Speaker 1: You're listening to American Shadows, a production of I Heart
Speaker 1: Radio and Grim and Mild from Aaron Minky. Eddie Sweet
Speaker 1: had a nightmare. The race horse he had groomed and
Speaker 1: lovingly cared for for the past couple of years was
Speaker 1: running and running hard. Big Red, as Eddie affectionately called him,
Speaker 1: had opened up a large lead over the other horses,
Speaker 1: and then, without warning, the chestnut horse fell. The next day,
Speaker 1: Eddie nervously watched the horses step onto the track for
Speaker 1: the running of the Belmont Steaks. In the infield, people
Speaker 1: stood shoulder to shoulder, holding up signs good luck Secretariat
Speaker 1: on Red. In sports bars across the country, people stopped
Speaker 1: to watch. Others gathered around their TV sets at home.
Speaker 1: The red colt, whose jockey wore white and blue silks,
Speaker 1: was America's horse. One by one, the horses were loaded
Speaker 1: into the starting gates, and Eddie and the enormous crowd
Speaker 1: in the stands around him collectively held their breath. The
Speaker 1: starting bell broke, the silence and the gates flung open.
Speaker 1: Horses surged forward, their hooves thundering on the track. By
Speaker 1: the time they reached the first turn, Secretariat and another
Speaker 1: front runner had set mind boggling times for the first quarter.
Speaker 1: Head to head, they galloped, leaving the rest of the
Speaker 1: field far behind. These horses had been rivals all year,
Speaker 1: and now it looked like a match race. Then Secretariat
Speaker 1: began to pull away by one, then two, and then
Speaker 1: three lengths. The chestnut Colt increased his lead by ten
Speaker 1: lengths than twelve, and the crowd screamed and waved their
Speaker 1: signs like banners. Enthusiasts looked at their stopwatches and shook
Speaker 1: their heads in disbelief. Announcer Chick Anderson spoke louder as
Speaker 1: he called the race, Secretariat is blazing along. Spectators could
Speaker 1: barely believe what they were seeing. More blistering speeds, and
Speaker 1: Secretariat's lead kept growing with each ground eating stride. Anderson's
Speaker 1: next call became one of the most amiss in sports history.
Speaker 1: He yelled to be heard over the roaring crowd. Secretariat
Speaker 1: is widening. Now he's moving like a tremendous machine. Eddie's
Speaker 1: heart pounded. He had dreamed of this. Stay on your feet, Red,
Speaker 1: stay up, he cried Secretariat and his jockey Ron Turcott.
Speaker 1: We're all alone now twenty two lengths and counting no
Speaker 1: longer racing the other horses, it was them against the stopwatch.
Speaker 1: In a now famous photo, Turcott looks over his shoulder
Speaker 1: to check the teleprompter for Secretariat's time as the crowd
Speaker 1: nearly drowned out Anderson's final call of the race, Secretariat
Speaker 1: crossed the finish line thirty one lengths ahead of the rest,
Speaker 1: shattering the race record, track record and world record for
Speaker 1: the mile and a half distance on dirt by an
Speaker 1: incredible second and a half. Labeled the Horse of the Century,
Speaker 1: Secretariat had just won the coveted triple crown, having swept
Speaker 1: the Kentucky Derby and Preakness in the weeks before. To date,
Speaker 1: only thirteen horses have ever accomplished that beat, beginning with
Speaker 1: one named Sir Barton in n and Secretariat's time records
Speaker 1: for all three races still stand almost fifty years later.
Speaker 1: So for a few weeks back in June of nine,
Speaker 1: everyone's attention turned from watergate to a starting gate. Time
Speaker 1: magazine even featured a picture of the champion horse on
Speaker 1: the front cover of their June issue. Even now, you
Speaker 1: can't mention horse racing without talking about Secretariat. No other
Speaker 1: horse in history has ever captured the public's attention nor
Speaker 1: racing enthusiasts hearts the way he did, So much so
Speaker 1: that in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources actually named
Speaker 1: Secretariat's birthplace a historical site. But as any true racing
Speaker 1: fan can tell you, the sport of kings isn't all
Speaker 1: winner circles and roses. It's also home to its own
Speaker 1: fair share of darkness. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, Welcome to American Shadows.
