The Cincinnati Kid, Part 2

At River Downs in Cincinnati they've been making the comparisons all summer. In May 1976 Steve Cauthen , the 18-year-old son of a horse trainer, arrived from Walton, Ky., 30 miles distant, and despite his apprentice status quickly became the track's leading jockey, winning a record 109 races and launching a career that would be capped by the 1978 Triple Crown, aboard Affirmed, and three Eclipse Awards. Twenty-six years later, here comes John McKee , 21, the son of a jockey from Hamersville, Ohio , 30 miles distant, and guess what? The apprentice is the leading jockey at River with 97 wins through Monday and $595,944 in purses. In July, McKee became the first apprentice to ride 65 winners at the track before Aug. 1. ( Cauthen had 64.) With a week left in the meet, Cauthen 's record is clearly in jeopardy.

Both men seem to have been born to ride, being small even by jockey standards: McKee is 4'11", 95 pounds; Cauthen , in his first season, was 5'2" and 87 pounds. But outside the record books, their paths have not crossed. "I've never met or talked to Steve Cauthen ," says McKee , whose father, David, rode at River 20 years ago, "but it's a thrill just hearing my name with his. I remember my dad talking all the time about how great Cauthen was."

Some are already saying that about McKee . "He's as good as Cauthen was when he started," says former Downs steward Mike Manganello, who rode Dust Commander to victory in the 1970 Kentucky Derby . "The kid's clearly a natural."