Elburn jockey Emigh eyes first Arlington Million

Chris Emigh has ridden in just about every notable race in Chicago, except the grandest one of them all.

That changes today for the Elburn jockey, who will be atop mega-longshot Proceed Bee in the Arlington Million. Emigh, a 40-year-old approaching the latter stages of an accomplished career, plans to embrace being “a superstar for a day.”

Emigh has raced at Arlington Park on Million Day before, but never in the running of the celebrated turf race. He has an inkling of the spectacle that awaits.

“Turning for home, you can just feel the sound waves from the crowd hitting you,” Emigh said. “Which is kind of cool.”

More than 3,200 wins into his career, Emigh is prepared to check one of his biggest career goals off the list – riding in the Million.

Emigh, who grew up in Louisiana, moved to the Chicago area in 1996; at the time, there were three thoroughbred tracks in the city, and he figured all the options would make for minimal travel and a better family life. That has mostly held true, even with the subsequent demise of Sportsman’s Park, but lean recent years in Illinois horse racing have forced Emigh to travel more lately.

For the first time in several years, Emigh is not racing full-time at Arlington this summer, typically only riding there on Sundays.

Fresh off winning a pair of races at Hoosier Park in Indianapolis on Friday night, Emigh heads to Arlington, his favorite track, to reunite with Proceed Bee. Proceed Bee is trained by Scott Becker, a major source of Emigh’s rides in recent years. Emigh rode the horse to a victory at the Hawthorne Derby in 2009, but slotted against some of the world’s elite turf horses today, Proceed Bee starts as a 50-1 longshot.

“I don’t think he’ll embarrass himself,” Emigh said of Proceed Bee, in the No. 6 slot for the 10-horse, 1 1/4 mile race, which will be televised by WGN-TV at 5:15 p.m. today. “I think he’s going to run good. You just never know. You can’t win it if you’re not in it.”

Emigh finally is, after a 22-year career as a jockey that started in 1989. His twin brother, Aaron, took a shot at riding horses first, eventually convincing Chris it was a better path than his initial notion of riding in rodeos. Aaron’s riding days were short-lived, but Chris has ridden about 23,000 races in his prolific career, amassing nine leading rider titles, seven at Hawthorne Race Track and once at Arlington in 2006.

“I’ve probably rode in almost every major race in Chicago except the Arlington Million,” Emigh said. “I never really thought I could get in it because it’s the top turf horses in the world, really. A lot of them ship in from Europe, and all the elite tracks in the nation. It’s hard to get [a horse] that can fit in that race. We’re just the local longshot. It’s a tough task, but just to be in it, I’m excited, because I never really thought I could get in the Arlington Million.”

St. Charles resident Jay Fedor, Emigh’s agent for most of the past 14 years, said Emigh has “just unbelievable work ethic,” noting that he bristles at taking time away to recoup his strength. Emigh has raced in Indiana and Arkansas to fill in dates the past few years, not easy considering he and his wife, Kim, have a pair of children – Hunter, 16, and Taylor, 13.

“It tugs on him because he likes being home with them every night, and the way the economy has been and the legislature, it’s forced him to take his trade on the road,” Fedor said. “They just released [$141 million to the horse racing industry] that was held up in the court system for Illinois racing, so it looks like we’re headed back in the right direction with the purse structure in Chicago.”

Even so, the physical toll of being a jockey – including untold days in the “hot box” to keep his racing weight at 115 pounds – will eventually coax the 5-foot-5 Emigh to step aside. That won’t be an easy day for Emigh, who would like to race until he’s 50.

“It’s hard to quit because it’s like your identity,” Emigh said. “That’s what you’re known for.”

Depending on today’s results, Emigh’s recognition in the sport could spike to new levels. It will be the second purse of a million dollars he’s been part of in his career.

For a guy who has cracked the whip in more than 20,000 races, the anticipation of today’s race might make him feel like a rookie.

“Any time you run for a million, it makes you a little excited,” he said.