Speaker 1: Horse racing is a world of its own. We associate
Speaker 1: it with the wealthy and affluent, and for the owners
Speaker 1: and trainers, that's often true. The race horses aren't cheap,
Speaker 1: and the better bred ones can sell for millions of dollars,
Speaker 1: not to mention the money that goes into training them
Speaker 1: and keeping them fit, or at least fit enough to run.
Speaker 1: And while there are races with million dollar purses, there
Speaker 1: are limits to how many horses can run that race.
Speaker 1: Often there are requirements to like age or prior winnings.
Speaker 1: Twenty thousand race horses are typically born each year. Divide
Speaker 1: that by the number of well paying races, and you
Speaker 1: can see how not every horse comes out profitable riding
Speaker 1: to victory Usually that's a jockey ten percent of the
Speaker 1: winner's share, second, third and fourth place get around five percent.
Speaker 1: That sounds pretty good in million dollars stakes races, where
Speaker 1: the winner gets of the total purse. For perspective, though,
Speaker 1: according to the Jockeys Guild, the average stakes race as
Speaker 1: of seventeen was just under thirty thousand dollars. That means
Speaker 1: for a jockey riding the winner of an average stakes race,
Speaker 1: they get seven hundred and thirty five bucks. And for
Speaker 1: every winner, there are losers. And while some races may
Speaker 1: draw only five or six horses, others draw fields as
Speaker 1: high as twenty two if their horse finishes fifth or worse.
Speaker 1: Jockeys average about fifty to a hundred and ten dollars
Speaker 1: for their time that day. Basically half of America's thoroughbred
Speaker 1: jockeys make less than thirteen thousand dollars a year. It's
Speaker 1: not an easy way to make a living. In the
Speaker 1: late eighteen nineties, black jockeys who dominated the tracks were
Speaker 1: being squeezed out of the sport. Still, Isaac Burns Murphy
Speaker 1: was the best jockey of his day, winning thirty four
Speaker 1: percent of his races. Murphy rode in the Kentucky Derby
Speaker 1: eleven times and entered the winner's circle on three horses,
Speaker 1: Buchanan in eighty four, Riley in eighteen ninety in Kingman
Speaker 1: In When the National Museum of Racing and Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame was created in nineteen fifty five, Murphy was the
Speaker 1: very first jockey inducted. Sadly, women weren't accepted in the
Speaker 1: sport at all, at least not without their husband's permission.
Speaker 1: But in nineteen o four, Laska Durnell entered her horse
Speaker 1: Elwood in the Kentucky Derby under just her initials the
Speaker 1: best part they won. In nineteen sixty nine, jockey Diane
Speaker 1: Crump faced such opposition on the track that she needed
Speaker 1: a police escort just to get to the small office
Speaker 1: she had to use to change into her riding silks.
Speaker 1: Men shouted at her to go back to the kitchen
Speaker 1: and cook dinner. Some jockeys across the United States threatened
Speaker 1: to boycott the derby if she rode, but ride she did,
Speaker 1: although she didn't win. Live your dream, Crump said during
Speaker 1: an interview, don't let anyone tell you that you can't
Speaker 1: or that you're not good enough. You are. But for
Speaker 1: any jockey riding a one thousand, five hundred pound high
Speaker 1: strung animal hurtling toward a finish line at forty miles
Speaker 1: an hour, alongside up to twenty two other horses and riders.
Speaker 1: It's a dangerous business. The position in which jockeys ride
Speaker 1: perched over the horse and bent forward like a missile,
Speaker 1: never rested on the saddle is a feat of course,
Speaker 1: strength and balance. Horse racing is a wave of controlled
Speaker 1: chaos really, and jockeys are the daredevils who risk their
Speaker 1: lives to ride it. Typically, jockeys are sidelined with injuries
Speaker 1: about three times a year. If a jockey loses their balance,
Speaker 1: gets bumped, or if the horse stumbles, they can find
Speaker 1: themselves flying at high speeds onto the rail or track.
