Colins Ghost

On Saturday, Rachel Alexandra will launch her 4-year-old season at the Fairgrounds in New Orleans. In 2009, Rachel A. became just the third 3-year-old filly to be awarded Horse of the Year. She has a challenging road ahead and has much to accomplish to meet the expectations imposed on her by the racing world. Her second start of the year is scheduled for the Apple Blossom, where she would face the undefeated Breeders Cup Classic winner Zenyatta.

Rachel Alexandra, 2009 Horse of the Year (AP)

If Rachel Alexendra can notch a single victory in 2010, it will be one more than the other two 3-year-old filly Champions could manage. Busher and Twilight Tear — the other 3-year-old fillies named HOTY in 1944 and 1945 — only raced one time each after their sophomore campaigns, both starts ended in losses and subsequent retirement.

Busher did not race as a 4-year-old because of an injury suffered at the end of 1945. In January 1947, she made her 5-year-old debut in an allowance race, and finished an uninspired 5th, in what was the final race of her career. Her owner, the movie mogul Louis B. Mayer, was said to be so devastated by Busher’s retirement that he sold his racing stable. The Associated Press reported on the end of Busher’s career on February 10, 1947:

“…Close observers declared that [Louis B.] Meyer’s heart went out of racing when Busher failed to come back, and the evidence points that way.

Busher, 1945 Horse of the Year

“Mayer bought Busher from Col E.R. Bradley for $50,000 at the end of her two-year-old season.

“In 1945, as a three-year-old, Busher nearly swept the boards at Santa Anita, Washington Park and Hollywood Park. She became the darling of the turf and of Mayer’s affections. The movie magnate was never happier than when standing in the winner’s circle with the glistening bay filly.

“Then after clinching horse-of-year honors, Busher broke down in a prep for the Hollywood Gold Cup…”

“…Intensive plans were laid to bring back the No. 1 filly at the 1946-47 Santa Anita meeting. Now a five-year-old, she was nominated for the $100,000 Santa Anita handicap March 1 and all efforts pointed toward that goal.

“On Jan 2, Busher was started in a six-furlong sprint test. She ran fifth in a field of six fillies and mares she used to beat with one hoof tied behind her back.

“She was nominated for the $50,000 San Pasqual, then scratched a few hours before the race Jan 11.

“On Jan 13, a Mayer spokesman disclosed that ‘L.B. wants to sell and get out.’

When Mayer dispersed his stable for $500,000, he sold his beloved Busher for $135,000. She eventually landed at the Maine Chance farm in Kentucky where she delivered five foals. She died in 1955.  A few years after the heavily publicized sale of his racing stable, Louis B. Mayer re-entered the horse business and bred the 1959 Preakness winner Royal Orbit

Twilight Tear also fizzled after winning Horse of the Year. She closed her 3-year-old campaign by beating handicap champion Devil Diver in the Pimlico Special. She scratched from what was to be her final start in the Riggs Handicap at Pimlico on Nov 20, 1944 because of track conditions. Twilight Tear did not make her 4-year-old debut until August 1945. The Associated Press reported on her final career start:

“It looks like the end of the trail for Twilight Tear, Warren Wright’s great filly who has won more than $200,000 and last year was named ‘horse of the year.’ The Tear bled in her four-year-old debut at Washington Park [Chicago] yesterday and faltered to finish last in a five horse field.

“Trainer Ben Jones declared she ‘hemorrhaged** through the nose during the race, then had another attack on the way to the stable. I have informed Mr. Wright that we ought to retire her, but I won’t know until I hear from him.’

Twilight Tear was indeed retired and sent to the legendary Calumet Farm. She foaled a number of stakes winners including A Gleam (pictured below, as a foal), who won the Hollywood Oaks among her dozen wins.  Twilight Tear died in 1954.

Twilight Tear, 1944 Horse of the Year

If Rachel Alexandra can return to form in 2010, she will surpass Busher and Twilight Tear among the all-time great fillies. Busher and Twilight Tear’s 3-year-old campaigns might be more impressive because they notched more wins, and raced in open company more often, but neither did anything beyond their stellar sophomore seasons.

Another full season of racing where Rachel Alexandra beats high class competition, will elevate her into another stratosphere. When all is said and done, she might turn out to be a once-in-a-lifetime filly.

SOURCES, NOTES, AND OBSERVATIONS

** NOTE: When a horse “hemorrhages” or “bleeds” its not as horrific as its sounds.  When horses are running, and they over-exert themselves, they sometimes burst blood vessels in their lungs.  This condition effects their breathing and, obviously, ability to race.  The drug Lasix, legal in American racing, is used to treat this condition.  Joe Drape, of the New York Times, wrote about Lasix in an article in 2009.

