(7 of 7)
In 1938, he got a call from Jones in Louisville asking him to ride Lawrin, a 9-to-1 shot in the Kentucky Derby. "Not me," says Eddie. "I want no part of him." But Jones talked him into it, and Eddie got the biggest wallop of his life ("You only win your first Derby once"). The next time it was Whirlaway, and the Triple Crown. This February, the chances of Arcaro riding Citation for Ben Jones were about 100 to 1 against. Eddie, up on Assault, had crashed into Ben's pride & joy, Armed, in the Widener Handicap.
Then Jockey Al Snider, Citation's rider, went fishing off the Florida Keys and was drowned. Ben was on the lookout for a jockey to ride his wonder horse in the Derby. This time it was Eddie Arcaro who made the phone call. Al Snider had been one of Arcaro's best friends; his widow got a share of Eddie's Derby winnings.
Tough as he is Arcaro has a few soft spots. Any tout or hustler around the track can usually work Eddie for "a double sawbuck." His mother telephoned him one day to say that she had lost her apartment and had no place to live. He hurried to Cincinnati, and bought her a $16,000 house.
Another time, his ma said to him: "Gee whiz, Eddie, I could use a few dollars. Why don't you tell me how these races are coming out?" Said he: "If jockeys knew how races were coming out, Mom, they'd all be millionaires."
*One who was different was Earl Sande, idol of the '20s, who saved his money and bought race horses. This season he had hard luck: though he owns twelve horses he has won only one race so far. Last week, he was brought up before the racing stewards after a saliva test showed that his one winner had been given a caffeine stimu lant. He was suspended from racing for 60 days. † Carolyn A., a filly named for her, won last week's $25,000 Firenze Handicap at Jamaica. ** Plus the usual tip, which is 10% of the purse. *Apprentice jockey. The name comes from the asterisk beside a horse's name on racing charts, indicating that an apprentice will ride. *Hooking a leg in front of another jockey's leg to keep him from forging ahead.