Speaker 1: Landing on the rail is bad enough, but landing on
Speaker 1: the track means there's a risk of being trampled by
Speaker 1: race horse hoofs that strike the ground with three thousand
Speaker 1: pounds of pressure. In three, up and coming jockey Dominic
Speaker 1: Belizies Mount feared off course during a race, throwing the
Speaker 1: twenty one year old rider off balance. Blizie fell into
Speaker 1: the path of the other horses and died at the
Speaker 1: hospital five days later from excessive internal injuries. Jockey John
Speaker 1: Red Pollard was aboard fair Knitests in the stakes race
Speaker 1: in nineteen thirty eight. Another horse slowed down in front
Speaker 1: of his, causing fair Knightess to trip. She somersaulted on
Speaker 1: to the track and trapped Pollard beneath her. Although injured,
Speaker 1: fair Knight Tess tried to stand. At the same moment
Speaker 1: another horse attempted to jump over her, slamming into her.
Speaker 1: She fell again, crushing Pollard a second time. The horse
Speaker 1: miraculously recovered, but Pollard suffered a crushed chest, a broken arm,
Speaker 1: shoulder and ribs, a shattered collar bone, a concussion, and
Speaker 1: a few internal injuries. Between nineteen thirty and nineteen thirty nine,
Speaker 1: nineteen jockeys died as the result of track injuries. Finally,
Speaker 1: in the late thirties, jockeys met in secret to discuss
Speaker 1: the formation of a group to help protect them in
Speaker 1: the event of injuries or if they were disabled due
Speaker 1: to an accident on the track. Unsympathetic track operators and
Speaker 1: trainers often blacklisted them for participating in such meetings despite
Speaker 1: the objections, though the Jockey Guild was formed in nine
Speaker 1: teen forty after famous rider Eddie ar Caro visited another
Speaker 1: injured jockey in the hospital. Our Caro, along with Red
Speaker 1: Pollard and thirteen others, set in motion new safety measures,
Speaker 1: including having an ambulance on the track, shorter post parades
Speaker 1: and cold weather, plus the use of goggles and helmets
Speaker 1: to name a few. The horses, though sadly they didn't
Speaker 1: have a guild in his day, he was what trainers
Speaker 1: called a flat out flyer, and it's no wonder. In
Speaker 1: nineteen twelve, Old Rosebud won twelve of fourteen starts and
Speaker 1: repeatedly clocked the fastest five furlongs of any two year old.
Speaker 1: The following year, he won the Kentucky Derby by eight lengths,
Speaker 1: making it one of the most dominant wins in the
Speaker 1: race's history. His owner didn't retire the champion after his
Speaker 1: three year old season, though, or any season for that matter.
Speaker 1: You see. Being a guilding Old rose Bud's value was
Speaker 1: only based on what he could win, But to his trainer,
Speaker 1: who worked with him every day, Old Rosebud was something more.
Speaker 1: But racing was and is a business. So on May
Speaker 1: sevent Old Rosebud stepped onto the track for his eightieth
Speaker 1: start of Low end race with a miniscule purse. With
Speaker 1: each breath, his ribs showed against his now dull, mud
Speaker 1: colored coat. His ears flicked, and he shuffled uneasily. He
Speaker 1: had once been a gentleman on the track, not now,
Speaker 1: though to the trained I it appeared that Old Rosebud
Speaker 1: no longer enjoyed racing. Maybe the track was the last
Speaker 1: place he wanted to be. He was eleven, after all.
Speaker 1: He ran fourth that day, probably much to the aggravation
Speaker 1: of anyone who had bet on him. Just days later,
Speaker 1: Old Rosebud was out on the track for a morning workout.
Speaker 1: He stumbled, bobbing his head low. Then he staggered to
Speaker 1: a halt, favoring his right front leg. Later that evening,
Speaker 1: a bullet ended Old Rosebud's life. He didn't receive a
Speaker 1: burial in a green pasture or in a race tracks
Speaker 1: in field, though, no that would have prevented Old Rosebud
Speaker 1: from learning one more paycheck for his owner, the money
Speaker 1: offered by the local rendering plant along the back stretch.
