Horse Racing History

[Ballerina]

April 18, 1990: CIGAR (by Palace Music x Solar Slew), was foaled at Country Life Farm near Bel Air, Maryland,

April 18, 1970: The New York State Legislature passed a bill enabling off-track betting.

April 19, 1952: Native Dancer won his first race, at Jamaica racetrack.

April 19, 1969: Bill Veeck, promoter and president of Suffolk Downs, staged a $10,000 race featuring all female jockeys, then a novelty in racing. Called the Lady Godiva Stakes, the event attracted such riders as Diane Crump, Tuesdee Testa and Robyn Smith. It was Penny Ann Early, however, who won the racd her first career victory. The previous year, Early had attempted to ride at Churchill Downs, but the male jockeys boycotted and the race was canceled.

April 19, 2000: Jockey Pat Day guided first time starter Unbridled Time to victory in the second race at Keeneland, giving the 46-year-old a record 717 victories at the Lexington, Ky. track.

April 20, 1949: Jockey Bill Shoemaker won his first race, aboard Shafter V, at Golden Gate Fields, Albany, Calif.

April 20, 1999: Trainer Charlie Whittingham died in Pasadena, Calif., of complications from leukemia. He was 86.

April 21, 1923: Eight-year-old Exterminator won his 34th stakes victory, the Philadelphia Handicap at Havre de Grace, setting an American record.

April 21, 1973: In a surprising defeat, Secretariat finished third to stablemate Angle Light and runner-up Sham in the Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct, his last start before sweeping the Triple Crown. The following day, Secretariat was found to have had an abscess in his mouth, which may have caused him discomfort while racing.

April 21, 1998: Tim Smith was named Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association.

April 22, 1947: Citation won his first race b ?-length, at Havre de Grace.

April 22, 1970: Governor Nelson Rockefeller signed into law a bill allowing off-track betting in New York.

April 22, 1976: After winning the Florida Derby at odds of 1-20, Honest Pleasure ran in the Blue Grass Stakes as the 1-10 favorite. Only win wagering was allowed on the seven-horse field. Honest Pleasure won, creating a minus win pool of $41,876.20.

April 22, 2002: Ogden Phipps, philanthropist and Thoroughbred owner and breeder, died at age 93 after a short illness. Winner of an Eclipse Award as outstanding owner and breeder in 1988 and again as outstanding owner in 1989, Phipps won nearly every major stakes race on the East Coast as an owner or breeder.

April 23, 1943: Judy Johnson was granted a license to ride in steeplechase races in Maryland, making her one of the earliest female jockeys.

April 23, 1973: Secretariat and his stablemate Angle Light were flown to Louisville, Ky., to prepare for the Kentucky Derby.

April 23, 1977: Seattle Slew won the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct Racetrack, his sixth consecutive win and his third win of the season. The race was his final prep for the May 7 Kentucky Derby.

April 23, 2004: Jockey Ken Shino notches his 2,000th career win in aboard Quick Claim at Prairie Meadows.

April 24, 2005: Jockey John Velazquez won on his first three mounts of the day at Keeneland, which ran his consecutive race winning streak to eight. Velazquez had won with his final three mounts two days earlier at Keeneland, then he went on to win with both his mounts the following day at Hawthorne. Velazquez's streak ended when e finished fifth on his fourth and last mount of the day at Keeneland.

[Ballerina]

Leaving for Lexington, KY tomorrow morning. Going to be away until May 7th and won't have access to a computer while I'm gone, so I'm posting 2 weeks worth of racing history FYI. There's a lot of interesting info.

Good luck, everyone, with your Derby pick. May all horses and pilots come home safe and sound. One of them will contribute to Horse Racing History. You go, General Quarters!

Enjoy!


April 25, 1930. The North American record for consecutive wins by a jockey is nine, set by Albert Adams and equaled by Tony Black in 1993.

April 26, 1853: En route to becoming England's first Triple Crown winner, West Australian won the 2,000 Guineas, the first of three races that comprise England's Triple Crown.

April 26, 1916: The first Triple Crown winner, Sir Barton, was foaled at Hamburg Place, Lexington, Ky

April 27, 1973: At Churchill Downs, Secretariat worked six furlongs in 1:12 3/5 in preparation for the May 5 Kentucky Derby.

April 27, 1999: Trainer D. Wayne Lukas was elected to the National Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame.

April 28, 2001: Jockey Chris McCarron became the seventh American jockey to win 7,000 races, guiding Spinelessjellyfish to a neck victory in the Khaled Stakes at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif. McCarron joined Laffit Pincay Jr., Bill Shoemaker, Pat Day, David Gall, Russell Baze and Angel Cordero Jr. in the 7,000 club.

April 29, 1976: The State of Connecticut opened its own betting parlors in 11 communities.

April 29, 2003: Hall of Famer Laffit Pincay Jr., the world's winningest jockey, retired with 9,530 victories to his credit.

April 30, 1941: Jockey Eddie Arcaro rode four winners out of five mounts at Jamaica racetrack before leaving for Churchill Downs to ride Whirlaway in the Kentucky Derby.

April 30, 1989: Bill Shoemaker won his 1,000th stakes race, guiding Charlie Whittingham-trained Peace to victory in the Premiere Handicap at Hollywood Park.

April 30, 2002: Two-time Horse of the Year Cigar and champion filly Serena's Song were elected to the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Also named to the Hll were trainer Bud Delp, jockey Jack Westrope and champion Noor.

May 1, 1943: Count Fleet won the "street car" Kentucky Derby, for which no tickets could be sold to out-of-town spectators due to wartime travel restrictions.

May 1, 1948: H.A. "Jimmy" Jones, son of Ben A. Jones, stepped aside as the trainer of Citation, allowing his father to be named the colt's official trainer in the Kentucky Derby. Ben Jones was attempting to match the record of H.J. Thompson, who had trained four Derby winners. Citation did win and Ben A. Jones subsequently won two additional derbies, in 1949 and 1952, to set the mark for most number of wins in the Run for the Roses, six. Jimmy Jones was named as Citation's trainer in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes, however, giving the Jones family a Triple Crown sweep.

May 1, 1971: The New York Off-Track Betting Corp. offered wagering pools on the Kentucky Derby, the first instance in which parimutuel wagering on the race took place outside the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Churchill Downs had refused to sell the rights to the race to OTB, but the pools were offered nonetheless, generating handle totaling $1,043,005

May 1, 1976: Trainer Laz Barrera won three stakes in three different states: the Kentucky Derby with Bold Forbes; New York's Carter Handicap with Due Diligence and the Illinois Derby with Life's Hope.

May 1, 1993: Paul Mellon became the second person in racing history of have bred and owned winners of the Kentucky Derby (Sea Hero, who won the 1993 Derby) and the Epsom Derby (Mill Reef, who won in 1971). John Galbreath was the first to have accomplished the Derby double, which he did with Proud Clarion (1967 Kentucky Derby) and Roberto (1972 Epsom Derby).

May 1, 1999: Charismatic won the 125th Kentucky Derby at odds of 31-1, giving trainer D. Wayne Lukas his fourth Derby win and his owners, Bob and Beverly Lewis, their second Derby victor.

May 1, 2001: Holy Bull, Paseana, Maskette, veteran jockey Earlie Fires, and trainers Richard Mandella and Tom Smith, trainer of the legendary Seabiscuit, were elected to Thoroughbred racing's Hall of Fame.

May 1, 2004: Total wagering on the 130th Kentucky Derby, won by Smarty Jones, and the Derby Day racing card at Churchill Downs smashed North American betting records. A record $99,348,706 was wagered a record on the Derby. Total betting on the 12-race Kentucky Derby Day card was $142,775,857.

