Bug Boy

In Baltimore, a rock-ribbed racing town, the fans are used to topnotch jockeys; they have watched the likes of Earl Sande and Eddie Arcaro for years. But last week a 17-year-old "bug boy"/- from Texas, Clarence Picou, had the town talking.

Picou, a lean, olive-skinned boy with huge hands, showed up at Bowie race track two weeks ago and booted home twelve winners the first six days. People began betting on him rather than on the horses he rode. One Baltimore paper carried a special box, listing Picou's mounts for the day. By last week he had become so well known that the New York Daily Mirror headlined: "YOU KNOW WHO" WINS 3.

Tip by Television. After winning four of the first six races at Bowie one day last week, Picou was interviewed by television direct from the track. The interviewer asked him if he thought he was having a pretty good day. Said Picou evenly: "Yes, but I'm not finished yet. I'll win the eighth race too." On the strength of this televised tip (probably the first in racing history) straight from the jockey's mouth, bookies were swamped with bets on Waterclock, the horse Picou was riding. Waterclock won by six lengths.

For so young a rider, Clarence ("Ping") Picou is a remarkable judge of pace. But one of his biggest assets is getting a horse away to a fast start. It is a trick he learned down in Texas. At twelve, Ping Picou began riding Quarter horse races on Sunday, where he learned not to get left at the post. He rode about 200 races in two years, before a cattleman, Felix De Mary, gave him a chance to become a real jockey.

Talk of the Track. For nine months he galloped horses as an exercise boy, practicing with short stirrups and short holds. Last New Year's Day, at New Orleans' Fair Grounds, he rode his first race. Twelve days later he rode his second race and first winner--aboard a $52.10 long shot. From then on, he was the talk of the track wherever he went (Lincoln Downs, Narragansett Park,Suffolk Downs, Jamaica).

At Bowie last week, his services were in such demand by horsemen that he practically had his choice of mounts. Last week, he rode his 256th winner. The only jockeys who have won more races this year, are Oldtimers Johnny Longden (301) and Ted Atkinson (257).

The big question is how long can Ping Picou keep his weight down to jockey size. He is tall for his 106 lbs., already has to watch his diet. Asked what he intends to do when he stops being a jockey, Bug Boy Picou answers quickly: "Eat."

/-Race-track slang for apprentice jockey. When a horse's name in the entries has a buglike asterisk beside it, it means that an apprentice is riding.

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