BH 100: First Time Was A Charm

This feature originally appeared in the October 22, 2016 issue of BloodHorse.

The advent of the Breeders’ Cup spoke to the heart of anyone who covered Thoroughbred racing, but it certainly presented a logistical challenge for the editorial staff of The Blood-Horse. As managing editor, I was responsible for coverage assignments, layouts, editing, etc. The decision was made by the editor Kent Hollingsworth that the regular issue of Nov. 17, 1984, would provide a broad overview of the seven original Breeders’ Cup races (run Nov. 10), along with the regular coverage other news deserved (i.e., Kentucky fall sales), and then we would come back within a few days with a separate, special edition to be mailed separately to all subscribers. 

Theretofore the most elaborate coverage we conducted usually involved the Kentucky Derby (gr. I). We had a custom of assigning specific horses for individual staff members to cover with notes and information prior to and after the race, so we could report on the entire field. For the Breeders’ Cup, though, there were seven races so each reporter was on his/her own since there was not much chance to help each other. Hollingsworth was game for me to take an individual for each race. 

Five were from the staff, including myself, and two were regular correspondents, Robbie Henwood from California and Gerry Strine from the MidAtlantic. Each assignment included a race story and separate pedigree story. The correspondents did not have the requisite research material at hand for the pedigree article, so Steve Thomas, Dan Mearns, Kimberly Herbert, Ruth Anne Carrell, and I had our own races and horses to cover, plus some extra pedigree articles and sidebars. (I did not take umbrage when a staff member said she had never seen me so tense from facing the unknown. Of course I was.)

It needs be pointed out that these were flourishing times for The Blood-Horse. Since 1963 Hollingsworth had been at the helm during enormous growth of the publication; a key compatriot was the advertising manager, Erbert Eades, who also came aboard in 1963 and whose work ethic and ability to guide a productive staff were prodigious. Indeed, there were years around that time when surveys noted it was between The Blood-Horse and The New Yorker as to which national weekly magazine had the most advertising pages. 

I had learned in journalism schools that newspapers traditionally operated on a ratio of 70% advertising to 30% editorial ratio. At The Blood-Horse my quota was raised to 40%, and the success of Eades in selling ads often had me straining to make it. The preview edition for that first Breeders’ Cup was 346 pages thick, and I just got up to my percentage with 118 pages. 

So, off we went to the challenge—along with undeniable glamor. I had developed a connection with the actor John Forsythe by doing his scripts for his role as master of ceremonies for Eclipse Awards nights. He was kind enough to secure me a couple of invitations to the Breeders’ Cup Gala. Marje Everett, hostess of the Breeders’ Cup at Hollywood Park, had many Hollywood entertainment connections, and as we walked in we could not help but notice Elizabeth Taylor a few yards away. One table we passed by had not only Forsythe, but Cary Grant, Gregory Peck, and, who’s that?...oh, yes, Jimmy Stewart. During dinner Frank Sinatra walked onto the stage with virtually no introduction and sang for about 15 minutes. 

There were logistical situations that had some very prominent racing personalities standing in long lines for their tickets, and the traffic on the day of the races was severe. Still, the day was a smashing success. The crowd of 64,254 was some 30,000 more than the average Saturday at Hollywood, Hollingsworth pointed out in his commentary. 

The afternoon had a mix of upsets, battles, foul claims, and international competition. The very first Breeders’ Cup race was the Juvenile, in which Chief’s Crown solidified his status as the leader of his division. Next, in the Juvenile Fillies, Fran’s Valentine won at 74-1 but was taken down for interference, giving the victory to 22-1 shot Outstandingly. 

Later in the card came an illustration of how the Europeans were immediately accepting the Breeders’ Cup, although its timing went against the established custom of their major campaigners shutting down after the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) and the Champion Stakes (Ire-I) in early to mid-October.

Daniel Wildenstein had sent his All Along to win three major grass races in North America in 1983, when she was our Horse of the Year. All Along was not quite up to that form in 1984, but he sent her over for the Breeders’ Cup. Few entries could have added more prestige than did the Aga Khan sending Lashkari, who won at 53-1 over All Along. Unlike the Fran’s Valentine upset, this one stood. (Missing from the Turf, gr. IT, field was the public idol and champion John Henry, who was reported to have an ankle problem a week before the race, after owner Sam Rubin had been prevailed upon to make a $133,000 installment toward the supplemental entry fee.)

On the other end of the odds scenario from Lashkari’s win, the dominant Princess Rooney won the Distaff (gr. I) at 7-10 to clinch an Eclipse Award, and her race was selected for the cover of The Blood-Horse special Breeders’ Cup edition. (The special edition had 132 pages, including 67 pages of advertising.)

The climactic race, the $3-million Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) at 1 1/4 miles, was envisioned as a prime additional opportunity for a year’s 3-year-old crop to meet older horses at weight for age. In 1984 the classic crop had suffered the death of Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Swale, but Preakness Stakes (gr. I) winner Gate Dancer was there to represent the Triple Crown horses.

Favored at 3-5 along with a stablemate was Slew o’ Gold, coming into the race unbeaten in six races going back to the previous year’s Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (gr. I). A repeat Gold Cup win, by 9 3/4 lengths, had been the result of his last previous outing. A victory at Hollywood Park would presumably wrap up Horse of the Year. 

Between the Gold Cup and the Classic, however, the 4-year-old Seattle Slew colt had repeated treatment of the frogs of his front feet, and Dr. Judd Butler was still coping, adding fiberglass patches the day before the race. Among the longshots was another that had had hoof problems. Wild Again’s left front hoof grew faster than the others. Specialist Jack Reynolds had dealt with that with specific shoes and trimming schedules. Wild Again had won the New Orleans and Oaklawn handicaps (both gr. II) and the Meadowlands Cup (gr. I) but was 31-1 for the Breeders’ Cup Classic. 

Jockey Pat Day put Wild Again on the lead early and there he gamely stayed. Slew o’ Gold, with Angel Cordero Jr. aboard, had moved from mid pack to challenge by the turn for home but could not get by, almost certainly below his 100% form. Then Gate Dancer and Laffit Pincay Jr. came storming up from eighth and reverted to a past habit of bearing in. Gate Dancer added to the bumping Wild Again and Slew o’ Gold had begun to engage in and then severely lolled left into Slew o’ Gold. The finish was Wild Again by a head over Gate Dancer, which had a half-length on Slew o’ Gold. Stewards disqualified Gate Dancer, however, and placed him third.

Ironically, the prominent Horse of the Year candidate that ran in the Breeders’ Cup, Slew o’ Gold, did not win the year end award, while John Henry, who did not run in this first Super Bowl of the Turf, prevailed in the Horse of the Year voting. The first Breeders’ Cup, though, was a rousing breakthrough, and a new era was upon us. 

Read more BloodHorse 100 features here.