Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-01-18
PREMIER RIDER
IS MODEST LAD
POWERS WELL BRED AND HAS
NO BAD HABITS
HAS BEEN RIDING EIGHT YEARS
WITH SUCCESS
Led All Jockeys for 1903 by Comfort
able Margin and Promises to
Duplicate Feat This
Year

The race for the riding premiership
at Santa Anita this season promises to
lie between Schilling and Vincent
PoWers, with the latter comfortably in
the lead and labeled already as the
winner. Powers is regarded as the
premier jockey of America TODAY. and
In fact, earned the honors last wear Nv
riding S24 winners in the twelve months
ending December 81. This is better than
al average Of one winner a day, in
cludlng the days lost in TRAVELLING and
the periods intervening between sea-
sons
towers is is years old and has been
rlolng since he was 10 years old. He
was born in Vested, N Y. and show
ed the first promise of his present
greatness while riding for his father,
VINO owned a few cheap horses that
were raced at the half-rnile tracks Of
the 1alr associations in the Empire
state. He won his first mount at the
fair at Franklinville, N. Y, and was
| taken into the employ of John Nixon,
| trainer for the KirkfieId stable, owned
| by the MacKenzies of Winnipeg, Mani
| toba. Nixon did not hold onto the boy,
however, and Powers did not become
| known to the real racing game until
he began riding at the Suburban park
track at Algiers, Immediately opposite
New Orleans, where the sport is MAX
Ing it's last desperate stand in that
state at this time.
]. c. Calm discovered him while Pow
ers was riding at Suburban, and was
so impressed with his efforts that he
took him under contract, and showed
| good judgment in holding onto the boy.
Inc first winner Powers rode was at
Churchill Downs, near Louisville. and
was horse named Glimmer trained
by Mickey Shannon.
Since then he always has ridden
under the management of Lou Calm,
and at the same time the first call has
been held by different owners. He has
ridden for Ed Corrigan, Tom Mcdowell,
Barney Schneider, Sam Hildreth, Louie
Celia and others, and his work has been
! uniformly good. This winter Barney
Schrieber has first call on his services,
and at present he is riding at Los An
geles
Powers has a good seat, is alert at
the post and when it comes to handling
horse through race he is a past
master in the art and is strong enough
to finish with any jockey now riding.
He is at the same time a hardworking
boy and has no bad habits. He does
not drink or smoke cigarettes. Occas-
ionally a mild cigar is his limit Of dis
sipation. He goes to bed at $50 o'clock
at night and is up at $50 o'clock in the
morning and a bit later is galloping
horses around the track.
Success has not turned his head and
he is modest to q fault. Though the
idol of the racegoing public, on account
of his ability and honesty, he never
would be picked out of a bunch in a
hotel lobby as the leading jockey of the
country. He dresses we'll but neatly,
and there is none of the swagger about
him that characterized some Of the
champion riders in the past.
His riding weight is 107 pounds,
which he can make with little trouble,
and for that reason he will stay in this
country until making weight begins to
become a task. He expects to have no
trouble landing good berth when the
time comes. Though racing is limited
and big stakes few and far between,
Powers will earn $4,000 to $4,000 a
year.
He is a thrifty lad, and out of the
money he has earned he has purchased
farm Of over 100 acres at Panama, N.
Y, which is about thirty miles from
Buffalo. He paid $4,000 for the place.
On this farm resides the Powers family,
which consists of his parents, one sister
and grandfather. The farm is well
stocked with live stock of all sorts. His
parents are not living at the farm this
winter, but are with him here.