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January Horse History
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1 -
On
this day in 1890, the very first Roses Parade was presented
in Pasadena, California. The parade was made up of
horse-drawn carriages decorated lavishly in flowers. |
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1942: Racing in
California was officially canceled. On Dec. 16, the West
Coast military authorities had requested that Santa Anita
Park postpone its meeting indefinitely due to war
conditions.
1975: Secretariat was represented by his
first Thoroughbred foal, a filly named Miss Secretariat,
born in Kentucky to the mare My Card.
2 - On
this day in 1983, Kate Bosworth, the actress in The Horse
Whisperer, was born.
1945: As the end of
World War II approached, racing throughout the U.S. was
banned indefinitely at the request of James F. Byrnes, War
Mobilization Director. While Thoroughbreds could not be
transported in the U.S. for racing purposes, the Office of
Defense Transportation subsequently approved the shipment of
racehorses to tracks that were more than 300 miles beyond
U.S. borders. The ban was not lifted until May, causing the
rescheduling of the Triple Crown races. |
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3 -
This is the day of the original airdate
of the television show "Mr. Ed". The first of 143 episodes,
it aired in 1961. There is controversy as to whether the
show started today or on January 5. |
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4 -
Today in 1953, Cloudy View won both legs
of the same race, the Totalisator Double at the Kuros races
in Wellington, New Zealand. He was heavily favored to
win the race. |
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5 -
Today in 1961, the television show "Mr.
Ed", as everyone knows being the talking horse, debuted for
a six-year run. Alan Young starred as Wilbur Post, Mr. Ed's
owner, and the voice of Mr. Ed was Allan "Rocky" Young. "A
horse is a horse, of course, of course...." |
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6 - Chris Antley, the famous
racehorse jockey that rode Charismatic to a Kentucky Derby
and Preakness win in 1999, was born on this day in 1966. He
began his career at age 16 in South Carolina, riding Quarter
Horses and Thoroughbreds. |
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7 -
On this day
in 1956, Turf Paradise, a
racetrack founded by Walter Cluer, opened its doors
and Phoenicians responded by filling every seat and standing
shoulder-to-shoulder to welcome pari-mutuel racing to
Arizona and the Valley’s first sports franchise. |
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8 -
Thoroughbred racing returned to the
Balmoral racetrack for the
first time in 24 years on this day in
1978. |
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9 - The late, great Etiw , a
Polish Arabian, was born in Poland on January 9, 1969. He
was pure Polish, a very successful racer. He was imported to
the U.S. of A. in 1973 and had 264 foals, ALL GREY. He
was a certified four-star show stallion. |
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14 -
On this day in 1932,
the legendary jockey Eddie Acaro won his first race. He rode
Eagle Bird to victory, and thus the winner's circle. |
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15 - 1969: Barbara Jo Rubin was
named to ride in a race at Tropical Park. Thirteen male
riders subsequently boycotted the race rather than compete
against a female, and were fined $100 each. |
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17 -
2000: The first ever NTRA "Moment of
the Year" award went to the post-race scene after the 1999
Belmont Stakes, when jockey Chris Antley held Charismatic's
injured foreleg. |
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18 -
In 1941, this day
was the day when the great racehorse legend of his time,
Epinard, was stolen during the German occupation of France.
Newspapers said that the famous horse was being used as a
wagon delivery horse. |
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19 -
In 1947, Black Jack, the funeral procession stallion that
performed in the funerals of Presidents Herbert
Hoover, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and General
Douglas MacArthur, was born on this day.
He was always the "riderless horse" with the stirrups turned
around backwards, a symbol of a fallen hero.
1955: Swaps won the
San Vicente Stakes, the first race of his three-year-old
campaign, by 3 ½ lengths at Santa Anita Park. He went on to
triumph over Nashua in the Kentucky Derby, but was in turn
defeated by his rival in a $100,000 match race at Washington
Park on Aug. 31, his only loss of that year. |
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1972: Secretariat was shipped from
Virginia to Florida to be trained by Lucien Laurin. |
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23 -
1994: Pat Day, 40, became the tenth rider
in North American racing history to ride 6,000 winners, when
he rode Miss Popsnorkle to victory in the first race at
Oaklawn Park. |
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24 -
Today in 1964
, Willie Shoemaker topped Eddie Arcaro’s career
earnings record by riding four winners at
the Santa Anita race
track in California. His total earnings reached
$30,040,005. That's a lot of money! Maybe
we should all go into horse racing...
1974: Jockey Chris McCarron rode his
first race, in which he finished last aboard Most Active, at
Bowie Racecourse. |
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25 -
2000: According to The Jockey Club Fact
Book for 2000, gross purses and total handle rose again in
1999 with North American purses topping $1 billion for the
first time in history. |
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26 -
1950: Citation's 16-race win streak came
to an end in the La Sorpresa Handicap at Santa Anita.
Despite giving 16 pounds to the winner, Miche, Citation,
carrying 130 pounds, lost only by a neck. |
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27 -
1973: Penny Chenery accepted the Eclipse
Award for Horse of the Year on behalf of Secretariat, who
was also voted champion two-year-old of 1972.
2003: Azeri became the first female since
Lady's Secret in 1986 to receive the Eclipse Award for Horse
of the Year. |
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28 -
On this day in
1808, Messenger, America’s first trotting horse, was buried.
Poor horse...he was well loved.... |
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1960: Future Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Carry Back
finished tenth in his first start ever, a three-furlong race
for two-year-old maiden runners at Hialeah. Sired by Saggy,
the only horse to defeat Citation during his three-year-old
season, out of an undistinguished mare named Joppy, Carry
Back became a popular runner and was dubbed "the people's
horse." 1969: Patti Barton, a
24-year-old exercise rider, applied for a jockey's license
in Las Cruces, N.M. The stewards declined to act on the
application, which if approved would have made Barton the
first female licensed jockey in Thoroughbred racing. |
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30 -
In 1933, the radio
show "The Lone Ranger" was heard for the first time.
The show ran for 2,956 episodes before it
finally came to an end in 1955. George Seaton (Stenius) was the first voice of
the Lone Ranger. Jack Deeds and Earle Graser followed in the
role. However, it was Brace Beemer who is best remembered as
former Texas Ranger, John Reid. He played the part of the
black-masked ranger, fighting for justice
for all the people, for
thirteen years in a row.
1981: Jockey Julie
Krone rode in her first race ever, finishing second by three
lengths in a six-furlong sprint for $3,500 maiden claimers
at Tampa Bay Downs. Her mount, a 22-1 shot trained by Jerry
L. Pace, was named Tiny Star.
1992: For the
second time in one month, jockey Mike Smith won six races in
one day at Aqueduct Racetrack. His first six-winner day at
Aqueduct occurred Jan. 13. |
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1958: Jockey Bill Shoemaker notched his
3,000th career win, aboard Eternal Pere, in the eighth race
at Santa Anita Park. |
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