By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Steve Cauthen checks on Staunchness, a client's horse, at his Dreamfields Training Center outside Verona, Kentucky. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

VERONA - The guy gets up at 6 every day to feed horses. He drives a no-frills Subaru Outback. He chauffeurs his daughters to school and dance class.

Where's the high life? The grandstanding? Not here. When pressed to see some trophies, he must tiptoe around toys in the basement and point high atop an entertainment center, to one nearly out of view.

"That's the Sports Illustrated one," Steve Cauthen says, matter-of-factly.

The Sportsman of the Year award, that is. The only one ever given to a horse racing personality.

And wait, here's the Associated Press Athlete of the Year trophy, also the only one in his sport's history. And the Triple Crown trophy, something no one has won since he grabbed it a quarter-century ago.

Hunt long enough in this house, and you'll find evidence of one of the most magical riding careers in history, of a jockey so good at such a young age that the nation couldn't get enough of him.

THE KENTUCKY DERBY

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"You would never know he was famous just by talking to him," said his wife, Amy. "He doesn't talk about (his career) unless he's asked about it."

Horse racing takes center stage in the sports world Saturday for the 129th running of the Kentucky Derby, the first race in the Triple Crown. The Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes are the other two. Every year at this time, legends are born, and memories relived.

Cauthen's was a story almost too corny to be believed: A boy from the rolling hills of Walton, Ky. - 16, but looking about 12 - dominates his sport like no neophyte before.

His youthful innocence captivated the nation, drawing legions of new fans to the sport. He became known simply as The Kid.

Cauthen set records at 17. He became a regular on the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time. He rode in 14 countries in six continents, partied with celebrities, dined and hunted with royalty. At 34, he became his sport's youngest Hall of Famer.

And he seemingly never changed.

"He's a consummate Kentucky gentleman," said retired Northern Kentucky University professor Jim Claypool, a horse racing author and historian. "He started as The Kid but became a man of stature."

•  •  •

Affirmed on the inside, Steve Cauthen up, wins the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown, ahead of Alydar, Jorge Velasquez up, in Elmont, N.Y., in this June 10, 1978 photo. (AP Photo/File) | ZOOM |

Cauthen, who turns 43 Thursday, has been retired from racing for a decade. He has remained active in his sport, as he now raises horses at Dreamfields Farm, the breeding and training facility next door to his home in Verona, and is a spokesman for Turfway Park.

It's a quieter life than he owned 25 years ago this week, when he triumphed in his lone Kentucky Derby ride. He and Affirmed went on to win the Triple Crown, as he became the youngest winner of that series. He would later become a three-time English riding champion, and is the only jockey to win the Kentucky, Epsom (English), Irish, French and Italian derbies.

"Others had careers that were more accomplished," Claypool said. "Yet I don't think anybody will ever achieve his record of doing what he did both here and in Europe. As time passes, his achievements will become legendary."

•  •  •

In a sense, Cauthen was bred for racing. His father was a blacksmith, and his mother and two uncles were trainers. A grandfather owned horses.

Cauthen was just a year old when his mother, Myra, propped him on a horse for a snapshot. At 2, he was riding ponies. He attended his first Kentucky Derby at 3. He owned his first horse at 8.

When he turned 16 in 1976 and began racing, Cauthen was billed as an overnight success.

Cauthen and his father, Tex, would stay up late studying films of River Downs races. Cauthen worked summers at the track - mucking stalls, walking hots.

Some days he would wake at 4 a.m., go out to the barn and sit on a bale of hay, and practice whipping in the dark. At 13, he was practicing yoga to develop his concentration.

After a few months of riding experience, Cauthen got rolling. He had 94 winners in a 56-day River Downs meet, then a record. He would soon total 124 winners in the winter at Aqueduct, then a national record for one meet.

Cauthen was said to have great hands, meaning he communicated well with his horses.

"There's been like a handful of jockeys I've noticed that horses just run for them: Pat Day, Willie Shoemaker, Steve Cauthen," said Hebron-based jockey Perry Ouzts, who rode against Cauthen at River Down. "I have to beat 'em and knock 'em around. Those guys just sit up there. I wish I had some of it, whatever it is."

Cauthen dropped out of Walton-Verona High School at 16, finishing his degree by correspondence courses.

•  •  •

His 1977 season was like none the horse world had ever known. His mounts won $6,151,750, exceeding Angel Cordero Jr.'s record of $4,709,500 by more than 30 percent. He won 487 races despite missing a month with a broken arm, rib and collarbone.

He won an unprecedented three Eclipse Awards - racing's top honor - that year, and every major media outlet named him its Sportsman of the Year.

"He had the Midas touch," said Larry Barrera, son of the late Laz Barrera, who trained Affirmed. "It was amazing to be around him."

Cauthen was the only jockey regularly offered appearance money to ride events in his honor at minor tracks. He landed on a Wheaties box and did an American Express commercial.

Cover of an album Steve Cauthen made in the 1970's. | ZOOM |

Cauthen even cut an album, ...and Steve Cauthen Sings too! "I knew I couldn't sing, but it was fun doing it," he said.

Larry Barrera recalls the time they dined at La Scala, a trendy Beverly Hills restaurant. Debbie Reynolds, Frank Gifford and Cheryl Tiegs were there, yet everyone was pointing out Cauthen. "It was like he was a rock star," Barrera said.

Cauthen had his biography written at 18 - The Kid, by the late Pete Axthelm - and was the subject of four children's books. Motion-picture rights to Axthelm's book were sold, though the film wasn't made.

Through it all, Tex and Myra Cauthen kept their eldest son grounded. Tex invested Steve's money in conservative stocks and bonds. In May 1978, Steve bought the 295-acre parcel of land in Verona on which he now lives.