May 2, 1904: Laska Durnell became the first woman to own a Kentucky Derby starter and winner when longshot Elwood took the 30th Run for the Roses. Elwood, the only Missouri-bred to win the Kentucky Derby, was also the first Derby winner to be bred by a woman, Mrs. J.B. Prather.

May 2, 1934: Future Triple Crown winner War Admiral was foaled at Faraway Farm, Lexington, Ky.

May 2, 1953: Native Dancer suffered his only defeat in 22 starts. He finished second in the Kentucky Derby as the 7-10 favorite, beaten a head by a 25-1 shot, Dark Star. Going into the Derby, Native Dancer had 11 consecutive wins.

May 2, 1970: Diane Crump became the first female jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby. Her mount, Fathom, finished 15th in a field of 17.

May 2, 1981: The first simulcast of the Kentucky Derby took place, with three outlets Centennial Park, Longacres Racecourse and Yakima Meadowsreceiving the signal. Total simulcast wagering was $455,163. The Derby simulcast was suspended for the next two years, pending approval by Kentucky horsemen, and was reinstated in 1984.

May 2, 2000: Jockey Julie Krone became the first female elected to Thoroughbred racing's Hall of Fame.

May 3, 1769: Namesake of racing's annual awards, Eclipse made his first public appearance in a heat race at Epsom, England. The chestnut won his first trial easily, prompting gambler Dennis O'Kelly to predict "Eclipse first, the rest nowhere" at the start of the second heat. O'Kelly's forecast was correct. Eclipse won the second four-mile race by nearly 1-4 mile.

May 3, 1902: Jockey James Winkfield, the last African American rider to win the Kentucky Derby, won his second consecutive Derby aboard Alan-a-Dale.

May 3, 1952: The first coast-to-coast, network-televised Kentucky Derby aired on CBS. Favorite Hill Gail won the Derby, giving his jockey Eddie Arcaro a record fifth victory in the Kentucky Derby, and his trainer, Ben A. Jones, the record for most number of wins (six). Arcaro's record was matched on this day in 1969 by jockey Bill Hartack. Jones' record has not been equaled.

May 3, 1958: CBS used a "split screen" for its telecast of the Kentucky Derby, necessitated by the presence of the popular runner Silky Sullivan, who was famous for running far off the pace. Most of the screen was allotted to the main group of runners, with a small corner given over to Silky Sullivan. Although he was one of the favorites for the race, Silky failed to deliver his customary winning drive in the stretch and finished 12th, beaten 20 lengths by the victorious Tim Tam.

May 3, 1969: Jockey Bill Hartack won his fifth Kentucky Derby aboard Majestic Prince, tying Eddie Arcaro's 1952 record. Majestic Prince was trained by Hall of Fame jockey John Longden, the only person to have trained and ridden a Kentucky Derby winner

May 3, 1980: Diana Firestone's Genuine Risk became the second filly to win the Kentucky Derby. Regret won it in 1915; Winning Colors, in 1988.

May 3, 1986: Charlie Whittingham, at age 73, became the oldest trainer to win his first Kentucky Derby when he sent Ferdinand to victory. Ferdinand's rider, Bill Shoemaker, was the oldest jockey (54) to take the Run for the Roses. Whittingham topped himself in 1989, winning the Derby a second time (at age 76) with Sunday Silence.

May 3, 2003: Funny Cide won the 129th Kentucky Derby and became the first-ever New York-bred, and first gelding in 74 years, to win the Run for the Roses.

May 4, 1905: Belmont Park opened for its first race meet.

May 4, 1957: Bill Shoemaker, aboard Gallant Man, misjudged the finish line for the Kentucky Derby and stood up in the irons prematurely. Gallant Man lost the race by a nose to Iron Liege. Round Table was third and Bold Ruler was fourth in this historic finish.

May 4, 1968: Dancer's Image became the first horse to be disqualified from the Kentucky Derby because post-race testing revealed an illegal medication. Forward Pass was declared the winner, giving Calumet Farm its eighth Derby winner, a record.

May 4, 1996: Trainer D. Wayne Lukas set the record for most consecutive wins in Triple Crown races, six, when Grindstone won the Kentucky Derby. Lukas' winning streak began with the 1994 Preakness Stakes, which he won with Tabasco Cat.

May 5, 1934: Brookmeade Stable's Cavalcade won the Kentucky Derby, his third victory in a span of less than two weeks.

May 5, 1973: Secretariat became the first horse to complete the 1 -mile course for the Kentucky Derby in less than two minutes when he won the 99th Run for the Roses in a record 1:59 2/5, which was 3/5 faster than Northern Dancer's 1964 mark of 2:00, to set a track and stakes record that still holds. He ran each successive quarter-mile of the race faster than the previous one, with split times of :25 1/5, :24, :23 4/5, :23 2/5 and :23.

May 5, 1990: Frances Genter, age 92, became the oldest winning owner in Derby history when Unbridled won the 116th renewal of the Run for the Roses.

May 5, 2001: Monarchos came from far back to roll past the field and post a 4 3/4 length victory in the 127th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Invisible Ink was second and Congaree was third. The 9-5 post time favorite, Point Given, finished fifth. Monarchos's winning time for the mile and a quarter race was 1:59 4/5, the second fastest Derby ever run, behind only Secretariat's 1973 mark of 1:59 2/5.

May 5, 2004: Smarty Jones became the first Kentucky Derby winner in 21 years to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

May 6, 1895: African American jockey James "Soup" Perkins guided the favorite Halma to a wire-to-wire victory in the 21st running of the Kentucky Derby. Perkins, who was 15, joined fellow African American jockey Alonzo Clayton as the youngest jockey to ride a Derby winner.

May 6, 1896: African American jockey Willie Simms guided Ben Brush to victory in the 22nd Kentucky Derby, the first time the race was run at 1 1/4 miles. Two years later, Simms would win the Derby aboard Plaudit, giving him a perfect record in the Kentucky Derby: two wins in two attempts

May 6, 1933: In the "fighting finish" to the Kentucky Derby before the advent of photo-finish cameras and video patrol, jockey Don Meade on Brokers Tip, and Herb Fisher, on Head Play, pushed, hit, tugged and jostled each other to the finish line at Churchill Downs. Brokers Tip was declared the winner, by a margin of two or three inches.

May 6, 2000: Fusaichi Pegasus became the first betting favorite to win the Kentucky Derby since Spectacular Bid in 1979.

May 7, 1938: The Kentucky Derby Glass made its debut. First used as a water glass for the track restaurant, the mint julep glass has been a part of the Derby tradition for more than 50 years.

May 7, 1949: Calumet Farm's Ponder won the 75th Kentucky Derby, which was first telecast on a limited basis by local TV station WAVE

May 7, 1973: Secretariat was flown to Pimlico Racecourse to prepare for the Preakness Stakes after his record-breaking performance in the Kentucky Derby.

May 7, 1983: Aboard Sunny's Halo, jockey Eddie Delahoussaye became the last rider to win consecutive Kentucky Derbies. Other riders to have won back-to-back Derbies are: Isaac Murphy, Ron Turcotte and James Winkfield.

May 7, 1988: Winning Colors, the first roan and the third filly to win the Kentucky Derby, provided trainer D. Wayne Lukas with his first Derby win in 13 attempts.

May 7, 1992: Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr. announced his retirement from race riding.

