Met Mile Proved Highlight for Wilmot as a Trainer

A life in racing is often filled with complicated twists and turns. Owner-breeder Dr. William Wilmot has experienced them all—every unexpected curve and bend imaginable, traversing each with a sense of self-determination.

Back in 1975, Wilmot, who'd been training a small stable of less than 10 Thoroughbreds—runners either owned by himself or family members—and was struggling to keep his career afloat, suddenly found himself standing in the winner's circle of the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) beside the 4-year-old Gold and Myrrh, a son of Damascus.

"It was surreal. Almost like an out-of-body-experience. I couldn't believe it. It was like somebody else did it," said Wilmot, whose charge had just defeated the odds-on favorite, Lazy F. Ranch's Forego (Horse of the Year from 1974 through 1976) in a Met Mile contested at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Wilmot first learned about horses from his mother, who had ridden one to school every morning while growing up in Louisiana. He went on to college at Georgetown where he studied government and thought about becoming a lawyer, until the pull of Thoroughbreds became too much to overcome and he began walking hots at Finger Lakes.

Later on, as a young trainer finding his way, established horsemen like Allen Jerkens, Tommy Kelly, and Billy Turner helped him along with regular advice.

"They never treated me like some punk kid. They were always nice to me, and were there to talk about training," said Wilmot. "I had done well with several cheap claimers and that helped me in my process of trying to figure out horses." 

Of course, trying to figure out the headstrong Gold and Myrrh was an extraordinary challenge for the young conditioner. Despite an abundance of raw ability, the hot-tempered runner was a huge obstacle to himself on the racetrack.

"Gold and Myrrh always needed to feel like he was in control. He dropped a few riders in the mornings, including Braulio Baeza, who was sore enough that he had to take off several winning mounts that same afternoon and wasn't pleased," said Wilmot. "Both Angel Cordero and Walter Blum seemed to understand him best, though."

The horse's last work before the Met Mile clued in Wilmot that a big effort was coming.

"It began terribly, with Gold and Myrrh trying to reach around and grab the exercise rider's boot, looking to dump him. Then he began bucking like a rodeo horse. But even after expending all of that energy, when he finally got his mind right, he drilled four furlongs in :46 flat. The clockers just stared at their watches, like they hadn't believed what they'd just seen," said Wilmot. "So I knew the horse was going to run well. But I didn't know he was going to beat Forego."

Because Belmont Park was being refurbished at the time, the 1975 Met Mile was run at Aqueduct. Slightly over 47,000 fans showed up to see the elite field of runners compete for a purse of $111,400 (the current purse for this year's grade 1 Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap June 8 at Belmont is $1,200,000). 

In the running, the Allen Jerkens-trained Onion, who had defeated Secretariat at Saratoga Race Course in the 1973 Whitney (G2), shot to the lead with Gold and Myrrh beneath jockey Walter Blum tracking in second position. The pace was swift and when Onion tired from his early efforts, Gold and Myrrh seized the advantage and turned for home with a four-length lead.

"Coming down the stretch, I was thinking to myself, 'Please don't bolt. Don't do something stupid,'" recalled Wilmot.

Gold and Myrrh, who carried 121 pounds, didn't disappoint his trainer, holding sway through the lane and registering a three-quarter length victory. Greentree Stable's Stop the Music was the runner-up and Forego, who shouldered 136 pounds, finished third.

Gold and Myrrh raced the one-mile distance in 1:33.6, equaling the stakes record at the time.

The win was so unexpected, the New York Times mistakenly reported that Wilmot owned the horse himself, when in reality his father and uncle were the registered owners.

Two years later, having picked up virtually no new owners in his stable after that major victory, Wilmot decided to leave training.

"I wanted more control over what was going on in my life and career," said Wilmot. "Basically, the last straw was when I saw Billy Turner, who had an undefeated Triple Crown winner in Seattle Slew, get fired. If that could happen to him, what could happen to me? It was a soul-searching time."

So Wilmot followed another passion of his. He enrolled in vet school where he was in the first graduating class in the School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts in Boston. It was there that William Wilmot met his future wife Dr. Joan Taylor. Together, the pair eventually raised a family of their own and established Stepwise Farm in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

As breeders, Wilmot and Taylor have excelled with just a small band of broodmares. They are responsible for breeding Incurable Optimist (1998 New York-bred Horse of the Year), Naughty New Yorker (2007 New York-bred Horse of the Year) as well as Holiday Disguise and Midnight Disguise (both out of the couple's mare Thin Disguise).

"I'm extremely happy with the path I chose for my life," said Wilmot. "It was fate."

Would Wilmot one day like to breed a horse that wins the Met Mile?

"That would be the ultimate. The Met Mile is one of the most important races we have in North America," said Wilmot. "I understand the need for super-cards and having it on the same day as the Belmont Stakes. But I loved it being contested on Memorial Day, giving 3-year-olds like Arts and Letters (1969) and Conquistador Cielo (1982) a chance to double-up in the Belmont."