Is he still around? I remember Jerkens using him on a lot of the Hobeau horses..

y'all are always so harsh on Smith... setting myself up for a lot of smart ass'd answers, did Smith have a certain incident that caused this hatred, or was there a series of events that led to this? He still seems to hold his own win % wise. I don't really have any good or bad feelings about him, but just wondering where all the ripping comes from.

Wasn't he also criticized for jumping off Prairie Bayou too soon in the Belmont after he broke down, as opposed to staying on him and trying to prevent him from hurting himself even more.

Honestly, I have no grudge with Smith. I just came to the conclusion that he is an awful rider from years of watching him ride. Especially for a jockey of his stature.

Win% can be deceptive, look I remember Chantel Sutherland was actually one of the leading riders up at Woodbine one year and I think no one here would say she is any great shakes.

If he did, it just shows how close ive been paying attention to Aqueduct this winter...

Frankly, your posts in this thread show how much you have paid attention to NY over the last 20 years.

FWIW, I *like* Mike,,, but that Derby ride on Flashy Bull........WTF was Mike thinking? That was about the most assinine trip EVER!! Someone here remarked that his route "will forever be known as The Mike Smith Path", or something like that. It still cracks me up every time I think of it.

Suzanne