I owe Steve Haskin for this article because his story, “For The Love of a Horse,” got me thinking about the horse that first grabbed my heart.
(Link to Steve Haskin’s narrative: http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/horse-racing-steve-haskin/archive/2019/05/19/-For-the-Love-of-a-Horse.aspx)
His name was Greek Money and I laid down my very first bet on him to win the 1962 Preakness. I was 12 years old and the bet, a nickel, was lodged with Grandpa in the livingroom of my grandparents’ home, minutes before the field started to load.
It had become an annual ritual, Grandpa and me watching the Triple Crown races together. Inevitably, he would ask me for my pick and on Preakness day it was a handsome colt named Greek Money. I was feeling confident: I’d picked Roman Line to win the Kentucky Derby, and although irritated that Decidedly had robbed me of a Derby winner, I was proud that a colt no-one had much bothered with in the pre-Derby show had come in second. As importantly, I wanted to convince Grandpa that the “horse gene” we shared gave us a deep affinity.
It was tough to really connect with my grandfather, at least in part because he was the last of the Victorians — those born at the end of the nineteenth century — and his sensibility was almost a century behind mine. He believed that children “…should be seen but not heard” and he would have enforced that addage had my parents not tempered him some. But what brought us together, nurtured by my grandmother, was a passion for horses. He had watched me grow up with Breyer horses, cowboy outfits, Marx Wild West play sets and books like Misty of Chincoteague and The Black Stallion. He even tuned in on Saturdays to watch Fury, Champion the Wonder Horse, Roy Rogers and My Friend Flicka with me.
It was always so much fun — that’s how I remember watching my earliest Triple Crown races with Grandpa. Right up there with comfort food. There was no place better than to be sitting beside him in front of the black and white television console for the Derby, Preakness and Belmont. The big house grew quiet and those not interested took their leave.
Eddie Arcaro was a great favourite in the Wheeler household; Citation was one of Grandpa’s personal “Pantheon of Greats” and he loved to reminisce about “Cy” and Eddie. But Eddie was no longer riding. And for the millions who had followed his career with the kind of reverance usually reserved for places of worship, Arcaro’s retirement in 1961 signalled a sea change to the racing world as they had known it.
On Derby day in 1962 Grandpa would likely have said something like, “I sure don’t see another Citation in this bunch.” Cy was unquestionably the contemporary standard against which every promising 3 year-old was judged. (Were he alive today, Grandpa would be both annoyed and disheartened that the racing world seems to have all but forgotten his beloved Citation.)
His pick was the Derby favourite, Ridan. But we’d both lost out to Decidely, a son of Determine, a superstar who had won the 1954 Derby. Determine was a “little guy,” but the son of the mighty Alibhai (Hyperion) was a steel grey rocket who also won the San Gabriel, the Santa Anita Derby, the San Felipe, the San Jose and another 5 stakes in his native California that same year.
By Preakness Day 1962, the oval coffee table in the “sitting room” was piled high with thoroughbred magazines and race tables, attesting to my grandfather’s studious analysis of the field. As we watched the beginning of the telecast, it was his habit to tell me about some of the contenders. That year, Grandpa was still most interested in Ridan, but Jaipur was also on his lens. As a 2 year-old, Jaipur had won the Hopeful as well as the Flash and Cowdin Stakes under Eddie Arcaro. Knowing my grandfather, he likely picked Ridan over Jaipur because Arcaro wasn’t riding the latter any longer. He had followed both colts through their 2 year-old seasons, as he had Christopher Chenery’s Sir Gaylord, a prohibitive favourite to win the 1962 Derby before he was injured and retired.
There would be no Triple Crown, but the Preakness field was still comprised of several very good colts, the best of which were arguably the aforementioned Jaipur and Ridan.
Ridan, a son of Nantallah (Nasrullah) and the excellent Rough Shod (Gold Bridge), the dam of champions Lt. Stevens, Moccassin, Gambetta and Thong, and grandam of Nureyev, certainly had an outstanding pedigree. Bred by Claiborne Farm and owned by Mrs. Moody Jolley, Ernest Woods and John L. Greer, Ridan was trained by HOF Leroy Jolley, who had primed him to victory in the Florida Derby and Blue Grass Stakes before finishing third in the Derby. On Preakness Day he was partnered by Manny Ycaza and it wasn’t unreasonable to expect a better performance from him.