The night before the 1978 Kentucky Derby, Cauthen slept in a sleeping bag on the floor of a hotel suite crowded with relatives because, as brother Doug explained, "It was his turn."

•  •  •

The Triple Crown races of 1978, epic battles against Alydar and jockey Jorge Velasquez, totaled only about six minutes. But the combined margin of those victories over Alydar was just 13/4 lengths, the smallest aggregate margin in history, so the rivalry is considered the greatest in racing.

After winning the Derby and the Preakness, the Belmont became what Cauthen calls his career-defining moment.

For nearly the last mile of the 11/2-mile race, Affirmed and Alydar went eyeball to eyeball. Alydar took a slight lead heading for home, but Affirmed fought back to win by a head. The final mile was faster than that of any previous Belmont. Hall of Fame trainer Woody Stephens called it "probably the best horse race that's ever been run."

For Cauthen, it was a precipitous peak. He took a spill in a race on Aug. 9, 1978, hurting his knee badly enough to sideline him a month. He began 1979 with a 110-race losing streak at Santa Anita Park. It lasted a month but felt like lifetimes, as the locals nicknamed him "Dr. Death" and booed him. Cauthen then lost his mount on Affirmed. His confidence waned. He changed agents a few times.

One month later he left the United States, signing a lucrative contract with owner Robert Sangster to ride for him during the English season, which runs from late March to November.

Cauthen heard talk he had run away, which angered him. He insisted he had needed a change, even before his slump. He was still growing and was worried about his weight: In this country, top weight for a jockey is about 115 pounds; in England, about 119. Plus, year-round racing was fueling burnout.

•  •  •

Cauthen said it took about three years to adjust to the English circuit, filled with undulating, grass-covered tracks that run either clockwise or counterclockwise. Cauthen would become the first American to win the British riding title in 71 years, accomplishing that feat three times.

Celebrity continued. Cauthen dined with Queen Mother Elizabeth and went pheasant hunting with Princess Anne. He had Elton John perform at a party. He was friends with Roger Waters of Pink Floyd and pop icon David Cassidy.

Cauthen met his wife, a Bellevue native, in 1987 when she was on a trip to England. They started dating in '89 and were married in '92. Cauthen stopped riding in '93, tired of battling his weight.

"I had a wonderful career," Cauthen said. "Ninety-nine percent of it was pure gold."

Now he aims to breed a horse that one day could race in the Kentucky Derby. In the meantime, he gives occasional talks to kids - the only forum in which he'll bring up his history on his own.

"I try to teach kids that they can reach their goals," he said. "In my heart, when I was young, I kept pursuing my dream. And it happened."

The Steve Cauthen file

Born: May 1, 1960, Covington.

Family: Wife Amy (married in 1992). Daughters Katelyn (10), Karlie (7) and Kelsey (2).

Occupations: Owner of Dreamfields Training Center, a breeding and training facility in Verona. Associate vice president of Turfway Park.

First pro race: May 12, 1976, Churchill Downs.

First victory: May 17, 1976, River Downs, aboard Red Pipe.

Record: 2,794 wins, 2,191 seconds, 1,866 thirds on 14,630 mounts.

Firsts and bests

Youngest (age 18) and most recent winner of the Triple Crown

Youngest jockey inducted into the National Racing Hall of Fame, at 34

Only jockey to have won both the Kentucky Derby and Epsom Derby, the world's two most historic events

First jockey to win more than $5 million in purses in a season ($6.1 million in 1977); youngest ever to lead the money list

Only racing figure ever named Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year (1977), Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year ('77) or Sporting News Sportsman of the Year ('77)

First American to win the British jockeys' championship in 71 years ('84)

The good, the bad and the ugly

Some heights and depths of Steve Cauthen's celebrity:

Good

Doing an American Express TV ad, the Got Milk-type status symbol of its day. Tag line: "Do you know me? I won the Triple Crown in 1978."

Appearing four times on the cover of Sports Illustrated and twice on the cover of Time in a 15-month span.

A roadie for Linda Ronstadt spotted him in the crowd at her concert in New York. She and some roadies followed Cauthen back to the barns after midnight, and Ronstadt got to pet Affirmed.

Having Elton John sing at a party at his country cottage in Newmarket, England, in 1985. Cauthen's buddy, pop icon David Cassidy, convinced him to invite John. "We had about 600 guests," Cauthen said. "We asked if he'd get up and sing, and he did two songs. It was a big party boost."

Dining several times with the late Queen Mother Elizabeth and novelist Dick Francis. "The queen mum and I got to be friends."

The bad

The mint julep. Cauthen had a nonalcoholic version of the Kentucky Derby drink named for him when he was too young to drink. The recipe: "Mix orange juice in a blender so it develops a head of foam. Pour over ice cubes in highball glass, filling halfway. Add ginger ale to fill. Stir, and add sprig of mint to garnish."

The Seventeen magazine interview. In 1978, a then-16-year-old "teen journalist" named Alexandra Sheedy - known later as Brat Pack actress Ally Sheedy - wrote a breathless account headlined, "My 'date' with Steve Cauthen." Sample prose: "I could hardly wait to tell my friends that Steve Cauthen was just as cute and nice in person as he appeared to be."

The ugly

The album: ...and Steve Cauthen Sings too! A New York horse owner had a small label called Bareback Records and talked Cauthen into cutting this in 1977. His brother, Doug, calls the singing "frightening."

OK, so maybe he wasn't that famous: The Walton Advertiser wrote a story on the local boy when he passed Angel Cordero Jr.'s single-season earnings record in 1977. But in keeping with priorities, the lead story that edition featured John Williams of Bracht Piner Road, who was lauded for raising a 17 3/4-pound melon.

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E-mail nschmidt@enquirer.com