Associated Press. “Twilight Tear at Trail’s End,” The Spokesman-Review, August 30, 1945

Associated Press. “Busher Injured Out of Big Race,” The Spokesman-Review, October 16, 1945

Associated Press. “Busher Failure Leads to Sale,” Kentucky New Era, February 10, 1947

Twilight Tear at the Unofficial Racing Hall of Fame

Image of Twilight Tear from H.P. Richardson’s The History of Thoroughbred Racing in America

Read more about Twilight Tear at Brooklyn Backstretch

Ron Micetic — a reader who has been tremendously generous in providing scans of his extensive racing program collection — has come through again, in a big way, with a ticket for yours truly to this year’s Apple Blossom. I have hammered out all the logistics and will be hitting the road on Tuesday April 6 with a stop at Keeneland to visit the library and watch the races. Then its off to Hot Springs for two days of racing at Oaklawn. I will be posting images and reports throughout the trip here at Colin’s Ghost. Should be epic — hoping the big race goes off as planned.

THANKS FOR READING AND GOOD LUCK!

Without insulting those who are going to be talking and writing about this ad nauseum for the next few months, I say “who cares?” I think we should all take a page from our pal Lisa at the Superfecta blog who wrote this in an outstanding piece after Zenyatta’s unbelievable win in the Breeders Cup Classic on Saturday:

“In the end, Horse of the Year will not matter; the votes of a select few will bestow that title on one (or, ideally, both) of these outstanding fillies, but our collective memory will do them a better sort of justice – we will count Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta among the very greatest horses ever to have graced the track.” (On Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra and Memory)

Brilliantly and beautifully said, I could not agree more. Whichever filly finishes second in the voting won’t make me (or most race fans) think any less of their accomplishments this year. I realize that content producers need something to talk and debate but I find that such debates can devolve into combativeness where one side begins to denigrate the resume of the other (i.e.: Jerry Baily, on the ESPN telecast, knocked Rachel Alexandra for ducking the Travers within minutes of Zenyatta winning the Classic). Neither of these fillies should be denigrated to prove the superiority of the other – they are both great racehorses.

The only way we might determine the better horse would be if they actually raced each other (and even then, questions would remain). If Zenyatta beats Rachel Alexandra for Horse of the Year (or vice versa) does that mean one is “better” than the other? I don’t think so.

I have seen a number of people express the hope that the two fillies could share the award. This would be OK by me but barring a mathematical miracle where the voting ends in a dead heat or the voting is fixed or suspended this year – it’s not going to happen. Talk of a shared Horse of the Year sparked a memory of something I read in racing historian Edward Bowen’s excellent Masters of the Turf . Bowen wrote this about the evolution of the “official” Horse of the Year award:

“In 1936 Daily Racing Form began a formal vote to designate champions in various age/sex divisions. In 1950 the Thoroughbred Racing Associations began conducting a vote on its own, and from time to time American Thoroughbred racing might have duplicate champions. Among examples, Bold Ruler and Dedicate split the honor of Horse of the Year in 1957, as did Mocassin and Roman Brother in 1965, and Fort Marcy and Personality in 1970.”

“Beginning in 1971, the Eclipse Award format unified the Racing Form and TRA polls and also incorporated the National Turf Writers Association. Since then, there has been one Horse of the Year per season, and jimmying of procedures has more or less eliminated ties in the various divisions.”

“Well, starting with 1936 as the dawn of official championships meant that a great deal of American Turf history existed in a sort of limbo. Not long before the advent of the Eclipse Awards, Kent Hollingsworth, then editor of the Blood Horse, pored over the history of racing as passed down by such stalwart journalists as John Hervey, Walter Vosburgh, Joseph A. Estes, and Joe Palmer. Based on his conclusions relative to their opinions, Hollingsworth published in The Great Ones a list of division and overall champions (Horse of the Year) starting in 1870,”

“The Blood-Horse from time to time has published this list, which in many circles has taken on the imprimatur of officialdom. There are individuals within the racing press today who actually use the phrase ‘voted Horse of the Year’ about some long ago beast who predated by many years anything that could be reasonably called a vote. The late Hollingsworth would be pleased by the credibility assigned his efforts, while at the same time aggrieved by the sloppiness of reporting and general lack of understanding that everything prior to 1936 should be looked upon as different from votes commencing in that year.”

