RACING TO HISTORY

Aug. 19, 1978: In the conclusion of their 10-race rivalry, Alydar scored his third “success” against Affirmed in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga Racecourse, when his adversary was disqualified from first place.

Aug. 19, 1990: Jockey Earlie Fires became the eleventh rider in Thoroughbred racing history to register 5,000 victories when he guided Tex’s Zing to victory in the ninth race at Arlington International Racecourse. He joined history-making jockeys Bill Shoemaker, Laffit Pincay Jr., Angel Cordero Jr., John Longden, Jorge Velasquez, Larry Snyder, Sandy Hawley, Dave Gall, Carl Gambardella and Chris McCarron.

Aug. 20, 1966: Ogden Phipps’ Buckpasser, ridden by Braulio Baeza, became racing’s first three-year-old millionaire after he won the Travers Stakes at Saratoga Racecourse.

Aug. 20, 2000: Ron Ardoin became the 16th jockey in North America to win 5,000 races when he guided Heart of an Angel to a three-length victory in the seventh race at Louisiana Downs.

Aug. 21, 2007: Perry Ouzts gained the 5,000th win of his riding career when he piloted Kandinsky to victory in the 1st race at River Downs.

Aug. 22, 1972: In preparation for his next start, the Aug. 26 Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga Racecourse, Secretariat worked a half-mile in :46 2/5.

Aug. 22, 1998: Hall of Fame trainer Woodford Cefis “Woody” Stephens died in Miami Lakes, Fla. He was 84.

Aug. 23, 1956: Carl Gambardella had his first career winner, aboard Rollin Warm, at Hagerstown.

Aug. 23, 1974: Frank Whiteley-trained Ruffian won the Spinaway Stakes by 13 lengths at Saratoga Racecourse, ending her two-year-old season with a 5-for-5 record. Ruffian was subsequently voted champion juvenile filly of 1974.

      Aug. 23, 2003: Trainer King Leatherbury became just the third trainer in history to win 6,000 races after saddling Cherokee Sunrise to victory in the seventh race at Timonium.

Aug. 24, 1968: Carrying 134 pounds, Dr. Fager set the then-world record for a mile in the Washington Park Handicap at Arlington Park. The time for his 10-length victory was 1:32 1/5. The previous record was 1:32 3/5, set by three-year-old Buckpasser on June 25, 1966 at Arlington Park.

Aug. 24, 1989: Jockey Larry Snyder won his 6,000th career race, aboard a filly named Speedski, in the first race at Louisiana Downs. Snyder was the sixth rider in history to accomplish that feat.

      Aug. 24, 2003: Jockey Julie Krone became the first female rider to win a million-dollar race when she piloted Candy Ride to victory in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar.

Aug. 25, 1987: Julie Krone won her 1,000th career victory, aboard Tiger Higgins in the second race at Monmouth Park.

Aug. 25, 1997: Jockey Pat Day gained his 7,000th career victory aboard Bay Harbor in the second race at Saratoga Racecourse. Day became the fifth rider to reach the 7,000-win plateau.

Aug. 25, 2001: A record Travers Stakes day attendance of 60,486 watched Point Given win the race dubbed the “Midsmummer Derby.” The day’s total betting handle of $34,529,273 was also a Saratoga record.

Aug. 26, 1953: A syndicate headed by Howard E. Booker of San Francisco, unveiled a proposal for an off-track betting system in New York. Booker’s group, planning to use Western Union to compile off-track bets, sought to establish 139 betting offices, to be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Aug. 26, 1972: Secretariat won the Hopeful Stakes by five lengths at Saratoga Racecourse, for his second stakes win in as many tries.

Aug. 27, 1953: The Thoroughbred Racing Associations denounced a plan for off-track betting in New York. John A. Morris, the TRA president, declared: “Although it could mean increased profits for the race tracks, off-course betting would inevitably subordinate racing and bring on an adverse public reaction which would kill a traditionally great sport and an economically significant industry.”

Aug. 28, 1988: A winning ride aboard Precisionist in the Cabrillo Handicap at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club made Chris McCarron the fifth jockey to surpass $100 million in career earnings.

Aug. 29, 1987: Charlie Whittingham became the first trainer to surpass 500 stakes wins when he sent Ferdinand to victory in the Cabrillo Handicap at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.

Aug. 29, 1993: Laffit Pincay Jr., 46, became the second rider in North American racing history to ride 8,000 winners when he rode El Toreo to victory in the seventh race at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Bill Shoemaker was the first to hit 8,000, a feat he accomplished in 1981 at age 49.

Aug. 30, 1981: Bill Shoemaker became the first jockey to win a $1 million race when he rode John Henry to a nose victory over The Bart in the inaugural Arlington Million at Arlington Park.

Aug. 31, 1955: In an East versus West showdown, Nashua, ridden by Eddie Arcaro, went wire-to-wire to defeat Swaps, ridden by Bill Shoemaker in a match race at Washington Park. Nashua’s victory avenged his second-place finish, behind Swaps, in the 1955 Kentucky Derby.

Aug. 31, 1985: Angel Cordero Jr., 42, became the third rider in history—behind Bill Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay Jr.—to have his mounts earn $100 million, while riding at Belmont Park.

Sept. 1, 1881: The Dwyer Brothers’ three-year-old Hindoo won his 19th consecutive race, a purse event at Sheepshead Bay. His winning streak was snapped six days later in the September Handicap at Sheepshead, in which he finished third.

Sept. 1, 1924: A French colt, Epinard, headed the field for the first of three Internationals, of progressively longer distances, to be run at Belmont Park, Aqueduct and Latonia. Epinard finished second in the six-furlong race, which was witnessed by the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII.

Sept. 1, 1947: With a victory by Armed in the Washington Park Handicap, Calumet Farm became the first stable to surpass $1 million in annual earnings. Calumet led all owners for 1947, with total earnings of $1,402,436.

Sept. 1, 2001: Jockey Tim Moccasin capped a streak of 14 consecutive victories, a North American record, at Marquis Downs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. His fourteenth straight win came aboard Intricate Stitch in the fifth race.

Sept. 1, 2005: Due to the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans announced that it would conduct its 2005-2006 meet at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs in Bossier City.



 


 




 
 
 
 
 
 
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