why does Mike Smith get so much bash on forums?

[hockey2315]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

Junior Alvarado just won 4 stakes races at Saratoga last weekend -- and he didn't even ride in a lot of others like the Whitney and Vanderbilt...but you'll never read anyone write a word about him...because people who waste time with jockeys often know almost nothing about horses and only focus on the handful of fashionable big name jockeys.

I'm not sure I buy into the hype with him, but I'm very possibly biased because of experiences I've had betting him. . . feels like a poor man's Leparoux--takes horses way too far back a lot of the time, but looks good when things fall in his lap or when he has a horse with enough speed to keep itself close.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by hockey2315

I'm not sure I buy into the hype with him, but I'm very possibly biased because of experiences I've had betting him. . . feels like a poor man's Leparoux--takes horses way too far back a lot of the time, but looks good when things fall in his lap or when he has a horse with enough speed to keep itself close.

There's no hype at all on him.

He was by far the best jockey at Calder several years ago, got no looks at Gulfstream because he lost the bug right before the meet started.

He was by far the best jockey at Arlington Park, but still struggled to get top class mounts.

I think he's an outstanding front-end jockey and judge of pace with front end types...and he also is in the class of Dominguez, Lezcano, and Rosario on closing routers. If you look at his numbers since he's come to NY -- they're extremely impressive like they are everywhere else.

You don't become a fashionable big-name jockey until you start getting a lot of opportunities on top level horses. Everytime a big name mount is open, he's not landing them.