Speaker 1: His trainer, Wept bred by her late husband, Black Gold,
Speaker 1: was a promising three year old horse that Rosa Hoots
Speaker 1: refused to sell, not even for fifty dollars. Owning a
Speaker 1: Derby horse had been her husband's dream, but he had
Speaker 1: died before the Derby. It marked the fiftieth running of
Speaker 1: the race and was also the first year a gold
Speaker 1: trophy cup was offered, and for fans of the Derby,
Speaker 1: it was notably the first time My Old Kentucky Home
Speaker 1: was played. As the horses entered the track. In the stretch,
Speaker 1: the jet black colt was bumped hard but recovered he
Speaker 1: was a tough horse. To get a clear path, his
Speaker 1: jockey swung Black Gold wide around the other horses while
Speaker 1: the crowd cheered. They poured on the speed and overtook
Speaker 1: the leader in the last seventy yards to win. An
Speaker 1: exciting day. Indeed, Mrs Hoots retired the champion to stud
Speaker 1: later that year. It turned out Black Gold wasn't fertile, though,
Speaker 1: and returned to racing at the age of six. However,
Speaker 1: he broke down in the stretch and while he still
Speaker 1: managed to finish the race, Black Gold was euthanized before
Speaker 1: he ever left the track. Mrs Hoots had her beloved
Speaker 1: horse buried at the sixteenth pole. In eighty five, a
Speaker 1: Kentucky Derby winner, Joe cotton horse that had been named
Speaker 1: after a bookie met the same fate after tripping over
Speaker 1: two horses that had fallen in front of him. Then
Speaker 1: tragedy struck again. In nineteen sixty nine. Dark Mirrage was
Speaker 1: the darling of America. She had swept everything before her
Speaker 1: in her three year old season. In her second race
Speaker 1: as a four year old, she injured a leg and
Speaker 1: never recovered. Historically, the ratio of accidents per starts has
Speaker 1: been about two out of every one thousand races. Oddly enough,
Speaker 1: about one third of injuries that lead to fatalities happened
Speaker 1: off the track, and some horses have recovered. When the
Speaker 1: outstanding horse Neurea, fractured a leg running in a pasture,
Speaker 1: veterinarians were able to save him and he lived many
Speaker 1: years after that, passing away at the ripe age of
Speaker 1: twenty four. But it's not just the injuries that make
Speaker 1: the sport dangerous. Drugging has plagued horse racing since at
Speaker 1: least the nineteen thirties, and according to one New York
Speaker 1: Times article from n three, it existed even back then.
Speaker 1: Most famously, perhaps was the nineteen sixty eight winner of
Speaker 1: the Churchill Downs, a horse named Dancer's Image. Known for
Speaker 1: their zero tolerance for any drug found in a horse's system,
Speaker 1: Churchill Downs found trace amounts of a drug in the
Speaker 1: blood of a winner named Butte. The drug they found
Speaker 1: was a pain reliever similar to aspirin with antihistamine properties
Speaker 1: in it and one that's allowed today, But owner Peter
Speaker 1: Fuller claimed that it wasn't really the drug the disqualified
Speaker 1: Dance Image. It was his own involvement in the civil
Speaker 1: rights movement. You see. Fuller was very outspoken about social
Speaker 1: issues and had donated over sixty two dollars of the
Speaker 1: champions winnings to KURTA. Scott King just days after her husband,
Speaker 1: Martin Luther King Jr. Was murdered. After Dancer's Image retired,
Speaker 1: he was sold as a stud horse, living the good
Speaker 1: life until he passed away at the very old age
Speaker 1: of twenty seven. While it's always been part of the
Speaker 1: business to sell a horse's breeding rights, horses that no
Speaker 1: longer produce foals or quality horses have often ended up
Speaker 1: in slaughter houses, including at least one Kentucky Derby winner
Speaker 1: named Ferdinand. In two thousand and six, the House of
Speaker 1: Representatives passed a bill making the selling or raising of
Speaker 1: horses for food illegal. The bill failed at the Senate, though,
Speaker 1: and the bill wasn't the first to fail either. Similar
Speaker 1: laws have been proposed several times since nineteen fifteen, and
Speaker 1: while there are currently no slaughter houses for horses in
Speaker 1: the United States, they're often sold to brokers who take
Speaker 1: the horses of cross the northern and southern borders. In
Speaker 1: just one decade, it's estimated that more than seven thousand,
Speaker 1: five hundred American race horses were shipped to Mexico for slaughter. Fortunately,
Speaker 1: that hasn't been the fate of every horse that disappointed
Speaker 1: their owners on the track. With the right amount of
Speaker 1: luck and guided by just the right hands, some have
Speaker 1: even become legendary. Tom Smith first laid eyes on him
Speaker 1: after a race it suffled downs in East Boston. The
Speaker 1: three year old colt had won an allowance race, a
Speaker 1: race that generally signifies the horses one at least one
Speaker 1: previous race, but isn't good enough for higher paying stakes
Speaker 1: race company. The horse had won in the stifling heat,
Speaker 1: and something about him caught trainer Tom Smith's attention. It
Speaker 1: certainly wasn't the brown horses looks he had Knobby knees
Speaker 1: and was quite small for a thoroughbread. It might have
Speaker 1: been his bloodline and the horse was the grandson of
Speaker 1: the great racehorse man O War, or it could have
Speaker 1: been how well respected the stable had been born out was.
