going to big enough to be anything else, I got more interested in the thought of being a jockey. So I started working toward that at the age of 12.

When was your first race?
Four or five days after I turned 16, at Churchill Downs on a horse called King of Swat. He finished second-to-last but he showed some speed and was in the race for a little while.

Two years later, what were your expectations for Affirmed at the Kentucky Derby?
There were two main horses, Alydar and Affirmed. I think going into the Derby, Alydar was favored. He had been winning all of his races down the East Coast in Florida, and quite impressively. He came back and won the Bluegrass Stakes by 12 lengths and he looked real good going into the race. My horse had been winning out on the West Coast, but not by as far. Affirmed didn't do anymore than he had to. I went into the race with a lot of confidence, knowing that we had another tough horse to beat and obviously still had to beat the rest, as well. I was confident and really just happy to have the opportunity to ride in the Derby.

Alydar was favored in both the Preakness and Belmont. Did you ever doubt Affirmed's chances?
I always respected Alydar greatly. I also knew what I had under me. I knew he was an exceptional, courageous horse that didn't like to get beat. I was confident enough in the Derby and the Preakness but always thinking Alydar would be right there challenging. I believed that if we could get placed in the race correctly, and make our move when we wanted to, than we could always possibly beat him. In the Belmont, you're going into unknown territory because of the extra quarter of a mile, and I was probably least sure of that race. I also knew that I had a courageous horse under me and that's really what it came down to.

Of all the races, what was the greatest moment for you?
Without a doubt, winning the Belmont was the highlight of my career. In the sense of the occasion and the way that he won it -- it was a knock-down, drag-out race and the pressure was immense. But the horse and myself were able to stand up to all that and come through.

Would you say that Affirmed vs. Alydar is the sport's greatest rivalry?
Without a doubt, it certainly is. There's been other rivalries, like Easy Goer and Sunday Silence, but I still don't think it quite compares with Alydar and Affirmed.

At age 18, did you ever feel overwhelmed?
All I know is I loved what I was doing. I was very happy to be having the opportunity to ride in the greatest races in America and riding a good horse. Other than that, I didn't really care much. I obviously tried to think through every race as best I could and get as much advice from the people that I knew and trusted, and just went out and did it.

Who was your greatest influence?
My father, but I had a lot of good people around me. Lazaro Barrera was a great mentor and (Affirmed's owners) The Wolfson's were very supportive. That was one of the good things, even though I was only 18, I really felt that I had their confidence around me and they trusted me to do the best possible job.

You recently said, that the life of a jockey is 'Hours of agony for minutes of glory.' Does winning make all the training and hard work worth it?
It's years of preparing yourself so that you're ready for the opportunity when and if it comes. Some guys ride all their lives and never get the chance to ride a horse like that and in that sort of situation. Basically, all those hours of preparing yourself, working hard, riding bad horses at little tracks, getting up at 5 a.m., studying race films, are worth it. When I got the opportunity, I capitalized on it, and put all the knowledge and hard work to good use. Because of that, it's a tremendous feeling of satisfaction. I was very proud of both myself and the horse for having the courage to get through that situation.

You talked about the high points in your career. What was the low point?
I had a lot of ups and downs in my career. I had weight problems, which is one of the reasons I had gone to Europe. Although, going to Europe was a great thing for me and turned out to be a terrific move for me and worked out well. I obviously had times when things weren't going exactly perfect for me but that's part of life. And that's where Chris Antley is. He's come from some hard times, and he's got an opportunity to forget about them in one fell swoop when you pull off something like winning the Triple Crown.

Are you pulling for him?
Oh yes. Absolutely. The Lewis' are great people and it's just a great story. There's a lot of good people surrounding this horse and the fact that they didn't really know what the heck they had three months ago makes it even better.

Will you be there?
No. I'll be watching it here in Kentucky. But in spirit, I'll be right there with him.

Steve Cauthen with Affirmed on the 20th anniversary of their Triple Crown victory. (AP)

What are you currently doing?
I do some public relations work for Turfway Park. And I have a horse farm here in Northern Kentucky. I breed horses and I'm still very much involved in the industry. Which is why, as far as I am concerned, any good publicity for racing, and certainly horses going for the Triple Crown is great for racing.

I've got 6 mares, 4 foals, a yearling colt and some ponies. I'm developing my farm further and there's always something going on here. Mainly, you're nurturing your horses, trying to make sure they're fed the correct things. They're taught the proper manners so they become easy to handle and work with for when training time comes, they can mature and grow into great race horses.

Where is Affirmed today?
He's in Lexington breeding horses. In fact, I breed to him and got a real nice little filly by him. I saw him just three days ago.