Horse Racing Near Misses

HORSE RACING NEAR MISSES

Horse as Symbol

Easily the most popular spectator sport in the United States during the 1950s was horse racing. Perhaps as a result of attention directed to the war effort, the quality of race horses declined sharply in the 1950s. But then the great horses of the 1940s had set a standard difficult to match. Horses of the 1950s were measured against four Triple Crown winners from the 1940s: Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), and the magnificent Citation (1948), who in 1951 became the first horse in racing history to earn $1 million.

Near Misses

The 1950s was a decade of near misses in horse racing. The most famous miss was when Willie Shoemaker misjudged the finish line of the 1957 Kentucky Derby to allow Iron Liege to nose out Gallant Man. The result of Shoemaker's miscalculation is the universal bullseye symbol that now marks the finish line.

More Near Misses

The Triple Crown—the designation reserved for winners of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes—was nearly won—which is to say was nearly missed—five times in the decade. Middleground (1950), Native Dancer (1953), Nashua (1955), and Needles (1956) all lost either the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness. Tim Tam in 1958 won the first two legs, only to lose the Belmont Stakes, All five horses finished second in the only Triple Crown race they did not win.

Sources:

Barry Gifford, A Day at the Races: The Education of a Racetracker (New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1988);

Marvin B. Scott, The Racing Game (Chicago: Aldine Publishing, 1968).