Speaker 1: But it was neither of those things, not really. It
Speaker 1: was pure intuition that told Smith this horse could be
Speaker 1: a champion. Smith convinced automobile magnate Charles S. Howard to
Speaker 1: buy Sea Biscuit for just eight thousand dollars. He paired
Speaker 1: the horse with a red haired jockey named John Pollard,
Speaker 1: known as Red on the tracks. Pollard was an underdog
Speaker 1: jockey who had suffered a brain injury and been left
Speaker 1: partially blind after a horse had kicked a rock into
Speaker 1: his head during a race. When Smith offered him the job,
Speaker 1: Pollard was a lot like Sea Biscuit. Down and out.
Speaker 1: Jockey and horse developed a quick bond. Sea Biscuit wasn't
Speaker 1: just a racehorse to Pollard either. The man loved him,
Speaker 1: often bringing the horse sugarcubes. It helped that the trainer
Speaker 1: Smith had what others thought of as unusual training methods
Speaker 1: the first starters. He didn't treat Sea Biscuit like the
Speaker 1: typical racehorse. He allowed the colt to be in the
Speaker 1: company of other animals, fed him the best food, and
Speaker 1: allowed him to sleep frequently. Basically, he cared for Sea
Speaker 1: Biscuit as though he were part of his family, and
Speaker 1: Sea Biscuit thrived on it. The unassuming Brown Colts started
Speaker 1: winning and winning a lot. Big steak races brought in
Speaker 1: the best horses and gamblers. With the limitations on gambling,
Speaker 1: betting at the tracks had become popular during the Great Depression.
Speaker 1: Some looked at winning at the track as a way
Speaker 1: out of poverty. To them, plain looking Sea Biscuit stood
Speaker 1: out among the bigger, flash ear horses. His jockey and
Speaker 1: trainer were underdogs in their own right. In a way,
Speaker 1: they were the team of the working class and the poor.
Speaker 1: Before Smith and Pollard had taken charge of him, Sea
Speaker 1: Biscuit had been raced and whipped far too often, Mistreated
Speaker 1: and discouraged, the horse didn't even bother to try anymore.
Speaker 1: But Pollard, Smith and Howard had given him a new chance.
Speaker 1: In treating him well in tough times, the bay colt
Speaker 1: gave people hope. His victories became their victories. New owner
Speaker 1: Charles Howard saw this and gave the people more of
Speaker 1: what they wanted. Reporters who wrote about Sea Biscuit were
Speaker 1: sent champagne. Before long, sea Biscuit was getting more pressed
Speaker 1: than President Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler. Shops began to sell
Speaker 1: Sea Biscuit themed hats and toys. His image adorned cleaning services, hotels,
Speaker 1: and pinball machines. Movie theaters played real footage of Sea
Speaker 1: Biscuits races. He even appeared on crates of oranges. Sea
Speaker 1: Biscuit earned it too. The horse that had once been
Speaker 1: regulated to allowance races had gone on to win a
Speaker 1: string of handicapped steak races. In seven He beat the
Speaker 1: best of the best, well except for one horse, seven
Speaker 1: triple crown winner War Admiral. That horse was owned by
Speaker 1: the famous racing tycoon Samuel Riddle, and Riddle coincidentally had
Speaker 1: also owned the legendary man O War Sea Biscuits grandsire.