May 7, 2001: Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas saddled his 4,000th career winner, scoring with Added Spice in the ninth race at Delaware Park. Lukas's mark put him behind only Dale Baird (8,479 wins), Jack Van Berg (6,300) and King Leatherbury (5,190).

May 7, 2002: Seattle Slew, the last surviving Triple Crown winner, died at Hill 'N Dale Farm in Lexington, Ky., at age 28. His death came on the 25th anniversary of his Kentucky Derby victory.

May 8, 1901: David Garrick, owned by American Pierre Lorillard, won the Chester Cup in England, under the guidance of American jockey Danny Maher.

May 8, 1915: H.P. Whitney's Regret became the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby, 40 years after the race's inception in 1875.

May 8, 1937: Mary Hirsch, daughter of Max Hirsch, who had conditioned 1936 Kentucky Derby winner Bold Venture, became the first woman trainer to saddle a runner in the Kentucky Derby. The horse, No Sir, who was also owned by Miss Hirsch, finished 13th in a field of 20.

[FLA-USA]

May 7, 2007: Fresh off his victory two days earlier in the Kentucky Derby aboard Street Sense, jockey Calvin Borel attends a White House State Dinner honoring Queen Elizabeth II of England.

May 9th 1945 The wartime government ban on horse racing in the United States was lifted.

May 10th 1842 -Fashion, representing the North, competed against Boston, representing the South, in a match race at Union Course. Described by contemporaries as the best race ever run in America, with $20,000 put up on each side, the match was won by Fashion before a crowd estimated between 50,000 and 70,000.

May 10th 1910 -George Woolf, namesake of a jockey's award given annually by Santa Anita Park, was born in Cardston, Alberta.

May 10th 1919 -Sir Barton won the Kentucky Derby after being winless in six tries. Four days later, on May 14, he won the Preakness Stakes, and on June 11, he became the first Triple Crown winner after capturing the Belmont Stakes.

May 11th 1888-Trainer Robert Walden set the record for the most number of Preakness winners-seven-when he sent Refund to victory.


May 11th 1935-Trainer "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons sent a two-year-old colt, White Cockade, to victory in the Youthful Stakes at Jamaica, giving his 26-year-old owner, Ogden Phipps, his first stakes win ever.

May 12th 1909-The Preakness Stakes was held in Maryland after 16 runnings in New York. As part of the celebration that marked the return of the Preakness, the colors of the race's winner were painted onto the ornamental weathervane at Pimlico Racecourse for the first time.

May 12th 1917-Omar Khayyam became the first foreign-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He was bred in England.

May 12th 1924-Nellie Morse became the fourth and last filly to win the Preakness Stakes. Other fillies to win the Preakness were Flocarline (1903); Whimsical (1906); and Rhine Maiden (1915).

May 12th 1936- Jockey Ralph Neves was involved in a racing accident at Bay Meadows and erroneously pronounced dead. He was later revived at the morgue and he returned to the racetrack the same day. He was ordered to sit out the remainder of the racing card and so missed only a half-day of work because of his "death."

May 12th 1990- D. Wayne Lukas became the first trainer to top $100 million in purses when he sent Calumet Farm's Criminal Type to win the Pimlico Special at Pimlico Racecourse.

May 13th 1845- The Great Sectional Match, the North versus the South, was run at Union Course in New York. Fashion, representing the North, raced against the South's Peytona in a match race won by Peytona. Three years earlier, Fashion had defeated Boston, who represented the South, in another North-South rivalry.

May 13th 1939-Louis Schaefer became the first person to have ridden and trained a Preakness Stakes winner after he saddled Challedon to victory. Schaefer won the 1929 Preakness as a jockey, riding Dr. Freeland. Schaefer's double was replicated by jockey-turned-trainer John Longden, who rode Count Fleet in the 1943 Preakness and trained Majestic Prince to win the race in 1969.

May 13th 1973-Secretariat worked five furlongs in :57 2/5 at Pimlico Racecourse in preparation for the May 19 Preakness Stakes. He was eased after completing his workout distance, but still ran six furlongs in 1:10.

May 14th 1989-E.P. Taylor, owner of Windfields Farms and breeder of Northern Dancer, died at age 88.

May 14th 2000- Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Ill., re-opened its gates to racing after being closed for two-years, welcoming a crowd of 35,273.

[danziggirl]

[quote author=FLA-USA link=topic=32147.msg722108#msg722108 date=1241698773]
May 7, 2007: Fresh off his victory two days earlier in the Kentucky Derby aboard Street Sense, jockey Calvin Borel attends a White House State Dinner honoring Queen Elizabeth II of England.

May 9th 1945 The wartime government ban on horse racing in the United States was lifted.

May 10th 1842 -Fashion, representing the North, competed against Boston, representing the South, in a match race at Union Course. Described by contemporaries as the best race ever run in America, with $20,000 put up on each side, the match was won by Fashion before a crowd estimated between 50,000 and 70,000.

May 10th 1910 -George Woolf, namesake of a jockey's award given annually by Santa Anita Park, was born in Cardston, Alberta.

May 10th 1919 -Sir Barton won the Kentucky Derby after being winless in six tries. Four days later, on May 14, he won the Preakness Stakes, and on June 11, he became the first Triple Crown winner after capturing the Belmont Stakes.

May 11th 1888-Trainer Robert Walden set the record for the most number of Preakness winners-seven-when he sent Refund to victory.


May 11th 1935-Trainer "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons sent a two-year-old colt, White Cockade, to victory in the Youthful Stakes at Jamaica, giving his 26-year-old owner, Ogden Phipps, his first stakes win ever.

May 12th 1909-The Preakness Stakes was held in Maryland after 16 runnings in New York. As part of the celebration that marked the return of the Preakness, the colors of the race's winner were painted onto the ornamental weathervane at Pimlico Racecourse for the first time.

May 12th 1917-Omar Khayyam became the first foreign-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He was bred in England.

May 12th 1924-Nellie Morse became the fourth and last filly to win the Preakness Stakes. Other fillies to win the Preakness were Flocarline (1903); Whimsical (1906); and Rhine Maiden (1915).

May 12th 1936- Jockey Ralph Neves was involved in a racing accident at Bay Meadows and erroneously pronounced dead. He was later revived at the morgue and he returned to the racetrack the same day. He was ordered to sit out the remainder of the racing card and so missed only a half-day of work because of his "death."

May 12th 1990- D. Wayne Lukas became the first trainer to top $100 million in purses when he sent Calumet Farm's Criminal Type to win the Pimlico Special at Pimlico Racecourse.

May 13th 1845- The Great Sectional Match, the North versus the South, was run at Union Course in New York. Fashion, representing the North, raced against the South's Peytona in a match race won by Peytona. Three years earlier, Fashion had defeated Boston, who represented the South, in another North-South rivalry.

May 13th 1939-Louis Schaefer became the first person to have ridden and trained a Preakness Stakes winner after he saddled Challedon to victory. Schaefer won the 1929 Preakness as a jockey, riding Dr. Freeland. Schaefer's double was replicated by jockey-turned-trainer John Longden, who rode Count Fleet in the 1943 Preakness and trained Majestic Prince to win the race in 1969.

May 13th 1973-Secretariat worked five furlongs in :57 2/5 at Pimlico Racecourse in preparation for the May 19 Preakness Stakes. He was eased after completing his workout distance, but still ran six furlongs in 1:10.

May 14th 1989-E.P. Taylor, owner of Windfields Farms and breeder of Northern Dancer, died at age 88.