SIDENOTE: The book Bowen refers to above – The Great Ones by Kent Hollingsworth – is impossible to find and is due for a reprint. It appears the initial printing was small.

Even in 1972, after the Horse of the Year became “official”, publications like Turf and Sports Digest continued their own end of the year awards. We recall Secretariat as a two-time horse of the year recipient. Not according to Turf and Sport who crowned Key to the Mint the 1972 Horse of the Year. In fact the two-year-old filly La Prevoyante received more HOY votes than Secretariat.

When it comes right down to it, awards can be pretty meaningless except to those with the power to vote. The long range importance of any race horse, as Lisa so eloquently pointed out, is how they are remembered. For anyone who witnessed the amazing feats of Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra, they will be remembered for what they did on the track, not for winning (or losing) Horse of the Year.

And let’s watch this year’s racing masterpieces one more time…

Be sure to check this out: On Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra and Memory. This is the best take on the Zenyatta-Rachel A debate I have read so far.

Jessica from Raceday360 put together a handy spreadsheet listing the 2009 accomplishments of Rachel A and Zenyatta.

Hope everyone had a good Breeders Cup…

THANKS FOR READING AND GOOD LUCK!

Throw a dart at an historical time line of racing in the 20th century and you have a good shot of hitting Kelso. Kelso dominated the spotlight during the first half of the 1960s on his way to five straight horse of the year awards. Today marks the 44th anniversary of Keslo’s win in the Washington D.C. International at Laurel Park in Maryland.

Image: Keslo standing on the turf at Laurel Park, 1963 (Turf and Sport Digest)

The D.C. International was an invitational turf event held at year’s end that attracted horses from all over the world (very similar to today’s Breeders Cup Turf). In its 43 running’s from 1952 to 1994, 13 horses won the D.C. International and also won turf horse of the year. Three horses (Kelso, Fort Marcy, and All Along) won the race in route to horse of the year honors. (see chart of winners below)

Kelso, known for his prowess on dirt, rarely competed on turf and yet his connections tried the International four times before he finally broke through at age 7. The win was his first and only significant grass victory (He ran second in the Man O’ War in 1962 and won 2 out of 3 allowance races on turf).

In his first three tries in the International, he ran three seconds all by less then 1 1/2 lengths. His race in 1962 is considered by some as one of the best of his career. After contesting a hot pace, he was passed in the stretch by Match II in a finish so courageous that it brought his jockey Milo Valenzuela to tears. Kelso’s victory two years later, in his fourth and final try, made the victory that much sweeter for owners Allaire du Pont and trainer Carl Hanford, both Maryland based.

Here is how the legendary sports writer Shirley Povich described Kelso’s victory in the 1964 Washington D.C. International:

“For the International it was June in November and they came in a swarm, bringing money through the traffic snarls. The crowd figure hit 37,800 with the new great society well heeled, and dumping $170,748 into the betting of the second race. It was an uptake of $14,000 over the comparative wagering on this day a year ago and perhaps a pleasant reflection on the state of the national economy.”

“The excuse for the party, though, was to be the seventh race in which Laurel was putting up 150,000 for grabs to cement international good will and, incidentally, cut the betting pot. It was the 13th running of Laurel’s horses-to-horses program designed to prove that horses could be friends. Seven foreign countries were accepting combat against the native born Kelso and Gun Bow.”

“Socially, it was a split-level crowd ranging from horse players in the grandstands to the snobbery that could be bought in the clubhouse that was topped in turn by the Brahmins in the Turf Club. As the big race neared it was evident, too, that they were all voting on a split-ticket, casting their wagers for Kelso and Gun Bow, with scorn for the foreigners.”

“The first voters profile analysis on the odds board showed that Kelso was the 6 to 5 favorite with Gun Bow at 9 to 5, with the Soviet Analine the long shot third choice at 15 to 1. The increasing action brought Gun Bow down to 3 to 2, but undisturbed were the 6-5 odds on Kelso, the famed seven-year-old bachelor deemed most eligible to win the race.”

“From the barns across the track they came into range for the saddling with Kelso bare-backed, his handlers disdaining the official Laurel blanket that came with the race. Aniline, the Russian, proved big of neck like previous Soviet entries, and Ryu Forel, the Japanese, came into the saddling ring not only blanketed but hooded in white. ‘He looks like trick or treat,’ Joe Kelly said.”