Jaipur was owned by the eminent owner-breeder George Widener and trained by future HOF Bert Mulholland. The son of Nasrullah (Nearco) and Rare Perfume (Eight Thirty) had an equally outstanding pedigree and 1962 was another great year for the colt, who had already won the Hopeful, the Cowdin and the Flash Stakes in 1961. Jaipur came into the Preakness with big wins in the Withers and the Gotham already under his belt. He headed to the post in the Preakness with his regular rider, Bill Shoemaker, in the irons.
Jaipur and Ridan were poised to enter into a rivalry that, if not legendary, was certainly noteworthy and destined to become the central narrative of the 1962 racing season. It hit a pitch in the 1962 Travers, as they battled for victory and 3 year-old Champion honours.
As for the rest of the Preakness Field, aside from the Derby winner, Decidedly, there was also the very game Admiral’s Voyage (whose future daughter, Pas de Nom, produced the great sire Danzig), as well as a colt named Crimson Satan, the future sire of the swift Crimson Saint, dam of Terlingua (the dam of Storm Cat), Pancho Villa (Secretariat) and Royal Academy (Nijinsky). Crimson Satan was a speedball and best at shorter distances, but not the equal of the other runners in my grandfather’s view. Pedigree aside, Grandpa also quietly dismissed Decidedly’s chances, viewing his Derby win as a fluke. Roman Line was running as well, but for some reason I chose Greek Money, very likely because he was the one who most impressed me physically on the day.
But who was Greek Money — other than the strking chestnut on whom I had invested a nickel’s worth of hope?
To begin with, Greek Money’s bloodlines were anything but shabby. By Greek Song, the winner of the Dwyer and Arlington Classic as a three year-old, Greek Money was a great grandson of Hyperion. The colt’s dam, Lucy Lufton, was by the Epsom Derby and Two Thousand Guineas winner, Nimbus, a son of Nearco.
Nimbus’ win in the 1949 Epsom Derby was witnessed by HM Queen Mary, HM Princess Elizabeth, Sir Winston Churchill, Lord Derby and the newly-weds Rita Hayworth and Ali Khan, among others:
Greek Money’s owner-breeder, Donald Peabody Ross, purchased his dam sight unseen at Newmarket and shipped her to the USA, where she was breed to Greek Song, who was also owned by Ross. A businessman who had co-founded Delaware Park, Ross’ Brandywine Stable might not have been a household name, but his enthusiam for breeding and racing thoroughbreds was clear. He served as President of the Thoroughbred Racing Association, as steward of The Jockey Club and was a founding member of the Board of Trustees of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
In 1962, Virgil W. “Buddy” Raines was the trainer for Brandywine Stable. As a child, Raines was handed over first by his parents to serve as an endentured servant to an itinerant trainer in what was the beginning of an 80-year long career in the industry. He was subsequently passed on to one “Whistling” Bob Smith, trainer for the prestigious Brookmeade Stable and its owner, Isabel Dodge Sloane. Raines did all the usual menial jobs around the stable, but as he grew into adolescence, Smith began to mentor him and trusted him to work the great Cavalcade, a Brookmeade star. Under Smith’s guidance, Raines rose to become his assistant trainer.
During his time with Brandywine Stable, Raines not only trained Greek Money but had also trained his sire, as well as other Brandywine stars, notably the champions Cochise (Boswell X New Pin by Royal Minstrel) and his daughter, Open Fire (Cochise X Lucy Lufton), both greys and descendants of The Tetrarch sire line, a precursor of speed and stamina. In addition, from 1989-1991, the now senior Raines trained three consecutive winners of the Maryland Million Classic for Andrew Fowler, Master Speaker and dual winner, Timely Warning. The latter was ridden to victory by Raines’ grandson, Mike Luzzi.
Throughout his career, Buddy Raines was a popular personality, noted for his storytelling ways. Nominated to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2006, Raines lost out to Carl Hanford, trainer of the incomparable Kelso.