Speaker 1: But despite Sea biscuits recent victories and his prestigious grandsire,
Speaker 1: Riddle scoffed at the horse. As far as he was concerned,
Speaker 1: Sea Biscuit was beneath his horse and a match race
Speaker 1: between them would be a waste of his time. And
Speaker 1: more Admiral's talent, but Howard persisted and the public kept
Speaker 1: clamoring for the match. Finally, Riddle agreed, but only under
Speaker 1: certain conditions. He got to pick the track, and since
Speaker 1: war Admiral didn't like starting gates, they'd use a starting
Speaker 1: line instead. Team Sea Biscuit agreed. The match race was
Speaker 1: finally set. It would be November first, nineteen thirty eight,
Speaker 1: at Pimlico Racetrack in Maryland. Smith and Pollard trained Sea
Speaker 1: Biscuit to start without a gate, and everything was going
Speaker 1: well until Pollard had that near fatal accident aboard fair
Speaker 1: Knight Tess that we touched on earlier. With the race
Speaker 1: weeks away, Smith tried three jockeys on Sea Biscuit, but
Speaker 1: the horse didn't take to any of them. Finally, George Wolf,
Speaker 1: a friend of Pollard's, was given the ride, and he
Speaker 1: and Sea Biscuit seemed to hit things off. But as
Speaker 1: the saying go, when it rains, it pours, and it
Speaker 1: did exactly that the day before the match race, war
Speaker 1: Admiral liked sloppy tracks and Sea Biscuit didn't. For the
Speaker 1: working classes horse, the odds just kept stacking up, so
Speaker 1: Wolf walked the course the night before, seeking out the
Speaker 1: driest part of the track. On the day of the race,
Speaker 1: even President Roosevelt stopped and listened to the radio broadcast.
Speaker 1: The Nazis were ramping up forces for World War two.
Speaker 1: Just a couple of days earlier, the world had been
Speaker 1: in a panic over orson Wells broadcast of War of
Speaker 1: the Worlds, and on top of everything, people were still
Speaker 1: struggling to come out of the Great Depression. With all
Speaker 1: that going on, the race became a sort of symbol
Speaker 1: and reflection of the times in America. Pour against rich,
Speaker 1: elite against average, Sea Biscuit gave them something tangible, something
Speaker 1: to count on, and he took the early lead. War
Speaker 1: Admiral rallied though and matched him stride for stride, Wolf
Speaker 1: fees up on Sea Biscuit. Pollard had told him that
Speaker 1: the horse liked to see his rivals and what he
Speaker 1: was up against. War Admiral edged slightly ahead and the
Speaker 1: two entered the stretch. Sea Biscuit caught up nose two knows,
Speaker 1: they ran, and then Sea Biscuit poured on the speed.
Speaker 1: Despite so many disadvantages, he won the race by an
Speaker 1: impressive four lengths. Working America saw in him a hero,
Speaker 1: a fighter who represented them and could overcome great obstacles.
Speaker 1: Howard said that what made Sea Biscuit a great race
Speaker 1: horse was his heart. He loved to run and put
Speaker 1: everything he had into his races. The people said he
Speaker 1: was scrappy, and what he lacked in stature he made
Speaker 1: up with pure grit. The Nation named ten top newsmakers
Speaker 1: that year, including Roosevelt and Hitler. The tenth spot went
Speaker 1: to Sea Biscuit, who retired after that match race, at
Speaker 1: least for a while. Pollard reunited with his beloved horse
Speaker 1: for one final race, winning the nineteen forties Santa Anita
Speaker 1: Handicap at the ripe age of seven. Sea Biscuit retire
Speaker 1: for good this time and lived out his days comfortably
Speaker 1: and well cared for and Howard's California ranch. As for
Speaker 1: Red Pollard, Howard treated his higher jockey like a son,
Speaker 1: paying for his hospital bills after that fall on fair Knightess,
Speaker 1: taking him in when he recovered, and even paying for
Speaker 1: a nurse, a nurse who Pollard eventually married. The two
Speaker 1: went on to live a happy life together. While the
Speaker 1: stories of Pollard and Sea Biscuit had fairy tale endings,
Speaker 1: temporary jockey, George Wolf wasn't so lucky. Wolf struggled with
Speaker 1: his weight, constantly trying to keep it down low enough
Speaker 1: to ride. He resorted to disorder exercise and eating, often
Speaker 1: running in sweaters before race day and depriving himself of
Speaker 1: food and water. Complicating his struggle was the fact that
Speaker 1: he was diabetic. Collecting a paycheck was a balance between
Speaker 1: staying at the right weight and managing his blood sugar,
Speaker 1: and it was a balancing act that would one day
Speaker 1: prove fatal. On a winter day in Wolf passed out
Speaker 1: while racing. His had hit the rail, and he was
Speaker 1: pronounced dead at the scene. For him, the race was over.
