Colins Ghost

In a few days, the West Coast will play host to the first of two straight Breeders Cups. Being an East Coaster with an admitted bias, I thought I would try something new for this space in honor of the BC in LA: Do a little California racing history. What better place to start then Santa Anita Park – site for the Breeders Cup in 2008 and 2009.

Image: Full page advertisement from the Los Angeles Herald, December 22, 1907

The first Santa Anita was built on the immense “Rancho Santa Anita” owned by E.J. “Lucky” Baldwin, who was described in 1909 as a “pioneer, soldier of fortune, and owner of horses”. The original Santa Anita opened on December 7, 1907. Baldwin, whose life story stands as a classic rags to riches tale, “owned, controlled, and dictated” over Arcadia, the area that included parts of his ranch and his racetrack. According to his obituary, Santa Anita Park was the last of Baldwin’s dreams to be realized. However, in a lifetime of success the track also brought Baldwin his final heartbreak.

In February 1909, during the track’s second and what would be its final racing season, the Walker-Otis bill passed and outlawed “pool selling” in California, making it impossible for bookmakers to ply their trade. The end of racing in California soon followed, killed by the wave of “moralism” spreading across the country during the period. Lucky Baldwin died at his ranch less than a month after the anti-gambling bill became law.

Grand stand at the first Santa Anita Race Track, circa 1908
(Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

While Baldwin’s track lasted only two seasons, it made its mark on the history of racing and established a foundation for the current California racing scene. Here is how the Los Angeles Herald described a visit to the first Santa Anita Park on December 5, 1907:

“With the weights for the opening feature announced this morning and with the cup race poundage due today things begin to assume definite shape, and the lovers of turf events are reminded that but two days intervene until the bugles music again draws them out to watch the horses speed around the oval. Opening day, while it may lack a completed grandstand and paddock will in almost every other particular be as near perfect as possible, and Santa Anita park is sure to please all but the dyspeptics.

“The track is certain to be productive of fast time, and its mile and an eighth oval will provide a fitting ground for the hoofs of some of the best thoroughbreds ever seen on a Western track. The entries in the Pomona handicap alone show what can be expected this winter, and with the best in the country here to race for the rich purses there should be no lack of good sport.

“A visit to the course yesterday disclosed the fact that an unpainted paddock and a none too gorgeous grandstand would greet the crowds Saturday. But the view from this stand, however unfinished the structure may be, is well worth anybody’s time and money.

Panorama view from the grand stand at old Santa Anita, circa 1908
(Courtesy of the Library of Congress)

“Looking off across the field, past the smooth track itself and over beyond the line of white rails that mark the course, the stables loom like army barracks. Further on come the brown fields and orange groves, and in the distance the Sierra Madre, nestling against the mountains of that name, greets the eye like a picture from the brush of a master. The mountains themselves, rugged and still untouched by the season’s snow, loom up in majestic splendor to form a background for all, the trails to Mt. Wilson and Mt. Lowe leading like silver threads to the observations at the top.

“Work on the grandstand and paddock, was in full swing all day and night, but even with a full force swinging hammers and applying paint brushed there is no chance of a fully completed place. The outside rail around the track will be finished today and the steps leading to the stand from the front are yet to be put in place.

“Those sports[men] who care for racing as a pastime and not as a speculative proposition may be pleased to know that from almost any point outside the ground at Santa Anita an unobstructed view of each and every race can be obtained. It is rather new to these parts to be able to get something for nothing. Unless some patrolling system is established the man too cheap or too poor to dig up admission money can have all the racing he wants gratis.”

Two days later, Santa Anita opened and the L.A. Herald had this review of the new facility:

“And after the day was done nothing but words of praise – aside from the comments on the car service – were heard on all sides. The beauty of the track, the class of horses, betting facilities, ample room to sit and stand as suited the fancy – everything was satisfactory and Santa Anita’s first day closed in a blaze of glory, long to be remembered as a fitting baptismal for the handsomest and most perfect track in America.”

The first Santa Anita was short-lived but wildly successful. Owners shipped their steeds by rail from all over the country. The track even earned a left-handed compliment from the New York Evening World under the headline: “Racing at Los Angeles Showing Improvement.” The paper praised the new track but added that it was the “influx of New York horsemen adding new life to the game on coast.”

In the tradition of west coast ovals, the track was lightning fast. At least three world records were broken in its two seasons. The records for five and half furlongs (1:05), a mile (1:37 1/5), and a mile and an eighth (1:50) were all set in its short history.

