Ralph Siraco’s horse racing notes

Tuesday, Dec. 22, 1998 | 9:32 a.m.

Ralph Siraco

The 1998 Autumn Meeting at Hollywood Park came to an end yesterday on a record note. A slight increase in on-track attendance helped Hollywood Park's 19th fall meeting finish with a record daily average handle of $9.1 million, topping the previous mark of $8.8 million daily in 1995. Exempt from Breeders' Cup years at the fall meet, the record continues the trend throughout the nation for racing where tracks experienced a resurgence in total handle records due to the expansion of simulcast networks.

The track's eighth annual Turf Festival was the racing highlights of the 31-day session. Once again the six-race Festival series of races drew horses country-wide and from abroad. The centerpiece pair of Festival stakes saw Squeak prevailing in the $700,000 Grade I Matriarch for turf fillies and mares while the $500,000 Grade I Hollywood Derby went to the eastern invader Vergennes. Although this year's Festival was contested on soggy going due to unseasonable rains in Southern California, the fall series continues to gain in popularity.

The race for the fall jockey title spiced up the final days of the meet. Going into the final weekend, Alex Solis, Eddie Delahoussaye and Garret Gomez were in a three-way tussle for the crown. Solis, who had three autumn titles already to his credit, made a belated run at Gomez but fell two victories short of catching the 26-year-old rider. Delahoussaye had multiple-day winners leading to the finale, but, the senior-citizen of the group could not duplicate his 1989 autumn meet title winning season.

Gomez withstood the late challenges while taking 24 visits to the fall meet winners circle to capture his first Southern California riding title. The Tucson, Arizona, native was taking his first riding trophy since the Arlington Park title in Chicago in 1997. It was that season when Gomez rode Honor Glide to sweep the Mid-America Triple at Arlington Park who was the first horse to accomplished the feat since Buckpasser turned the trick in 1966. The jockey will share another birthday with all the thoroughbreds in the Northern hemisphere as the rider celebrates his 27th on January 1st, which is the universal birthday for his equine conterparts.

New faces also topped the trainers title. In a dog fight to the end, Neil Drysdale and Paul Aguirre each saddled 10 winners to tie the title. Although it was a first for Drysdale, Aguirre was recording his second Southern California training crown this year. He also tied for the Fairplex Park trophy.

Finally, the Horse of the Meet honors went to Excellent Meeting off her outstanding eight-length victory in the Hollywood Starlet.