Speaker 1: Behind every winning horse has been people, each with their
Speaker 1: own powerful story, and among the heartache and shadows along
Speaker 1: the back stretch, there are beacons of light. Although she
Speaker 1: had been born Helen Chennery, everyone just called her Penny.
Speaker 1: Her father went from poverty a millionaire status and owned
Speaker 1: a farm called Meadow Stables in Virginia. Her mother died
Speaker 1: in nine and her father became ill, unable to manage
Speaker 1: the farm. Racing was still a male dominated sport, but
Speaker 1: Chennery managed to run Meadow Stables. She convinced trainer Lucian
Speaker 1: Lauren to come out of retirement to train and manage
Speaker 1: the farm's horses, and when her father died, leaving behind
Speaker 1: an enormous tax bill, she negotiated the largest indication for
Speaker 1: a horse ever, selling breeding rights to Secretariat for seven
Speaker 1: million dollars that's about seventy million today. She became one
Speaker 1: of the first women to be admitted to the elite
Speaker 1: and male dominated Jockey Club. She served for a few
Speaker 1: years as president of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association,
Speaker 1: and she also founded the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, which rescued
Speaker 1: retired race horses from abuse, neglect, and slaughter. For her contributions,
Speaker 1: a year after her death in seventeen, she was awarded
Speaker 1: the highest honor given that thoroughbred owners and breeders by
Speaker 1: the National Museum of Racing in Hall of Fame, the
Speaker 1: Pillar of the Turf. Then there's Ron Turcott, who, for
Speaker 1: his wins on several of America's best race horses in
Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties and seventies, was given the prestigious George
Speaker 1: Wolf Memorial Jockey Award. It's the honor given to jockeys
Speaker 1: who are shining examples of personal and professional conduct in
Speaker 1: thoroughbred racing. Turcott took a fall from a horse at
Speaker 1: the start of a race in Belmont Park in nineteen
Speaker 1: seventy eight, and the accident left him a paraplegic, but
Speaker 1: he still makes appearances at tracts today, helping to raise
Speaker 1: money for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, and even this year,
Speaker 1: there's more history to be made. For the first time
Speaker 1: in the running of the Kentucky Derby, the race did
Speaker 1: not take place on the first Saturday of May due
Speaker 1: to COVID nineteen. America's most famous race was held on
Speaker 1: September four, but that's to be expected because of the
Speaker 1: history of horse racing has taught us anything over the years,
Speaker 1: it's that the records and traditions from long ago aren't
Speaker 1: just there to be revered and respected. Sometimes they're meant
Speaker 1: to be broken. There's more to this story. Stick around
Speaker 1: after the brief sponsor break to hear all about it.
Speaker 1: He needed to lose ten pounds before the race, so
Speaker 1: thirty five year old Irish American writer Frank Hayes ran
Speaker 1: and sweat. He was determined to make it as a
Speaker 1: first eight jockey, but that dream had eluded him. He
Speaker 1: spent most of his time exercising the horses instead of
Speaker 1: riding them across the finish line. Time and time again.