Like racing in New York, California racing nearly died at the hands of “do-gooders.” As it did in New York, it made a comeback and played a significant role in racing’s rise to prominence in the middle of the twentieth century.

Racing returned to Baldwin’s Ranch in 1934 when the current Santa Anita Park opened – reviving the legacy of West Coast racing’s founding father.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW?
Not being familiar with the current track or the area (except what I see on TVG), I am wondering if any reader knows where old Santa Anita was located in relation to the current track? As I was writing this, I felt a bit in the dark having never visited the area. Like all things historical, I assume there is some local knowledge about old Santa Anita that I missed here. Please send me an email or post a comment below.

SOURCES, NOTES, OBSERVATIONS

News accounts courtesy of Library of Congress Historic American Newspapers and New York Times Archive (NY Times requires registration):
“Track View is Pleasing,” Los Angeles Herald, December 5, 1907
“Carman Victories Provide Features of Inaugural Day,” Los Angeles Sunday Herald, December 8, 1907
“New World’s Turf Record on Coast,” New York Times, December 20, 1908
“Racing at Los Angeles Showing Improvement,” New York Evening World, December 21, 1908
“Centre Shot’s World’s Turf Mark,” New York Times, December 23, 1908
“California Racing’s Doom,” New York Times, February 20, 1909
“Lucky Baldwin Loses to Death in Last Race,” San Francisco Call, March 2, 1909

Ron Hale, “E.J. ‘Lucky’ Baldwin and Santa Anita,” http://horseracing.about.com/library/blbaldwin.htm

William H.P. Robertson, The History of Thoroughbred Racing in America, 1964

The Library of Congress has a significant collection of images online from Santa Anita Park in their Prints and Photographs Catalog. Among them are images from the park when was it used as an “assembly center” for the relocation and internment of Japanese-Americans during the Second World War.

Can anyone explain why Santa Anita Park’s website has no history of the track. C’mon now! Did I miss it? Hey Magna! The history of the game is pretty significant — you should check that out when you have a minute.

This is my last post until after Breeders Cup. I will not be playing the races on “female” Friday and will limit my wagering on “male” Saturday. The only way the BC folks will listen to the fans is if the handle suffers. So my contribution to the BC this year will be insignificant. Let’s hope the arrogance of the BC doesn’t ruin what has been one of the highlights of the racing calendar.

Thanks for Reading and Good Luck!

On Saturday Peppers Pride made it 17 in a row at Zia Park to surpass the “modern” North American winning streak for a Thoroughbred. If she races two more times, (as planned) she has a chance to break Hindoo’s record of 18 straight set in 1881 (the “pre-modern” record?…more on that in a future post). Sixty years ago Citation set his streak of 16 while capturing the Triple Crown during what many believe the greatest 3-year-old season ever. Here is a recap of Citation’s 16.

Image: Citation after winning the 1948 Kentucky Derby. Courtesy of Kentuckiana Digital Library

This timeline was compiled using Citation’s past performances as documented in DRF’s Champions. Other details and quotes are courtesy of legendary announcer Phil Georgeff’s outstanding biography Citation: In A Class by Himself.

April 17, 1948 – Chesapeake Futurity at Havre de Grace
Citation avenges his 2nd career loss in a six furlong sprint over a muddy track. Citation beat a field of four including Saggy, who beat him in a controversial race at Havre de Grace on April 12. It was Citation’s 5th victory in 6 starts during his 3-year-old season.

April 27, 1948 – Derby Trial at Churchill Downs
Citation tunes up for the Kentucky Derby with a win in the Trial.

May 1, 1948 – Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs
Citation faces a short field of six that included his stablemate the undefeated Coaltown. Citation wins by 3 1/2 lengths. Coaltown, by Bull Lea the same sire as Citation, would go on to win stakes races from 6 furlongs to a mile and a quarter during his career (23 wins from 39 starts). He ran second in the Derby.

Watch the news reel footage of the 1948 Derby:

May 15, 1948 – Preakness at Pimlico
Citation wins in a gallop over three rivals

May 29, 1948 – Jersey Stakes at Garden State Park
Citation trainer Hall of Famer Jimmy Jones, son of Hall of Famer Ben Jones, decides to keep him sharp for the Belmont Stakes by running him in a mile and a quarter stake at Garden State Park. He wins with with ease – breaking the track record by over a second

June 12, 1948 – Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park
Trainer Jones tells jockey Eddie Arcaro in the paddock: “The Triple Crown’s ours, so don’t fall off.” Citation stumbled out of the gate but Arcaro stayed on. He wins by eight lengths, equaling Count Fleet’s track record of 2:28 1/5.