May 14th 2000- Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Ill., re-opened its gates to racing after being closed for two-years, welcoming a crowd of 35,273.
[/quote]
27th May 1961 Northern Dancer born Windfields Farm Oshawa

[Ballerina]

[quote author=danziggirl link=topic=32147.msg722949#msg722949 date=1241744909]
27th May 1961 Northern Dancer born Windfields Farm Oshawa
[/quote]

We're not up to that date yet. :smiley:

[danziggirl]

We weren't up to the 14th May either.....

[Ballerina]

[quote author=danziggirl link=topic=32147.msg722966#msg722966 date=1241746365]
We weren't up to the 14th May either.....
[/quote]

I post them a week at a time - the week in advance.

I will make certain that the info you posted about Northern Dancer is included in the update for the week beginning May 22 and ending May 29th if it's not already there.

I just now realized that FLA USA posted the next week after May 8th.

[Ballerina]

This will be my last update to this topic until October. FLA USA has graciously accepted my request that he keep it up to date while I'm gone as his time permits. I'm leaving for TOGA Sunday morning and don't have much access to a computer when I'm gone - I don't have a lap top.

May 15, 1918: Two horses -- War Cloud and Jack Hare Jr. -- were declared the winner of the Preakness Stakes, not because of a dead heat, but because the race was run in two divisions.

May 15, 1952: John Longden gained his 4,000th victory, riding at Hollywood Park.

May 15, 1954: Nashua won his first race, running 4½ furlongs over a straightaway at Belmont Park.

May 15, 1993: Genuine Risk, the second of three fillies to have won the Kentucky Derby since it began in 1875, gave birth to her first foal after 13 years of failed attempts and miscarriages. The foal, a son of Rahy, was named Genuine Reward.

May 15, 1999: Charismatic, winner of the 1999 Kentucky Derby, won the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Racecourse in front a record crowd of 100,311.

May 16, 1884: Buchanan became the first maiden to win the Kentucky Derby. Only two other maiden horses have gone on to win the Run for the Roses: Sir Barton in 1919, and Brokers Tip in 1933.

May 16, 1925: The first network radio broadcast of the Kentucky Derby aired from WHAS in Louisville.

May 16, 1979: Gary Stevens rode his first career winner, named Lil Star, trained by his father, Ron Stevens, at Les Bois Park.

May 16, 1998: Bob Baffert became the first person to train Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winners in successive years. In 1997, Baffert won the Derby and Preakness with Silver Charm; the following year, he won with Real Quiet.

May 16, 1998: During Preakness Stakes Day at Pimlico Racecourse, a transformer went down at 1:00 p.m., causing a power failure in the grandstand. With temperatures in the 90s, the facility had no operating air-conditioning, lights, closed-circuit television, public address system, elevators, escalators or betting windows. A record crowd of 91,122 was on hand and an estimated $1.5 million in on-track handle was lost.

May 17, 1875: America's oldest continuously held sporting event, the Kentucky Derby, was first run. The race was won by Aristides, who was ridden and trained by African Americans Oliver Lewis and Ansel Williamson, respectively. The day marked the opening of Churchill Downs; an estimated 10,000 spectators witnessed the first Derby.

May 17, 1881: James Rowe Sr., then age 24, became the youngest trainer to saddle a Kentucky Derby winner after Hindoo took the 7th Derby for his owners, brothers Phil and Mike Dwyer, both notorious gamblers.

May 17, 1915: Rhine Maiden, in winning the Preakness Stakes, produced the only Kentucky Derby-Preakness wins by fillies in the same year. The 1915 Derby was won by Regret, who did not compete in the Preakness.

May 17, 1930: Two-year-old Equipoise gave owner C.V. Whitney his first stakes victory when he captured the Keene Memorial Stakes at Belmont Park at odds of 3-5.

May 17, 1947: Seabiscuit, owned by Charles S. Howard, succumbed to a heart attack at Ridgewood Ranch in Willits, Calif. He was 14.

May 17, 1976: Sixteen-year-old Steve Cauthen rode his first winner, Thomas Bischoff-trained Red Pipe, in the eighth race at River Downs. By the end of his first year of apprenticeship, Cauthen had won 240 races from 1,170 mounts and $1.2 million in purses.

May 18, 1931: Fifteen-year-old Eddie Arcaro rode his first race, finishing sixth, at Bainbridge Park, Ohio. At year's end, he remained winless after 36 tries.

May 18, 1935: The Seagram family won the Queen's Plate stakes (then called the King's Plate), a record 20th time. From 1891-1898, the Seagrams' horses won the Plate every year.

May 18, 1957: Eddie Arcaro set the record for most number of Preakness Stakes wins by a jockey, six, when he rode Bold Ruler to victory for Wheatley Stable.

May 18, 1968: Judy Johnson became the first female trainer to saddle a horse for the Preakness Stakes. Her horse, Sir Beau, finished seventh in a field of 10.

May 18, 1968: Calumet Farm set the record for most number of wins in the Preakness Stakes by an owner, seven, when Forward Pass won the race by six lengths.

May 18, 1985: Patricia Cooksey became the first female jockey to compete in the Preakness Stakes. Her mount, Tajawa, finished sixth in a field of 11.

May 18, 1996: Jockey Pat Day won his third consecutive Preakness Stakes and his fifth Preakness overall, after riding Louis Quatorze to victory. The win, for trainer Nick Zito, snapped the Triple Crown race win-streak of trainer D. Wayne Lukas, which had run to six, beginning with the 1994 Preakness, won by Tabasco Cat.

May 18, 1998: Trainer Aimee Hall saddled four winners from five starters at Suffolk Downs, with all of the winners being ridden by her husband, Jose Caraballo. The wins are believed to be the first involving a married couple as jockey and trainer.

May 18, 2000: The NTRA and Breeders' Cup Ltd., was given preliminary approval for a consolidation plan under which all business, marketing and administrative duties of the two organizations would be combined.

May 19, 1961: Jockey Bill Shoemaker notched his 4,000th career win aboard Guaranteeya at Hollywood Park.

May 19, 1964: Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. won his first race, aboard Huelen, riding at Presidente Remon in Panama.

May 19, 1973: Secretariat's winning performance in the Preakness Stakes was marred by a controversy over the timing of the race. The original teletimer time was 1:55 for the 1 3/16-mile race; Pimlico amended it to 1:54 2/5 two days later.

May 19, 1999: Secretariat was honored as the 35th greatest athlete of the 20th Century by ESPN's SportsCentury, a series of programs profiling the top athletes of the past 100 years. Secretariat was the only non-human to make the top 50.

May 19, 2001: Beaten Kentucky Derby favorite Point Given redeemed himself by winning the Preakness Stakes today by 2 1/4 lengths in a time of 1:55 2/5 for the mile and three-sixteenths. A P Valentine was second and Congaree finished third. Monarchos, the Kentucky Derby winner, finished a well-beaten sixth.

May 20, 1916: In an unprecedented sweep, Mandarin, Gala Water and Gala Day finished first, second and third, respectively, in the King's Plate at Woodbine for their owner, distiller Joseph Seagram. Three days later, Mandarin and Gala Water again finished one-two, this time in the Breeders' Stakes.

May 20, 1941: Seventeen days after his Kentucky Derby win and 10 days after his Preakness victory, Whirlaway raced against older horses for the first time. Carrying 108 pounds, Whirlaway defeated his four rivals in the Henry of Navarre Purse at Belmont Park.

May 20, 1954: At odds of 13-1, Rex Ellsworth's two-year-old colt Swaps won his maiden race by three lengths at Hollywood Park.

May 20, 1973: Having won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, Secretariat shipped from Pimlico to New York in preparation for the Belmont Stakes, final jewel in the Triple Crown.

