September 28 through October 4



October 1, 1938 – ‘Blackie the Wonder Horse,’ a twelve year old gelding, swam across San Francisco Bay. He completed the crossing of seven-eighths of a mile in twenty three minutes and fifteen seconds, beating two Olympic Club swimmers. Blackie towed his trainer Shorty Roberts by his tail for the entire duration of the swim, while Shorty’s brother helped to ‘steer’ Blackie by encouraging him with sugar cubes from a rowboat which made the… Continue

September 21, 2002 – For the first time ever, the United States driving team won the Silver Medal at the Four-In-Hand Driving World Championship. Previously the best finish for the United States team in the event had been fourth. In 2002, though, the United States placed second, with the Netherlands coming in first and Germany coming in third. The Driving Championship was part of the 2002 World Equestrian Games, which were held in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.



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September 14, 1968 – New Zealand-bred Cardigan Bay became the first harness racer to ever reach one million dollars in career earnings. He was twelve years old at the time, and he won his last race at Freehold Raceway in New Jersey, surpassing the million dollar earning mark. Cardigan Bay, a Standardbred, outpaced three-time horse of the year Bret Hanover in the ‘Pace of the Century’ in 1966. Cardigan Bay was retired after surpassing the million dollar mark and went on to live to the age… Continue

The Week of September 7th through 13th



September 7, 1970: Jockey Willie Shoemaker earned his 6,033rd win, breaking Johnny Longden’s previous record number of 6,032 race wins. Shoemaker would go on to win 8,833 races in his lifetime, 11 of them Triple Crown races, and some of his mounts included the legendary Thoroughbreds John Henry, Forego, Northern Dancer and Spectacular Bid. Although Shoemaker suffered many of the serious injuries that afflict jockeys, he always… Continue