July 5, 1948 – Stars and Stripes Handicap at Arlington Park
Facing older horses for the third time in his career (he beat older horses twice in February 1948), Citation uncharacteristically begins to slow coming down the stretch but is urged by Eddie Arcaro to victory. After crossing the wire, he slowed again and began limping noticeably. Unknowing to Aracro, Citation had sprained his ankle and wrenched his hip at some point during the race.

August 21, 1948 – Allowance race at Washington Park
After the longest layoff of his three-year-old season, Citation returns from his injury to win an allowance race in Chicago.

August 28, 1948 – American Derby at Washington Park
Eddie Arcaro, back on board for the first time since Citation’s injury, sensing a slow pace moved him to the front early and repelled a late run by stablemate Free America to win by a length. Chicago sports writer Elmer Polzin wrote of his performance, “It took him two, maybe three, strides to accelerate and match Free America’s closing surge – not on his life would he allow the other guy to head him.”

September 29, 1948 – Sysonsby Mile at Belmont Park
Citation returned to Belmont where he won twice as a two year old (Futurity Trial and the Futurity). In the Sysonsby, Citation faced old foe Coaltown who had been running consistently well in races under a mile since finishing second in the Kentucky Derby. Citation goes from six lengths back to two lengths ahead in less then a quarter mile and wins by three lengths matching Belmont Park’s fastest mile time of the season (1:36).

October 2, 1948 – Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park
Just days after putting away some of the nation’s quickest horses in the Sysonsby, Citation lined up against the best “stayers” in the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup. Arcaro told Phil Georgeff about the big race at Belmont, “Cy was wired as never before….Now, he wasn’t an angry horse or hateful horse; once in a race he was merciless, but never like he was that day. Every time someone challenged him, he simply broke their heart by grinding their challenges into the dirt.” Citation won eased up by seven lengths.

October 16, 1948 – Empire City Gold Cup at Belmont Park
Two weeks after the two mile Jockey Club Gold Cup, Citation won another Gold Cup. This one at a 1 5/8.

October 29, 1948 – Pimlico Special at Pimlico
The Special was, at the time, an invitation only event created by Pimlico owner’s A.G. Vanderbilt in an effort to create an end of the year championship race. Citation chased away all competition and won the race in one of the most memorable walkover’s in the history of the sport.

December 3, 1948 – Allowance at Tanforan
Against the instincts of trainer Jimmy Jones, Citation was shipped to Tanforan in San Francisco. According to Phil Georgeff, Calumet Farms owner William Wright sent Citation – the most famous horse in America -out west as a favor to a business associate who had a stake in Tanforan.

December 11, 1948 – Tanforan Handicap at Tanforan
Citation’s final win of 1948 would mark the end of Citation dominance of American racing. Tanforan’s surface was notorious among horsemen for being as hard as concrete. He came out his sojourn to the west “gimpy.”

Citation spent all of 1949 in Kentucky recovering from a significant injury to his ankle. Most, including Eddie Arcaro and Jimmy Jones, thought he should have been retired. William Wright had other ideas. He wanted Citation back racing so he could reach the unprecedented million dollar mark in earnings. Citation returned to racing in 1950 and added the final win to his streak of 16:

January 11, 1950 – Allowance race at Santa Anita
Citation wins in a tune-up race for the winter stakes at Santa Anita. He would go on to run 2nd in 5 straight races before finally winning again in June at Golden Gate Park.

According to Phil Georgeff, William Wright’s obsession with reaching the one million mark in earnings (a feat he eventually reached) ruined Citation’s legacy. After winning 27 of 29 races in 1947-48, he won only 5 out of 16 races in 1950-51. Three of those wins came in 1951 when he reeled off victories in his final three starts, capping off his career with a victory over the Bewitch in the Hollywood Gold Cup. Georgeff concluded: “Had Citation stayed ‘retired’ following the end of a three-year-old career, a campaign not even Secretariet could match, his achieved fame as racing’s all-time ‘greatest thoroughbred’ would have stood the test of time.”

SOURCES

Phil Geogeff’s book Citation: In a Class by Himself is a must read for any fan of racing history. Much of the book is based on his 50 years of conversation with the major players in Citation’s career.

The Kentuckiana Digital Library is a great source for historic racing images. Check out additional photographs of the great Citation.

For more on Citation’s 1948 season check out Ron Hale’s excellent Remembering Citation

Another article with images, check out Paul Moran’s outstanding Citation: You Can’t Stop a Runaway Train

Thanks for Reading and Good Luck!