May 20, 1977: Two-year-old John Henry won his first start ever, a four-furlong maiden race at Jefferson Downs, by a nose. When he was retired in 1984, the gelding had 39 wins, 15 seconds and nine thirds from 83 starts, seven Eclipse Awards and earnings of $6,597,947.

May 21, 1978: John Henry made his first start for Dotsam Stable, winning a $25,000 claiming race at Aqueduct.

May 21, 1992: Jockey Gary Stevens gained his 3,000th winner in the fifth race at Hollywood Park, aboard Sharp Event.

[FLA-USA]

May 22, 1974: Locust Hill Farm's Ruffian won her first start, a maiden race for two-year-old fillies, by 15 lengths at Belmont Park. Sent off at odds of 4-1, Ruffian completed the 5½ furlongs in 1:03.

May 24, 1905: Harry Payne Whitney's Tanya became the second (and last) filly to win the Belmont Stakes. Ruthless was the first filly to win the Belmont, in 1867. Whitney also won the Kentucky Derby with a filly, Regret, in 1915.

May 24, 1977: At odds of 13-1, Louis and Patrice Wolfson's two-year-old colt Affirmed won his maiden race by 4 1/2 lengths at Belmont Park, ridden by jockey Bernie Gonzalez.


May 25, 1991: Jockey Steve Cauthen won his fourth European derby, the Derby Italiano, with Hailsham, trained by Clive Brittain. Cauthen has also won the Epsom Derby twice, the Irish Derby and the French Derby, in addition to his Kentucky Derby win with Affirmed.

May 25, 1998: Jockey Eddie Maple announced his retirement at Belmont Park while accepting the 1998 Mike Venezia Award. Maple ended his career with 4,398 career victories and earnings of $105,318,593.

May 27, 1823: A $20,000 match race between American Eclipse (representing The North) and Henry (representing The South) was held at Union Course, Long Island. Eclipse won in two-of-three heats, after his original jockey, William Crafts, was replaced by Samuel Purdy before the second heat. The race, witnessed by 60,000 spectators, was the first to have been timed by split-second chronometers, which were imported for the event.

May 27, 1873: A bay colt, Survivor, won the first Preakness Stakes by 10 lengths, the largest margin in the race's history.

May 27, 1878: The entire field of Preakness Stakes horses (three) was owned by a single family, the brothers George and Pierre Lorillard. George's horses finished first and third.

May 27, 1882: Trainer Robert Walden won his fifth consecutive Preakness Stakes, with Vanguard. Walden won a total of seven Preaknesses, a record for a trainer.

May 27, 1979: Jockey Chris McCarron, 24, won his 2,000th career race, aboard Stembok, in the second race at Hollywood Park.

May 27, 1981: Bill Shoemaker became the first jockey in racing history to win 8,000 races when he rode War Allied to victory in the first race at Hollywood Park.

May 27, 1985: Under jockey Laffit Pincay Jr., odds-on favorite Spend a Buck defeated Creme Fraiche by a neck to win the Jersey Derby and earn $2.6 million, the largest single purse in American racing history. Two million dollars of the purse came from a bonus to Spend a Buck for winning the Cherry Hill Mile, the Garden State Stakes, the Kentucky Derby and the Jersey Derby. Angel Cordero Jr., the regular rider of Spend a Buck, was committed to ride Track Barron in the Metropolitan Handicap in New York on the same day and was persuaded to give up his mount in the Jersey Derby. Track Barron finished third in the Metropolitan, earning $40,620.

May 27, 1961: Northern Dancer born at Windfields Farm, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.

May 28, 1997: Visa USA and Triple Crown Productions announced that they had increased the bonus for winning the Triple Crown to a total of $5 million.

May 28, 2000: Jockey Edgar Prado registered his 4,000th career victory aboard Thunder Breeze in the second race at Belmont Park.

May 29, 1897: Scottish Chieftain, owned by Marcus Daly, became the only Montana bred to win the Belmont Stakes.

May 29, 1907: Colin began his undefeated career, breaking his maiden by two lengths at Belmont Park.

May 29, 1946: Two-year-old fillies Chakoora and Uleta became the first Thoroughbreds to complete a transcontinental flight. They were flown from New York to Inglewood, Calif., by the American Air Express Corporation, for a 2,446-mile trip that lasted 20 hours due to adverse weather conditions.

[Bean]

June 4, 1870: Ed Brown became the first African-American jockey to win the Belmont Stakes, with Kingfisher. I wonder if Kingfish from Amos and Andy was named for Kingfisher.

[Bean]

Where is Fla-Usa?

[FLA-USA]

June 7, 1930: Gallant Fox became the second winner of the Triple Crown after he won the Belmont Stakes under Earl Sande. Gallant Fox subsequently sired another Triple Crown winner, Omaha.

June 7, 1941: Whirlaway won the 73rd running of the Belmont Stakes and became the fifth horse to win the Triple Crown.

June 7, 1947: Owner William Helis had three stakes wins in three different states. Rippey won the Carter Handicap at New York's Aqueduct; Jobstown won the Absecon Handicap at New Jersey's Atlantic City and Elpis won the New Castle Handicap at Delaware Park.

June 7, 1980: Genuine Risk became the first filly to compete in all three Triple Crown races. She won the Kentucky Derby and finished second in both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.

June 7, 1986: Trainer Woody Stephens saddled Danzig Connection to win his fifth consecutive Belmont Stakes. Stephens won the previous races with Conquistador Cielo (1982), Caveat (1983), Swale (1984) and Creme Fraiche (1985).

June 7, 1997: In his bid to become the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown, Silver Charm was outdueled during the stretch run of the Belmont Stakes by Touch Gold. Silver Charm held on for second and became the 13th horse to have lost the Triple Crown after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.

June 7, 2003: Triple Crown hopeful Funny Cide lost his bid to become the twelfth Triple Crown winner finishing third to Empire Maker and Ten Most Wanted before 101,864 in the 135th Belmont Stakes. The NBC telecast of the Belmont generated the highest rating for any horse race since the 1990 Kentucky Derby. The final hour of the telecast earned the highest rating (10.7) of any prime-time program on television that week.

June 8, 1935: Omaha, son of Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox, became the third winner of the Triple Crown with a win in the Belmont Stakes.

June 8, 1985: Brushwood Stable's Creme Fraiche became the first gelding to win the Belmont Stakes.

June 8, 1991: Julie Krone became the first female rider to compete in the Belmont Stakes. Her mount, Subordinated Debt, finished ninth as the third-longest shot in the field. Also on that date, Mane Minister became the only horse to finish third in all three Triple Crown events.

June 8, 2002: A record Belmont Park crowd of 103,222 witnessed War Emblem fail in his bid to become Thoroughbred racing's 12th Triple Crown winner at the 134th Belmont Stakes. War Emblem finished eighth behind longshot Sarava, who paid $142,50 to win as the highest priced winner in Belmont Stakes
history. Belmont Park's previous attendance record was 85,818, set in 1999 when Charismatic finished third in attempting a Triple Crown sweep.

June 9, 1888: James McLaughlin set the record for most number of wins by a jockey in the Belmont Stakes, six, when he rode Sir Dixon to a 12-length victory. McLaughlin's record was matched by Eddie Arcaro in 1955.

June 9, 1887: Only two horses competed in the Belmont Stakes. It was the smallest field in the race's history, which again had only two starters in 1888, 1892, 1910, and 1920, the year Man o' War won the Belmont by 20 lengths.

June 9, 1945: Hoop Jr. won the Kentucky Derby, which was run one month after a national wartime government ban on racing was lifted.

