Historical PPs -- Boy is the game different than it used to be.....

[Socalman3]

was just looking at some old PPs and it is truly remarkable how differently horses used to be campaigned, the following is all Whirlaway --

1) ran 16 times as a 2yo -- the first 14 were all sprints, only the last two were routes in November -- both at Pimlico -- yes Pimlico used to have a November meet.

2) after 5 sprint prep races in February, March, and early April (no stakes -- all allowances and one handicap) -- he ran 7 races in 8 weeks and 3 days as follows:

April 24 - Blue Grass - Keeneland -- 9 furlongs - ran 2nd by 6 lengths in a 4 horse field on a muddy track

April 29 - Derby Trial -- Churchill -- 8 furlongs (presumably one turn) -- ran 2nd in a six horse field

May 3 -- won the Derby by 8 lengths against 10 horses.

May 10 -- won the Preakness by 5.5 lengths against 7 horses

May 20 -- back to one turn, ran a mid-week allowance against older horses at Belmont -- 1 and 1/16

June 7 -- won the Belmont

June 21 -- won the Dwyer -- then run at 10 furlongs

he still had plenty more to go in his 3yo campaign, but his races were more sanely spaced (although nothing still like spacing today).

3) In his 4yo debut, on April 9, 1942, in the Phoenix Handicap, run at 6 furlongs - he spotted a precocious 3yo 14.5 pounds (no typo - the 3yo carried 113.5) -- Whirlaway lost to the 3yo by a head -- the 3yo went on to be the Derby favorite -- at 9-5 in a field of 15 horses.  So yes, the 1942 KY Derby Favorite had actually beaten the prior year\'s TRIPLE CROWN WINNER in his only prep for that year\'s Derby.  Ironically, he ran a lackluster 6th.  

I do recall 30-40 years ago 3yos running against older horses -- Conquistador Cielo and Gulch in the Metropolitan Mile as a prep for the Belmont come to mind -- but they were outliers by that time.

My fandom of horseracing started in the mid-1970s -- the DRF used to run non-equine stories on the front page on rare occasions -- one was when there was a big move in the price of newsprint (which usually presaged a drf price increase) and the other was when the annual figures came out on spectator sports and horseracing was always the number one spectator sport in America.  Boy have times changed -- who cares about the price of newsprint?

Also, anybody here remember listening to news radio for the races results and they would read out the results and the prices?  I loved it when I horse would pay more to show than to place -- and they would say -- \"prices okay\" -- so you knew it wasn\'t an error and the prices just came out odd.

[philywheel]

I remember in the 70s listening  to my little transistor radio for results,if im not mistaken Harvey Pack gave a delayed stretch calls for NYRA races ,I think it was on news radio 88 ,it was done 12 and 42 past the hr,also there was a phone# you could call to get the stretch call also.(Im a Queens boy) 1st OTB opened in Queens was on Queens BLVD.(those were the days)
philywheel

[richiebee]

I can’t read a recounting like this without recalling Spectacular Bid.

To prep for the Triple Crown, the Bid won four Florida preps: Hutcheson, Fountain of Youth, Flamingo and Florida Derby, before moving on to Kentucky and taking the Blue Grass and Derby.

The Bid went on to have one of the great campaigns in thoroughbred history as a 4YO, setting track records and carrying significant weight at distances from 7 to
10 furlongs.

You can look it up.

[albatross]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_French_(horse)

Check out Johnny Campo’s Jim French.

[trackjohn]

It was 1973/74...on 660am...it was called \"Pack at the Track\"...he would come on the air about 20 minutes after the race was run and do a recreation of the last 1/2 mile of the race...I believe that it was always the early DD and the feature

John

[trackjohn]

The OTB dial in # was the ONLY remote way you could get the results \'quickly\'...nice recall Philly!!

[trackjohn]

If memory serves, it was 976-2121...I called it enough!!

[philywheel]

WOW, thats the # ,I called it enough times myself,Their was only 1 DD back then and 8 races,the feature was the 7th.I also recall the Saturday TV show with Frank Wright and Charlsie Canty on WOR ch.9 it was on Delay,I used to Call my Girlfriend
(now and still mywife) knowing the results and told her who Bet (knowing the results)told her who I bet ,never picked a loser she thought I was amazing
Philwheel

[johnnym]

That’s great nostalgia thanks fellas..

[jbelfior]

Put 6 in the gate. Bid, Slew, Curlin, Arrogate, Gun Runner, Affirmed.  

All as 4yos, all carrying 126. A mile and an eight at Saratoga.

Who are you taking and why?


Good Luck,
Joe B.

[lfe2211]

Dr. Fager easy.

[JohnTChance]

Old PP\'s? For a real hoot how \'bout looking at some old ThoroGraph sheets! NOT the beautiful computer printed .pdf files of today. But the \"rough and hand-marked by Jerry Brown\" versions of yesteryear. For sentimental reasons, I\'ve kept a few. For example:

I have an A.P INDY sheet going into the 1992 Kentucky Derby indicating he won the 1992 Santa Anita Derby with a 7.5! [Today that\'s VERY VERY S-L-O-W!]

I have an UNBRIDLED sheet indicating he won the 1990 Florida Derby with a 8.5!

No doubt: These slices of paper with Jerry\'s penmanship should be in the Smithsonian Institution.

[statuette]

I started in the late 80s Alphabet instead of # for horses my high light was Goin to restaurant  on 34th st paying $5 for track odds and getting a steak dinner if you win lol

[grinder]

For authentication purposes - any residual bourbon stains from the author?

[RICH]

and then the guy would come out the door and post it on the board, as the crowd surged to see the winner you had to sing yourself a tune so you wouldn\'t hear people yelling the letter results