Bobble
Heads !

Jockeying for Position to get Bobbleheads
Saratoga Springs -- Likeness of Edgar Prado is a big draw at Saratoga 

They had come for a day at the races, but make no mistake, the early birds huddled under threatening skies Thursday were waiting for bobblehead dolls.

Each admission was good for an 8-inch likeness of Edgar Prado, the winner of the Saratoga riding title last year.

Prado is the second jockey to be honored with a bobblehead at the track. Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey became the first swivel-necked giveaway last year for winning the title the year before.

Carole McCormick of Green Island was in line at 9 a.m. and became one of 30,500 patrons to pass through the turnstiles.

"I put my lawn chair right up front," she said. "I wanted to be one of the first ones to get my doll."

McCormick said the two-hour wait was worth it; she did the same thing last year to get the Bailey bobblehead. She said Bailey and Prado are her favorite jockeys.

"I like them both 50-50," she said. "I collect them. I've also got Mike Piazza and Al Leiter of the Mets. I keep them up on a shelf."

Saratoga giveaways normally are done on Sundays, but the New York Racing Association did Prado on Thursday because the second day of the meet usually is slow. The attendance on Day 2 last summer was 13,358.

Prado, who had 54 victories last year to defeat Bailey by 10, said Thursday morning that he has some orders to fill.

"I haven't gotten any of them yet, but I am going to need a bunch," Prado said. "I have been getting calls from Florida, Maryland, all over. I might need 300.

"My family likes the idea and my kids love the idea that I am a bobblehead. No, I never thought I would be a bobblehead. But I guess you have to dream high, right?"

Patrick Agostino of Saratoga Springs also has family members depending on him, and was keeping up a tradition when he and three friends combined to amass 40 Prado bobbleheads by 1 p.m.

"At the end of the year I put together packages of all the Saratoga giveaways for my clients and family," said Agostino, a real-estate broker with Coldwell Banker. "For something like that, $3 (admission) is a small price to pay. It's become a tradition in my family and everyone expects a Saratoga Christmas package."

Agostino sends his Saratoga packages to family in Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, and the idea of the growing geographical appeal of Saratoga souvenirs dovetails nicely with the reasons the track does giveaways.

NYRA senior vice president and spokesman William Nader said giveaways are for fan appreciation and expanding Saratoga's reach. The next giveaway is Seabiscuit mugs on Sunday.

"When we give away something that says Saratoga, in the world of horse racing that's a major destination," said Nader, who added that 600 fans interviewed at the track one weekend last summer represented 30 states. "It has a big reach. You could find a Prado doll from Saratoga on a fireplace mantle in Cleveland or California or Albany."

Harold Reedy of Schenectady made a special trip to the track just to make sure he received one.

"They are a collector's item," said Reedy, who got four dolls -- one for himself, his sister and two friends. "They could be worth something someday. I'll save them and give them to my son."

The Prado dolls are already being sold on the eBay online auction site, with prices ranging from $6.99 to $17.00 as of Thursday night.

Bailey said he remembers fans rushing to get his bobblehead last year, even though the doll doesn't look much like him.

"I don't think any of the bobbleheads look exactly like who they are supposed to be, but everybody wanted one," Bailey said. "I have a few at home. I have one in my son's room.

"It's kind of a compliment, I guess. We don't have a trophy for being the leading jockey, so it's neat."

Prado said he wouldn't mind having a matching set.

"If I win the title this year, they are probably going to get another one next year," he said. "I don't know, but it would be nice."

- TimesUnion.com (July 25, 2003)