June 9, 1973: SECRETARIAT won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths-the longest winning margin in the race's history while setting a track record of 2:24, which has not been surpassed. The time was 2 3/5 seconds faster than the mark set by Gallant Man in 1957. Secretariat's victory made him the ninth
Triple Crown winner and first since Citation had swept the Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1948.

June 9, 1979: Spectacular Bid lost his chance for the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes, finishing third to winner Coastal. Trainer Bud Delp alleged that the colt had sustained a foot injury after stepping on a safety pin the morning of the race.


June 9, 1984: Riding Swale in a wire-to-wire victory, Laffit Pincay Jr. won his third consecutive Belmont Stakes, becoming the only rider in this century to accomplish that feat. Pincay rode Caveat to victory in 1983 and Conquistador Cielo in 1982; all three of his mounts were trained by Woody
Stephens. Jockey James McLaughlin also rode three consecutive Belmont winners, once from 1882-84, and again from 1886-88. Swale's Belmont was also the first in which a female trainer saddled a horse for the race. Sarah Lundy sent Minstrel Star to a last-place finish.

June 9, 2003: Spectacular Bid, a Champion at ages 2, 3 and 4, died at the age of 27.

June 10, 1890: The Preakness Stakes was run outside Baltimore, at Morris Park in New York, under the auspices of the New York Jockey Club. Suspended for three years, the race was next run at the Brooklyn Jockey Club's Gravesend Course, 1894-1908.

June 10, 1938: Hollywood Park opened in Inglewood, Calif. In its inaugural year, Hollywood Park attracted such racing stars as Lawrin, who had given jockey Eddie Arcaro his first Kentucky Derby victory, as well as Ligaroti and Seabiscuit, whose rivalry later reached its pitch in a match race contested at Del Mar on Aug. 12, 1938.

June 10, 1944: The only triple dead heat for first in a stakes race occurred at Aqueduct Racetrack in the Carter Handicap. The three winners were Brownie, Bossuet and Wait a Bit.

June 10, 1953: Trainer Charlie Whittingham, at age 40, saddled his first stakes winner when Porterhouse, ridden by Bill Boland, won the National Stallion Stakes at Belmont Park. Porterhouse was later named champion two-year-old of 1953.

June 10, 1972: Laffit Pincay Jr. won his 2,000th victory while riding at Hollywood Park.

June 10, 1978: Steve Cauthen, at age 18, became the youngest jockey ever to win the Triple Crown when his mount, Affirmed, won the Belmont Stakes. Also on that day, Alydar became the only horse to finish second in all three Triple Crown races. Affirmed was the 11th winner of the Triple Crown.

June 10, 2000: The 132nd Belmont Stakes drew a crowd of 67,810, making it the fourth largest in the racetrack's history and the largest Belmont Stakes crowd ever when a Triple Crown was not at stake. The race was won by longshot Commendable, giving trainer D. Wayne Lukas his record 13th win in a Triple Crown race.

June 11, 1898: Willie Simms became the only African American jockey to win the Preakness Stakes when he rode Sly Fox to victory. With this win, Simms became the only African American jockey to have won all three Triple Crown races. His other Triple Crown wins took place in the Kentucky Derby (1896,
1898) and Belmont Stakes (1893, 1894).

June 11, 1919: The first Triple Crown was won by Sir Barton after he completed the Belmont Stakes, then run at 1 3/8 miles rather than the traditional 1 1/2 miles. Prior to his Triple Crown sweep, Sir Barton had been winless in six tries at racing.

June 11, 1921: Grey Lag, under Earl Sande, won the first Belmont Stakes ever to be run counter-clockwise. Previous Belmonts had been run clockwise over a fish-hook course that included part of the training track and the main dirt oval.

June 11, 1955: Jockey Eddie Arcaro tied James McLaughlin's record of six Belmont Stakes wins when he rode Nashua to victory.

June 11, 1966: Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. recorded his first American stakes victory, taking the Christiana Stakes aboard two-year-old Hermogenes at Delaware Park.

June 11, 1973: Triple Crown winner Secretariat simultaneously made the covers of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated.

June 11, 1977: Upon winning the Belmont Stakes, Seattle Slew became the tenth Triple Crown winner and the first Triple Crown winner to remain undefeated, with a career record of nine-for-nine.

June 11, 2001: Final ratings for NBC's coverage of the Belmont Stakes were a 4.5 rating and 13 share, a 61% increase over last year's rating of 2.8 and 9 share. The average rating for all three Triple Crown races was a 6.1 and 17 share, a 49% increase over last year's combined average of 4.1 and 12, according to Neilsen Media Research. The final combined ratings also were the highest since 1992. The Belmont Stakes Day also attracted a record on-track betting handle of $10,581,093.

June 12, 1920: Man o' War won the Belmont Stakes, which was then run at a distance of 1 3/8-miles, in 2:14 1/5. He shattered the existing world record by 3 1/5 seconds and also set the American dirt-course record for that distance.

June 12, 1926: The August Belmont family first presented their permanent commemorative Tiffany trophy to the winner of the Belmont Stakes. The silver trophy was created in 1869 in recognition of Fenian's win in the Belmont.

June 12, 1948: After riding Citation to victory in the Belmont, jockey Eddie Arcaro became the only rider in history to have won two Triple Crowns. His previous Triple Crown was with Whirlaway, in 1941. In wining the Belmont, Citation became the eighth Triple Crown winner.

June 12, 1960: Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. rode his first race at El Comandante in Puerto Rico.

June 12, 1982: Jockey Mike Smith rode his first winner, Future Man, in a $2,000 claiming race at Santa Fe.

June 13, 1874: English-bred Saxon became the first foreign bred horse to win the Belmont Stakes.

June 13, 1913: James Rowe, who had won back-to-back Belmonts in 1872-3 as a jockey, set the record for most number of Belmont Stakes wins by a trainer, eight, when he sent Prince Eugene to victory.

June 13, 1961: Ben A. Jones, who trained a record six Kentucky Derby winners, died.

June 13, 1992: Angel Cordero Jr. won his first race in two tries as a trainer, with Puchinito, in the fourth race at Belmont Park.

June 13, 1999: Silver Charm, winner of the 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and the 1998 Dubai World Cup, retired after finishing fourth in the Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs. Silver Charm retired with earnings of $6,944,369 (third-highest of all time) and won 12 of 24 starts.

[GSAffirmedSlew]

Love horse racing history! Thanks! :smiley:

Used to keep my own Triple Crown and Kentucky Derby trivia log in the 70s, 80s, this makes me want to look for it and add to the list.

[FLA-USA]

June 14, 1880: The first post parade of horses in any American race took place prior to the running of the Belmont Stakes. Horses had previously gone directly from paddock to post.

June 14, 1967: Jockey Craig Perret, age 16, won his first career race at Arlington Park. Despite starting well into the season, Perret finished the year third among the nation's apprentice riders in races won (with 114) and led all apprentices in the earnings category, with $610,003.

June 15, 1963: Five weeks prior to his 90th birthday, Hall of Fame trainer 'Sunny Jim' Fitzsimmons retired. "Mr. Fitz," as he was also known, trained such outstanding runners as Nashua, Bold Ruler, Johnstown and Triple Crown winners Gallant Fox and his son Omaha.

June 15, 1972: In preparation for his July 4 debut, Secretariat worked five furlongs from the starting gate in 1:00 1/5.

June 15, 1977: Future rivals Affirmed and Alydar met for the first time, in the Youthful Stakes at Belmont Park. Affirmed triumphed over Alydar, who finished fifth, and went on to win four of their six races together in 1977.

