Horse Racing: Vacation for Manny

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HORSE RACING

If horse racing is the sport of kings, Carlos Manuel de Ycaza, 29, is the Black Knight.

A fierce-tempered Panamanian who prides himself on being a fine judge of wine and women (his wife is a former Miss Universe) as well as horse flesh, Manny Ycaza is a throwback to the old hell-for-leather days of racing— before sharp-eyed stewards and patrol cameras— when herding, crowding, blocking, intimidating, or even rapping rival riders across the ribs with a whip were part of the game. Understandably, he has few friends among his fellow jocks. Nor is it very surprising that in eleven years, he has been "set down," or suspended, for a total of 608 days—a punitive record unmatched in U.S. racing history.

"I ride very hard," Ycaza explains, "and so I am often in trouble. If I don't ride the way I do, maybe I don't get into trouble, but also maybe I don't win, and then I don't get work." That philosophy may work for a winner—and over those eleven years, Manny has booted home horses that have won more than 2,000 races and $15 million. But lately, Ycaza's transgressions have begun to get expensive.

Riding Ada L. Rice's Advocator in the $83,700 Grey Lag Handicap at New York's Aqueduct race track six weeks ago, he was grounded for 15 days after he veered sharply in the stretch and blocked three other horses. Advocator won by 1¼ lengths, but was disqualified by the stewards—costing Owner Rice $54,405. Two weeks ago, Ycaza earned another 15-day suspension from New Jersey stewards for rough riding aboard William L. McKnight's three-year-old colt, Dr. Fager, in the $119,200 Jersey Derby at Garden State Park. Going into the first turn, he dropped in sharply, cutting off his competitors and forcing one into the infield rail. Dr. Fager coasted across the finish line 6 and a half lengths in front, only to be placed fourth and last. The difference between first and fourth: $71,520.

Those two infractions, plus another 20-day suspension for "interference" in a previous claiming race at Aqueduct, gave Ycaza a total of 50 days of enforced vacation since April. But more than one racing expert thought Ycaza's punishment was too light. Mused Morning Telegraph Correspondent Charles Hatton: "One wonders when an erring athlete in this sport is to be considered incorrigible."