Chris Antley

[Gander]

I agree Exceller. I had the honor to watch this guy ride just about every day for the time he rode at Saratoga. He was amazing. One day I saw him all the races in one Pick 6 sequence, I think I had 5 of 6 that day. He was bringing in mules. I also had the chance to see the side of him that inevitably killed him. He hung out with the shadiest guys you will ever wanna see. These guys took advantage of him and it got even worse when he moved to California.
Sad that he couldnt beat the demons. He was a great human being. Many of his last few days were spent helping a young man (fan of Antleys) through cancer treatment and watching him die in the hospital.

[paisjpq]

I will never forget watching him hold up charismatic's leg until help arrived.

So the implication is he got smacked owing money for his habit?

[GenuineRisk]

I think there are many people of enormous talent who live very well in the high-adreneline parts of their lives, but can't handle the day-to-day times and turn to drugs. It's so hard to look at these people gifted with such incredible talent and think, "Why isn't that enough?" But maybe part of what makes them so good at what they do is what makes them unable to handle the quieter parts of life.

Reminds me of Robert Downey, Jr., who is as good an actor as any one working, but can't seem to keep his life together.

[Gander]

For those of you who wonder how somebody with lots of money, good looks, and seemingly everything going for them can be unhappy, Chris Antley is unfortunately a perfect example. His biggest illness was his depression. He had it as bad as somebody can have it. All that stuff that makes people "happy" on the outside, but inside this guy was a train wreck. Always sad. An hour after winning the Kentucky Derby he was sad and wanted nothing else but to fly back to California and be alone with his "medication".

I met Chris a few times and everytime he was an absolute gentleman. Very classy guy. After he won the Derby on Charismatic, Chris and I corresponded via e-mail just chatting about Charismatic and his career. He had a list of people he would e-mail his "AntMan" stock reports to and I would get one almost everyday. After the Belmont all of his e-mails ended. I knew that was it for him. He went down hill from there. He did have mental problems and he handled them in the wrong way. After reading that book Three Strides Before The Wire, I really believe he was a scitzophrantic.