“They behaved fairly well in front of the gate but Eddie Blind in the starter’s pagoda was demanding a more decent lineup before he sent them away three minutes later. It wasn’t quite good for the outside pair, Aniline and Ryu Forel or the Italian Veronese 2d, but they could correct this if they had a good mile and a half in them.”

“Anybody could have called the break. It was Walter Blum hustling his speed ball Gun Bow out of the No. 1 position and taking over quickly, but quickly, too, it was seen that Ismael Valenzuela and Kelso weren’t going to let him get away with this because the next to create daylight from the pack was the gelding in a hustle to make a two-horse race if necessary”

“Gun Bow was buck jumping out in front by four lengths when they came to the grandstand after the first half mile and these two stayers were out to make it an all-American horse race. They were throwing a 1:10 2/5 at the foreigners for the first six furlongs, sprinters time, and were having the race to themselves unless Bella Sicambre, the French filly could unload something dramatic from her third place position.”

“After dropping Kelso in on the rail as a ground-saving move rounding the first bend in the last mile, Valenzuela set the gelding down in a determined rush at Gun Bow. The daylight between them diminished at every stride and rounding the far turn Kelso had Gun Bow hooked. For the first time Kelso got his head in front, but Blum was now asking more from Gun Bow and recouped the lead, but only briefly.”

“It wasn’t known until the finish that they were headed for the fastest mile and half ever run on the grass at Laurel, a phenomenal 2:23.4 that clipped T.V. Lark’s record by a full two and two-fifths seconds. But it was known that nothing behind them was going to catch the American pair.”

“Coming out of the last bend, Kelso felt the demanding whip of Valenzuela for the first time and when he responded an eighth from home, he was home. There was a slight brush as he ranged up on Gun Bow from the outside and Valenzuela was leaning on his right rein to halt Keslo’s drift. But when he criss-crossed finally with Kelso taking the rail, it was not until he had a length and a half lead.”

“Blum made the expected foul claim, but wasn’t honored by the stewards who found no violation and perceived, anyway, that Blum had an already-beaten horse, Valenzuela crossed the finish line looking back and managing a fond pat for his mount as they went under the wire. In his fourth try for the International, Kelso didn’t miss.”

“Blum won the honors in the jocks’ room after the race with his generous tribute to Kelso. Asked if he was surprised when Kelso caught Gun Bow rounding the last turn, Blum said, ‘No, that was just about the time I expected him to show up.’ Asked what he would have done if it had been somebody besides Kelso who had come up to challenge him in the stretch, Blum said, ‘I guess I would have jumped off’”

While many believed this was to be Kelso’s final race. He returned to the track in 1965 and won the Whitney at Saratoga and the Stymie at Aqueduct. He was retired in 1966 at age 9.

UPDATE (12/04/08): Check out the film clip of Kelso winning the 1964 D.C. International from YouTube. The quality is bad but what an outstanding piece of history:

Winner’s of the D.C. International and HOY Awards

1961 – T.V. Lark – Turf Horse of the Year
1963 – Mongo – Turf HOY
1964 – Kelso – Horse of the Year
1967 – Fort Marcy – Turf HOY
1970 – Fort Marcy – Horse of the Year, Turf HOY
1974 – Dahlia – Turf HOY (Dahlia won the DC Int. in 1973)
1976 – Youth – Turf HOY
1977 – Johnny D – Turf HOY
1978 – Mac Diarma – Turf HOY
1979 – Bowl Game – Turf HOY
1982 – April Run – Female Turf HOY
1983 – All Along – Horse of the Year, Female Turf HOY
1988 – Sunshine Forever – Male Turf HOY
1994 – Paradise Creek – Male Turf HOY

Note: The Female Turf Horse of the Year was awarded for the first time in 1979. From 1953 to 1978, a single Turf Horse of the Year was awarded. Dahlia was the only female to win Turf Horse of the Year prior to 1979.

SOURCES, NOTES, AND THOUGHTS

“This Morning with Shirley Povich”, Washington Post, November 12, 1964

“Kelso is a Horse for the Ages“, New York Times, October 31, 1964

“Grass, Alas“, Time Magazine, November 23, 1963

Steve Haskin, Keslo, Thoroughbred Legends Series, Eclipse Press

Linda Kennedy, Kelso: The Horse of Gold

Read more about Kelso online:
Kelso’s Hall of Fame Page
Kelso – “King Kelly” by Cindy Pierson Dulay
Keslo at thouroughbredchampions.com

Shirley Povich was one of the most respected sports writers of the 20th Century. The Washington Post has an outstanding tribute page to the great writer that is worth a look.

Thanks for Reading and Good Luck!