Speaker 1: Had watched from the sidelines as the horses he trained
Speaker 1: entered the winner's circle with a smiling jockey posing for
Speaker 1: the crowd, and while each of those jockeys was cheered,
Speaker 1: he was quietly guiding the horses off the track. His
Speaker 1: big break came when a horse suddenly didn't have a
Speaker 1: jockey for an upcoming race. He asked to ride the horse,
Speaker 1: but the owner declined. Hayes weighed too much, and every
Speaker 1: pound counts in games of speed. After a lot of
Speaker 1: convincing and promising that he had losed the weight before
Speaker 1: race day, he was given the ride. He had just
Speaker 1: days to drop ten pounds. It's impossible to do healthily,
Speaker 1: but he denied himself food and water. The morning of
Speaker 1: the race, he jogged some more in the jockey room
Speaker 1: and excited Hayes told his fellow riders that today was
Speaker 1: a great day to make history. He had no idea
Speaker 1: how right he was. The day was rather warm on
Speaker 1: June four, and when Hayes finally climbed into the saddle,
Speaker 1: he wasn't just ten pounds lighter. He was dehydrated and exhausted. Thankfully,
Speaker 1: he had little pressure to win. He had never won
Speaker 1: a race before, and his horse, a Philly named Sweet Kiss,
Speaker 1: was a twenty one long shot against the favorite, the
Speaker 1: highly regarded horse Gimme. From the start, sweet Kiss and
Speaker 1: Gimme were the front runners, and after clearing fence after fence,
Speaker 1: the two alternated trading first position back and forth like
Speaker 1: some sort of relay. Then it became a match race,
Speaker 1: just these two horses barreling for the finish line. At
Speaker 1: the top of the stretch. The crowd jumped to their feet,
Speaker 1: cheering on Haze and Sweet Kiss tries he might Gimme
Speaker 1: couldn't shake off the newcomer, and the two were never
Speaker 1: more than a couple of lengths apart. Sweet Kiss, under
Speaker 1: encouragement from Hayes, surged in front and then opened up
Speaker 1: her lead over Gimme. A hundred yards before the finished
Speaker 1: line of the rueling two mile steeple chase, Hayes dropped
Speaker 1: one hand casually to his side, as though he and
Speaker 1: Sweet Kiss were out for a Sunday stroll, or maybe
Speaker 1: he was fixing his stirrup. Seconds After cruising across the
Speaker 1: finish line as the winner, Sweet Kiss cantered a hundred
Speaker 1: yards and then stopped, and that's when Hayes swayed to
Speaker 1: one side and tumbled to the ground. Onlookers rushed to
Speaker 1: see if he was okay and to congratulate him on
Speaker 1: a stunning victory, but he hadn't collapsed from shock or dehydration.
Speaker 1: Frank Hayes was dead. Naturally, the usual after race activities
Speaker 1: were canceled, no jockey way in and certainly no posing
Speaker 1: in the winner's circle. After a brief investigation, the racing
Speaker 1: board determined that Hayes had probably had a heart attack
Speaker 1: just before the finish line. The Jockey club decided that
Speaker 1: since no foul play had occurred, Sweet Kiss his wind
Speaker 1: shouldn't be disqualified, and in doing so, Frank Hayes became
Speaker 1: the only jockey in history to win a race while dead.
Speaker 1: In fact, Hayes is still the only dead athlete to
Speaker 1: win in any competitive sport. A week later, he was
Speaker 1: buried in the same silks he wore on the day
Speaker 1: he died. The race had been his first and last win.
Speaker 1: Sweet Kiss never raced again after that day and retired unbeaten,
Speaker 1: and like Hayes, that race had also been her first.
Speaker 1: It's not that she didn't want to keep competing, just
Speaker 1: that no one would ride her. You see, she had
Speaker 1: picked up a new nickname, one that frightened off all
Speaker 1: the other jockeys. The Sweet Kiss of Death American Shadows
Speaker 1: is hosted by Lauren Vogelbaum. This episode was written by
Speaker 1: Michelle Muto with researcher Robin Miniter, and produced by Miranda
Speaker 1: Hawkins and Trevor Young, with executive producers Aaron Minky, Alex Williams,
Speaker 1: and Matt Frederick. To learn more about the show, visit
Speaker 1: Grim and Mild dot com. For more podcasts from My
Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you get your podcasts. M