On This Day In (Racing) History

On this day twenty one years ago John Durkan, amateur jockey and assistant racehorse trainer,died of leukaemia. A race named the John Durkan Memorial Chase is run each December at Punchestown.
 
On this day one hundred and twenty years ago on the 10th February 1899 Haydock Park held its inaugural National Hunt meeting.
 
On this day in 1974 David Nicholson rode his 583rd and last winner on What A Buck for owner Lord Vestey at Hereford and retired immediately.
 
On this day in 1975 the result of the Fighting Fifth hurdle was

1st Night Nurse (who also won two Champion Hurdles)

2nd Comedy Of Errors (who won the Fighting Fifth three times as well as two Champion Hurdles)

3rd Sea Pigeon (who won the Fighting Fifth twice and the Champion Hurdle twice)

Now look at this year's race :whistle:
 
Diamond Geezer said:
On this day in 1975 the result of the Fighting Fifth hurdle was

1st Night Nurse (who also won two Champion Hurdles)

2nd Comedy Of Errors (who won the Fighting Fifth three times as well as two Champion Hurdles)

3rd Sea Pigeon (who won the Fighting Fifth twice and the Champion Hurdle twice)

Now look at this year's race :whistle:
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Those were the days. Time probably plays tricks as well but they seemed to run against each other every 3 weeks too.
 
Not actually on this day, but some Interesting stories.

In the 1844 Epsom Derby the winner was disqualified for being too old. The race was for three year olds, yet the first past the post had also passed his fourth birthday.

The 1908 Grand National was won by Rubio, a horse that had been retired from racing and had spent the previous three years as a plough horse on a farm.

In the 1913 Epsom Derby there was a tragic incident. Emily Davison ran on to the course where a horse trampled her to death

In a 1918 horse race in Hong Kong the stands caught fire and 604 people perished. This remains the world’s worst sporting disaster.

In the 1928 Grand National only one horse, Tipperary Tim, completed the course

In a 1945 steeplechase the record was set for the slowest time ever for a winning horse. The Never Mind II refused a fence and the rider returned to the paddock. However, all the other horses fell or were disqualified so Never Mind II restarted and finished the race being declared the winner over eleven minutes after the race had started.

In 1966 at a horse race in Ghana all the jockeys went on strike as the authorities would not sacrifice a cow at a specific bend that was considered to be dangerous.

In the 1967 Grand National, for the second time only one horse, Foinavon, completed the course

In a race at the 1970 Royal Ascot meeting the first, second and third horses to the post were all disqualified for interference. The fourth horse past the post was declared the winner.
 
Another horse finished 1928 Grand National also. Tipperary Tim had a wind operation the day before the race (laryngeal tube fitted I think) which kept him standing no doubt !
I think the Royal Ascot race was 1974, Brook getting the Queen Anne Stakes.
Running Rein was Maccabeus in 1844 Derby.
1913 Derby had a disqualification as winning favourite Craganour was owned by a Mr Ismay, of Titanic infamy; his brother in law steward did not want the great race tainted with such a winner, so he called the inquiry.
Aboyeur at 100/1 got the race, a major punt landd by the Druid Lodge gang and Day Comet that finished third was missed by the judge but a photo showed his finishing position.
The first Derby winner decided by official photo finish was Nimbus in 1949, who won a 3 way photo with Amour Drake and Swallow Tail.
Bred by William Hill ( the only good black and tan ) , the bookie told his betting manager to lay Nimbus as the 2000 Gns winner would not stay the Derby trip.
Breeding the winner is reputed to have cost Mr Hill 250,000 but breeding such a prestigious winner more than made up for it !

1 Foinavon
2 Honey End
3 Red Alligator but Foinavon was the only horse to jump the 23 rd fence at his first attempt.
His owner/trainer did not bother going to Aintree that day, but ran the horse in different colours to change his luck.
Luckily Michael O Hehir spotted the switch before the race as jockeys left the weigh room and was on site when the melee happened.
 
On this day in 1968 the John Oxley trained Frankincense ridden by Greville Starkey set a twentieth century weight carrying record when winning the Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster carrying 9st 5lbs. In a huge gamble travelling head lad, Barry Hills, won enough money to purchase his own yard.
 
Diamond Geezer said:
On this day in 1968 the John Oxley trained Frankincense ridden by Greville Starkey set a twentieth century weight carrying record when winning the Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster carrying 9st 5lbs. In a huge gamble travelling head lad, Barry Hills, won enough money to purchase his own yard.
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I never new that story behind Barry Hills. Thanks for sharing.
 
I read the story years ago. You have to wonder what kind of money a head lad would have been able to cobble together to win enough to buy a yard.

In 1968 my father was earning less than £3000pa as a Rolls-Royce engineer. I know that because when he filled in my university grant application in 1973 that's all he was earning. In 1968 the new bungalows down the road from our council house were selling for £4000. I recall my mother holding her hands to her face when she heard a family we knew well had bought one. "Oh my God," she almost cried, "They can't afford that! They can't possibly have that sort of money. That's a fortune."

So maybe a yard would have cost £7500-£10000? The horse won at 100/8 so Hills would probably have needed to get probably between £500 and £800 on depending on what prices he got and how much the new yard cost. That seems an awful lot for the time, though.

I'm not doubting the story, just wondering how he managed it!

Do head lads and other high-ranking stable staff make that kind of money from backing horses from their yards?
 
It's absolutely true he won enough money to set up a yard, wouldn't have know what horse on etc. Maybe he had enough for deposit and to get a mortgage with his business plan, to get a license and that's how he got going?

I didn't realise that Paul Nicholls doesn't own his yard and rents it. I would have thought he might have made a move to get his own property at some point rather than pay someone else.
 
I'm sure I read somewhere that John Francome owns a ridiculous amount of land and is landlord to many big yards but no idea whose.
 
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