Chris McCarron, Eddie Delahoussaye and Laffit Pincay Jr. retired within a few months of one another. Gary Stevens, deciding he'd have more fun either making movies or riding in France, has become a part-time jockey. Pat Valenzuela's substance abuse problems have once again put his future in serious jeopardy. Pat Day is closing in on his 51st birthday and is clearly slowing down. Kent Desormeaux seems disinterested. And now this: Jerry Bailey says he's likely to hang it up at the end of 2005.

Anyone know of any good jockeys out there?

The pool consisting of riding talent has never been weaker and the list of top young riders has never been thinner. Among the top 10 riders in the country in money-earned last year, only Ramon Domiguez is under 30. Four of the 10 (Bailey, Day, Valenzuela and Jose Santos are 40 or older. And the talent level will take a precipitous drop when Bailey, arguably the most dominant rider in history, retires. He will take with him the $23 million his horses earned last year, the 26 Grade I races he won.

There's a huge void out there waiting to be filled, but by whom? A look at a handful of jockeys ready to step in, seize a great opportunity and become the stars of tomorrow:

Ramon Dominguez: Everything points to him being the next Edgar Prado. He's only 27, won more races than anyone else in the country in 2001 and 2003 and has made a name for himself on the Maryland circuit, where Prado made a huge splash before moving on to New York. That he cracked the top 10 in earnings in 2003 without riding regularly in Kentucky, New York or California is remarkable. Ought to get on the next plane to California, where he wouldn't have any problem establishing himself as a top rider against such weakened competition.

Rafael Bejarano: The next Prado II. Just 21, he is absolutely tearing up Turfway Park, where he leads the jockey standings by a 79-26 margin over Jason Lumpkins. Even though Turfway has had to cancel eight full cards this year and parts of four others, he's the leading jockey in the country in 2004 by an 81-58 margin over Velazquez. Granted, Turfway Park in the winter isn't exactly Saratoga, but the kid is doing remarkable things there. Like Prado, he is from Peru and idolizes his countryman.

Cornelio Velasquez: Even though he's no youngster at 35, he's yet to blossom. Has only been riding in this country for a few years and is just now starting to be discovered by top trainers. He won the biggest race of his career last year in the Breeders' Cup Sprint aboard Cajun Beat and has become a favorite of the Wayne Lukas stable. From Panama, he still struggles with his English and can help his career by mastering the language. This guy can flat out ride.

Robby Albarado: By all accounts, he's already a top rider. He's leading the standings at the Fair Grounds and gets his fair share of top horses to ride. But his star is going to shine brighter in the near future. Day can't go on forever and he's clearly the heir apparent as the Midwest's top rider.

Tyler Baze: Is steadily working his way up the ladder in California. Is currently third in the jockey standings at Santa Anita and is starting to pick up some quality stakes mounts. He's just 21. He's going to get a lot better.

Mick Ruis: This one may be a stretch because he's won most of his races in racing's version of the minor leagues, but there has been nothing but rave reports about of Turf Paradise on 16-year-old apprentice Mick Ruis. Just 16, he's still the leading rider at the current Turf Paradise meet with 110 wins, 28 more than runner-up Glenn Corbett, despite switching to Santa Anita earlier this month. Baze made the same Turf Paradise-to-Southern California move in 2000.

"I used Tyler a lot (at Turf), and Mick is so far ahead you can't believe it," trainer Eric Kruljac told the Arizona Republic. "(Ruis) looked green at Del Mar, but he was getting on two live horses a month there. He's getting on more live horses here, and he's just taken off. He's still learning, but he really listens to instructions and he's just got tremendous will."