June 16, 1943: With a shortage of male workers due to the war, Garden State Park announced it would employ female mutuels clerks.

June 17, 1912: A record parimutuel payoff on a straight $2 wager was set when Wishing Ring, sent off at odds of 941-1, paid $1,885.50 to win at Latonia. The mark was only surpassed in 1989, when Power to Geaux paid $2,922 for a $2 wager made at AKsarben on a race that was simulcast from Fair Grounds.

June 17, 1967: Buckpasser's 15-race winning streak ended when he finished third to stablemate Poker in the Bowling Green Handicap at Aqueduct, his only attempt at turf racing. Buckpasser carried 135 pounds while Poker was assigned 112.

June 18, 1936: Omaha, the 1935 Triple Crown winner owned by New York banker William Woodward, lost the 2 1/2-mile Ascot Gold Cup by a head to filly Quashed at Ascot, England. A crowd of 200,000 was said to be present for the race, for which Omaha was the 11-8 favorite. Omaha had shipped to England
aboard the Aquitania on Jan. 8, 1936 and won the May 30 Queens Plate at Kempton Park, England.

June 18, 2001: Jockey Russell Baze closed out the 2001 Bay Meadows meet by winning the track's riding title for an amazing 25th time.

June 19, 1867: The inaugural Belmont Stakes was run at Jerome Park in the Bronx and was won by a filly, Ruthless, who defeated colts to earn $1,850 for her victory. Ruthless was one of a group of fillies known as the "Barbarous Battalion," daughters of the mare Barbarity, owned by Francis Morris of New York. The other "battalion" members-all full sisterswere Remorseless, Relentless, Regardless and Merciless.

June 19, 1880: Sheepshead Bay racecourse opened for a six-day meet. The track was the original site of the Suburban, Futurity and Realization Stakes, which eventually were transferred to Belmont Park.

June 19, 1942: Count Fleet won his first race, at Aqueduct Racetrack.

June 19, 1973: Officials of Arlington Park invited Secretariat to compete in a specially created race, the $125,000 Arlington Invitational Stakes.

June 19, 1992: Charlie Whittingham became the second trainer in history, behind D. Wayne Lukas, to top $100 million in purse earnings when he sent Little by Little to a second-place finish in the sixth race at Hollywood Park.

June 19, 1998: The NTRA All-Star Jockey Championship from Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Tex., was nationally televised for the first time on ESPN2. Shane Sellers won the 12-jockey competition.

June 20, 1908: With his final victory in the Tidal Stakes at Sheepshead Bay, Colin retired undefeated after 15 starts. No major American racehorse approached this record until 1988, when Personal Ensign retired with a perfect 13-for-13 career.

[the OlLine Rebel]

This is belated, but since Man O'War was mentioned as shattering the world record in the Belmont, it should also be mentioned (since it wasn't) that it was Sir Barton who held that record from the year before.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Re: the 1st "post parade".

What really is the difference between that and "going directly from paddock to post"?

I mean, don't you always go from paddock to post? By the easiest way, which is probably mostly on the track?

[shortlead]

June 19, 1867: The inaugural Belmont Stakes was run at Jerome Park in the Bronx and was won by a filly, Ruthless, who defeated colts to earn $1,850 for her victory. Ruthless was one of a group of fillies known as the "Barbarous Battalion," daughters of the mare Barbarity, owned by Francis Morris of New York. The other "battalion" members-all full sisterswere Remorseless, Relentless, Regardless and Merciless.



Just love those mares' names!

[FLA-USA]

June 21, 1924: Exterminator, winner of the 1918 Kentucky Derby, concluded his seven-year racing career. Exterminator raced until he was nine, winning 50 of his 100 starts. He seldom carried less than 130 pounds in handicap races. Like other geldings Kelso, Forego, and John Henry, Exterminator improved with age, enjoying his greatest success when he was seven.

June 21, 1947: Assault won the Brooklyn Handicap and dethroned Whirlaway as the then money-winning champion of the world. The victory boosted his earnings to $576,670.

June 21, 1975: S. Kaye Bell became the first woman to train the winner of a $100,000 stakes race when she sent Mr. Lucky Phoenix to win the Michigan Mile and One-Eighth Handicap at Detroit Racecourse.

June 22, 1935: Seabiscuit won his first race, at Narragansett Park.

June 23, 1985: With a victory aboard Greinton in the Hollywood Gold Cup, Laffit Pincay Jr. became the second jockey in history to surpass $100 million in purse earnings.

June 23, 2002: Hall of Fame Jockey Chris McCarron ended his 28-year riding caring after piloting Came Home to an easy win in the Grade III Affirmed Handicap at Hollywood Park. McCarron finished his career with 7,141 victories and his horses earned purses of $264,351,579.

June 23, 2003: Officials of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Breeders' Cup Limited announced that the purses for the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile and the NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile, two of the eight races comprising the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, had
been increased by $500,000 to $1.5 million.

June 24, 1893: The field for the American Derby at Washington Park was held at the post for an hour and 40 minutes, the longest pre-race delay in history. Boundless, with "Snapper" Garrison aboard, won the $49,500 race, which was witnessed by a crowd of 48,000. Garrison and three other riders were each fined $250 for bad conduct at the start.

June 24, 1952: Jockey Eddie Arcaro rode his 3,000th career winner at Arlington Park. He was the first American-born rider to reach that mark.

June 24, 1972: In the fastest workout of the day for six furlongs, Secretariat went the distance in 1:12 4/5 at Belmont over a sloppy track. He would make his debut 10 days later, in a July 4 race for maiden runners at Aqueduct.

June 24, 1973: Charlie Whittingham swept the top three spots in the Hollywood Gold Cup Invitational Handicap when his trainees Kennedy Road, Quack and Cougar II finished first, second and third, respectively.

June 24, 1977: Alydar, at odds of 2.10-1, broke his maiden by 6 3/4 lengths at Belmont Park.

June 24, 1979: Affirmed, ridden by Laffit Pincay Jr., became the first horse to top $2 million in earnings after he won the Hollywood Gold Cup.

June 24, 1990: Criminal Type became the first horse to win consecutive $1 million races after capturing the Hollywood Gold Cup. He had previously won the $1 million Pimlico Special on May 12.

June 25, 1999: Hall of Fame jockey Laffit Pincay, Jr. was the winner of the NTRA All-Star Jockey Challenge at Lone Star Park.

June 25, 2000: Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus was syndicated by Coolmore Stud for a reported $70 million.

June 26, 1938: Nearco ended his career a perfect 14-for-14 by winning the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp.

June 26, 1986: Jockey Sandy Hawley won his 5,000th career race, aboard Mighty Massa, at Canterbury Downs.

June 26, 1992: Jockey Dave Gall became the eighth rider in history to ride 6,000 winners when he rode Nana's Nice Boy to victory at Fairmount Park.

June 26, 1994: Jockey Chris McCarron rode his 6,000th career winner, Andestine, in the Milady Handicap at Hollywood Park. He was the 11th rider to reach 6,000 and the third-youngest, behind Bill Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay Jr.

June 26, 2000: Hall of Fame trainer Lucien Laurin, conditioner of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat, died at the age of 88.

June 26, 2001: The NTRA and Breeders' Cup announced that the Breeders' Cup would now be known as the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships. It was also announced that Bessemer Trust Company had signed on as title sponsor of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

June 27, 1860: The Queen's Plate, the oldest continuously run stakes race in North America, was first run. Don Juan was the winner, after winning two of the three heats that comprised the event.

