Chris Antley: ‘The best jockey who ever lived’

The little kid, maybe 12 or 13, showed up unannounced at the Elloree Training Center that day in the late 1970s looking for an after-school job. The boss, Goree Smith, put him to work mucking stables, the lowest rung in thoroughbred racing.

Thirty-odd years later and 15 years after his death, the kid — Chris Antley — will have reached the pinnacle of racing. He will be inducted posthumously into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame on Friday in ceremonies at Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Antley’s story from the South Carolina hamlet of Elloree to success in racing is one of triumph. The one-time stable hand developed into a championship jockey — twice booting home the winner in the Kentucky Derby, riding nine winners in one day and collecting at least one victory in 64 consecutive days. “A natural,” Goree Smith says today.

Antley’s story to the Hall of Fame also is one of tragedy. He lost his jockey license after a positive test for drugs, spent time in rehabilitation, fought the demons of depression and struggled with his weight. He died from a drug overdose in 2000 at age 34 — just before the birth of his daughter and a little more than a year after forging a bond with a thoroughbred named Charismatic to send jolts of excitement through the racing world.

Lessons can be taught from the latter, the tragedies, but those are for another time. Today is one of celebration for the achievements — “I’ve told the family this is a good, happy time,” Les Antley, Chris’ dad, said — and there are so many. He rode 3,480 winners and his mounts earned more than $92 million. Bob Baffert stood as best man at his wedding. And the Kentucky Derby wins, first with Strike the Gold in 1991 and then with Charismatic eight years later, are treasures.

“When he was good and when he was tuned in, he was the greatest rider who ever lived,” Drew Mollica, Antley’s longtime agent who also worked with Gary Stevens, Pat Day and Angel Cordero, told the Paulick Report.

Even at the beginning, Chris Antley “knew what he wanted to do,” Goree Smith remembered. “He was excited to be around the horses. He would do anything. He was quiet and well-mannered and after a while, we got him on a pony.”

The rest is history.

“Chris was in a fantasy world,” Smith said. “He’d be around after school and on weekends. He started exercising the horses and we showed him some things about riding (in races), and he took it from there. Really, he was a natural.”

Les Antley, who lives in east Columbia, recalled that 16-year-old Chris came to him in 1982 for a talk that would shock any parent. He wanted to quit school and become a professional jockey.

“He told me he could make $100,000 a year,” Les Antley said. “I thought, ‘$100,000 riding a horse? I doubt that.’ But he was determined. I gave him $100 and he took off for Laurel (race track in Maryland) in an old Mustang.”

The lessons learned under Smith’s guiding hand paid dividends. His victories included 127 in graded stakes and 293 in overall stakes. He led all North American rides with 469 wins in 1985 and ranked in the top 10 nationally 1984-87. He celebrated Halloween in 1987, with nine wins in one day — four at Aqueduct and five at the Meadowlands. His 64-day winning streak had the New York tabloids comparing his feat with Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak.

“In their ways, I think they (Antley and DiMaggio) were alike,” Les Antley said. “DiMaggio had the confidence he would hit, and Chris had the confidence he could win.”

“He was always so determined,” said Annie Antley, Chris’ stepmother.

Some of their their favorite memories naturally revolve around the Kentucky Derby, this country’s most famous race. He got his first Derby ride, on Shy Tom in 1989, and won his second, on Strike the Gold in 1991. He brought Strike the Gold from far off the pace, his trademark style. “He knew how to get a horse home,” Goree Smith said.

“We would be nervous wrecks and Chris was so calm,” Annie Antley said. “The race is so special and exciting to be a part of, and after he won, we had a police escort and everything.”

The Antleys know, too, that there was more to Chris than his riding genius. He was generous, perhaps to a fault. He tipped grooms and valets lavishly and took care of his friends, and he honored his commitments.

“Angel Cordero had quit riding and become a trainer, but he was having a tough time getting horses,” Les Antley said. “Chris told him, ‘I’ve found a horse for you and the price is right.’ Cordero told him he didn’t have any money, so Chris bought the horse for $30,000 and gave it to him.”

Perhaps more telling: Antley had agreed to ride in the final race on the 1991 Kentucky Derby program. But after his win, the trainer told him to celebrate, that he would find another jockey. “Chrls told him, ‘No, I committed to ride for you and I will,’” Les Antley said.

Then, there is the story of Chris Antley and Charismatic. Hollywood would reject the script. The horse had been run in claiming races and Antley had struggled again with weight problems. At Les and Annie’s home — “I almost didn’t recognize him when he first came in the door because he was so heavy,” she said — he would write his stock-market report and thirst for the track. Dieting and running up to 20 miles a day through Caughman Road neighborhoods, he lost 25 pounds and would ride again.

Other jockeys thought so little of Charismatic’s chances they passed on trainer Wayne Lukas’ calls. Though far from the first choice, Antley took the ride — and won both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. The horse and jockey became the toast of thoroughbred racing.

Going for the the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes, Charismatic turned for home in second place, the perfect spot for one of Antley’s patented stretch drives.

But the charge never came. Disappointment turned into a nightmare. Antley felt the horse bobble near the wire and knew immediately Charismatic had been hurt. He pulled the horse up abruptly, jumped to the track to cradle the injured left foreleg and waited for help.

The jockey’s quick action saved the broken bones from becoming more serious. The picture became a racing icon and earned the “Moment of the Year” award in thoroughbred racing.

After the veterinarian staff took over, Chris Antley walked away and wept unashamedly.

Chris Antley never stood taller.

This story was originally published August 5, 2015 at 7:20 PM with the headline "Chris Antley: ‘The best jockey who ever lived’."