Greek Money was ridden on Preakness day by John Rotz, a HOF who won most of America’s important races at least once during his 20-year career. Although Rotz was never the household name that contemporaries like Arcaro or Shoemaker became, he did receive the George Woolf Jockey Award in 1973, given to a jockey who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack.
So it was that on that third Saturday in May, I watched with intense interest as my Preakness choice was loaded and locked into the starting gate:
I jumped to my feet, yelling “He won! He won!” but Grandpa put a cautionary hand on my arm.
“Maybe not. The stewards need to look at it again.”
“Why?” I countered, incredulous.
“We’ll see what happens. Sit still now.”
As we waited, along with all those gathered at Pimlico that day, photographer Joseph di Paola’s lens had indeed seen what happened. di Paola had decided to move down from the finish some 30-40 feet, and aimed his camera at the finish line. He was a crack photographer, who worked for the Baltimore Sun for some 50 years, and he wanted something a little different than the usual finish photo. Well, he sure got it. The image is one of the most iconic in the history of racing photography, and shows Manny Ycaza reaching over to apparently interfere with Rotz as Greek Money and Ridan neared the finish.
Oddly, it was neither the stewards nor Rotz who lodged the claim of foul: it was Ycaza, who stated that Greek Money had interefered with Ridan in the stretch. In his senior years, John Rotz told an interviewer that he didn’t believe that Ycaza had actually made contact with him. Rotz added that if Ycaza had concentrated on aiming Ridan at the finish line, instead of leaning over and stretching out his arm, Ridan would likely have won.
After an agonizing delay, the stewards ruled in favour of the winner and Greek Money was led into the winner’s circle to accept his wreath of black-eyed Susans. However, when di Paola’s photograph hit the front pages of every North American newspaper, a hearing was conducted into the matter and it was di Paola’s photo that became a primary source, since it captured something that the film of the finish didn’t allow the stewards to see. Manny Ycaza was handed a suspension.
My pride was visceral: Greek Money was “my” colt and his victory belonged to me.
I won back my nickel plus Grandpa’s, and shortly thereafter used my winnings to purchase a Drumstick ice cream cone.
That it tasted like no Drumstick before it, I’m certain.
Selected Bibliography
Knauf, Leslie. “1962 Preakness: The Stretch Duel In Which ‘All Heck Broke Loose’ ” The Rail, May 16, 2012. https://therail.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/16/1962-preakness-the-stretch-duel-in-which-all-heck-broke-loose/
Campbell, Cot. Stories From Cot Campbell: Virgil W. “Buddy” Raines. The Blood-Horse, February 27, 2013. http://cs.bloodhorse.com/blogs/cot-campbell/archive/2013/02/27/buddy-raines.aspx
Aiken Thoroughbred Racing and Hall of Champions: Open Fire. https://www.aikenracinghalloffame.com/Open_Fire.html
Bonus Features
Jaipur Documentary:
The 1962 Travers: Jaipur vs. Ridan
Jockey Mike Luzzi (Buddy Raines’ grandson) and Timely Warning (two-time winner, the Maryland Million Classic)
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
NOTE: THE VAULT is a non-profit website. (Any advertising that appears on THE VAULT is placed there by WordPress and the profit, if any, goes to WordPress.) We make every effort to honour copyright for the photographs used in our articles. It is not our policy to use the property of any photographer without his/her permission, although the task of sourcing photographs is hugely compromised by the social media, where many photographs prove impossible to trace. Please do not hesitate to contact THE VAULT regarding any copyright concerns. Thank you.
****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Thank you for this trip down history lane ! What wonderful memories.
LikeLike
Sharon: Thank you so much! Your support means the world because otherwise, I’m writing for no-one in a sense. Abigail
LikeLike
This is wonderful, Abigail!! I love your history posts with such details and amazing photos! To see the times through your young eyes and relationship with your grandfather tugs the heart while still teaching from your experiences and your research. Thank you for sharing with us! This one is one of my favorites!
LikeLike
Celeste: I’m ever so pleased that you enjoyed this one. Thank you for the fabulous comments!!! Abigail
LikeLike
I really enjoyed this article about horses I’d only read about in passing, as I was too young to recall 1962.
LikeLike
Thank you dear Fuzzi!!!
LikeLike