June 27, 1932: Calumet Farm recorded its first victory in a Thoroughbred race with two-year-old Warren Jr., who won by a nose at Arlington Park to earn $850.

June 27, 1986: Jockey Kent Desormeaux rode in his first race ever, finishing third aboard a $2,500 claimer named Ducknest Coal Mine, at odds of 35-1, in the second race at Evangeline Downs.

June 28, 1906: Rockingham Park opened its doors for the first time. A crown of more than 10,000 came to the tiny outpost of Salem Depot, N.H., by train from as far away as New York City. The facility, which cost over $1 million to construct, was proclaimed by the press to be the world's finest.

June 28, 1977: Steve Cauthen, on his first day as a journeyman jockey, won with his first three mounts at Belmont Park.

June 28, 1989: Arlington International Racecourse opened in Arlington Heights, Ill. It had been rebuilt after a fire destroyed the old facility, July 31, 1985.

[FLA-USA]

June 29, 1968: Jockey Eddie Delahoussaye won his first race, at Evangeline Downs, aboard Brown Shill.

June 29, 1968: Gamely, Princessnesian and Desert Law-all owned by William Haggin Perry and trained by Jim Maloney-finished 1, 1A and 1B, respectively, in the Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park.

June 29, 1969: Jockey Ray Sibille won his first career race, at Evangeline Downs.

June 29, 1983: Jockey Angel Cordero Jr. won his 5,000th career race, aboard Another Rodger, in the ninth race at Belmont Park. He was the fourth rider in history, behind John Longden, Bill Shoemaker and Laffit Pincay Jr., to hit that mark.

June 30, 1973: Three weeks after he won the Triple Crown, Secretariat scored another victory, a nine-length win in the Arlington Invitational Stakes at Arlington Park, where he was sent off at the shortest odds in his career, 1-20. With no place or show wagering on the four-horse race, which was run with a three-horse field against Secretariat, the track had a minus win pool of $17,941. More than 40,000 spectators turned out for the event.

June 30, 1978: Spectacular Bid won his first race, at Pimlico, by 3 1/4 lengths.

June 30, 1990: Retired jockey Bill Shoemaker won his first race as a trainer, sending two-year-old filly Tempest Cloud to her maiden victory at Hollywood Park.

June 30, 1991: One year after his first victory as a trainer, Bill Shoemaker recorded his first Grade I win, with Alcando in the Beverly Hills Handicap at Hollywood Park.

July 1, 1966: Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. won with his first mount in the United States, at Arlington Park, aboard two-year-old filly Teacher's Art, owned and bred by Fred W. Hooper.

July 1, 1998: Hall of Fame jockey Sandy Hawley retired from race riding after competing in the Dominion Day Handicap at Woodbine Racecourse.

July 1, 2000: Jockey Mark Guidry became the 36th jockey in history to win 4,000 races when he rode Manitowish to victory in the fifth race at Arlington International Racecourse.

July 1, 2001: Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel won two Grade I races on opposite coasts, on different surfaces, both via disqualification. First,Senure was elevated to the top spot in the United Nations Handicap, a turf race at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., following the disqualification of With Anticipation for a bumping incident in midstretch. Then, just 30 minutes later and on the same CBS telecast, Aptitude was placed first after Futural was disqualified for a similar infraction in the Hollywood Gold Cup, a top dirt race at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif.

July 2, 1989: Jockey Steve Cauthen became the first rider in history to sweep the world's four major derbies after winning the Irish Derby with Old Vic. He had previously won the Kentucky Derby with Affirmed (1978), the Epsom Derby with Slip Anchor (1985) and Reference Point (1987) and the French Derby with Old Vic (1989).

July 3, 1937: The Del Mar Turf Club, with crooner Bing Crosby as president and actor Pat O'Brien as one of the club officers, opened for racing.

July 3, 1977: Seattle Slew's nine-race winning streak came to an end in the Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park, when he finished fourth, beaten 16 lengths by J.O. Tobin.

July 3, 1982: D. Wayne Lukas-trained Landaluce, ridden by Laffit Pincay Jr., won the 1st of her 5 consecutive victories at Hollywood Park. Daughter of Seattle Slew, owned by Barry Beal & Lloyd French, died of a viral infection in Novemberr, but was posthumously voted champion two-year-old filly of 1982.

July 4, 1954: Two-year-old Ribot won his first race, the Premio Tramuschio. He concluded his career in 1956, with 16 wins in as many starts.

July 4, 1972: Two-year-old Secretariat, ridden by Paul Feliciano, ran fourth to winner Herbull in his racing debut, blocked badly throughout the race, at Aqueduct. It was the poorest placing of Secretariat's career.

July 4, 1976: Charlie Whittingham swept the top three spots in the American Handicap at Hollywood Park with his trainees King Pellinore, Riot in Paris and Caucasus. On July 26, he repeated the feat in the Sunset Handicap, with Caucasus first, King Pellinore second and Riot in Paris third.

July 4, 1978: Trainer D. Wayne Lukas won his first $100,000 stakes race-over the turf-taking the American Handicap with Effervescing, ridden by Laffit Pincay Jr., at Hollywood Park.

July 4, 1998: Elusive Quality ran the fastest mile in history in the Poker Handicap at Belmont Park. The five-year-old horse was timed in 1:31 3/5 over a firm turf course.

July 4, 2000: Hall of Fame jockey Russell Baze scored his 7,000 career victory aboard This Is the Moment at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, Calif. Baze became the sixth jockey to join the 7,000-win club.

July 5, 1991: Jockey Ray Sibille won his 3,000th career race, aboard Sporting Surf at Pleasanton.

[FLA-USA]

July 6, 1975: Locust Hill Farm's undefeated filly Ruffian engaged Kentucky Derby winner Foolish Pleasure in a match race at Belmont Park. Racing on the lead, Ruffian sustained a severe leg injury and was pulled up by jockey Jacinto Vasquez. The filly was euthanized the following day when efforts to save her proved futile.

July 6, 1977: In the second of their 10 meetings, Alydar defeated Affirmed to win the Great American Stakes at Belmont Park. This was the first of Alydar's three victories over Affirmed.

July 7, 1934: Mary Hirsch became the first female to be licensed as a Thoroughbred trainer, in Illinois. Hirsch subsequently was licensed in Michigan that year and two years later, on April 9, she was licensed by The Jockey Club to train in New York.

July 8, 2000: General Express set a world record when he went five furlongs on the turf in :54.60 in the Decathlon Stakes at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, NJ. General Express eclipsed the mark of :54.97 set by Klassy Briefcase in
a Monmouth allowance race on June 8, 1991.

July 10, 1982: Landaluce, a two-year-old daughter of Seattle Slew, won the Hollywood Lassie Stakes by 21 lengths under the guidance of Laffit Pincay Jr. She ran the six furlong race in 1:08, just 3/5 of a second off the track record at Hollywood Park.

July 10, 2000: The National Thoroughbred Racing Association unveiled the "NTRA Two-Year-Old Challenge," a televised racing series and promotional program for 2-year-old Thoroughbred colts and geldings carrying a potential bonus of $1.3 million.

July 11, 1997: Breeders' Cup Ltd. announced that supplemental entry fees would be added to the purses of Breeders' Cup Championship Day events.

July 12, 1971: Bold Ruler, sire of 82 stakes winners, including Secretariat, died at Claiborne Farm.

July 13, 1986: Jockey Kent Desormeaux rode his first winner, a three-year-old filly named Miss Tavern, in the fifth race at Evangeline Downs.

July 13, 1996: Cigar tied Citation's record of 16 consecutive victories, winning the Citation Challenge at Arlington International Racecourse.