The Hamiltonian Horse Race

1. Hambletonian Horse Race
2. Past Hambletonian Winners

Owner: Crawford Farms Racing, Noel Daley, L.A. Express Stable, Caviart Farms. FanDuel Prop Bets Announced for the Hambletonian. 8/8/2020 08-08-20. The FanDuel SportsBook at the Meadowlands Racetrack has put together some tantalizing Hambletonian prop bets for the Hambletonian final today. It was painted from the only unretouched photograph of the horse known. It shows the great father in 1864 at age 16. The others in Bauer’s office of The Horse Review quickly agreed that no other name would do. No other name would be more fitting. The new race would be the Hambletonian. Races named after great horses are commonplace today.

Hambletonian, was one of the best Thoroughbred racehorses of the late 18th century, having won all of his race starts, except one, and was later a good sire. His victories included two Doncaster Cups in the late 1790s and the St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster in 1795.

Background[edit]

Hambletonian was a bay colt that was bred by John Hutchinson and foaled in 1792. Hambletonian was by the useful sire, King Fergus and was a grandson of the two undefeated horses, Eclipse and Highflyer, who was the sire of his dam Grey Highflyer.

Racing record[edit]

Hambletonian was named after the historic racing area of Hambleton Hills, which is on the edge of the North York Moors, at the top of Sutton Bank. On 14 May 1794 Hambletonian won his first race there, 'A sweepstake of 15 guineas each for three-year-old colts, 8 stone (51 kg), fillies 7 st. 11 lb. (49.5 kg) run over two miles'^{[citation needed]}

In August 1795, Sir Charles Turner at the York races, purchased Hambletonian, Beninghbrough (also by King Fergus) and Oberon from Hutchinson for 3,000 guineas. At the same meeting Hambletonian won two sweepstakes and on 22 September at the Doncaster meeting he won the St. Leger Stakes. The next day Hambletonian won his first Doncaster Cup and Beningbrough was victorious in the Doncaster Stakes.^[1]

In 1796 at York Hambletonian lost his only race to The Derby winner, Spread Eagle, after running off the course. At the same meeting he won back £50 from Spread Eagle and two others. Later that year Hambletonian was sold to Sir Henry Vane-Tempest of nearby Wynyard Park, County Durham, for whom he raced until 1800.^[2] At the York August meeting he won both the five-year-old and the six-year-old and over Subscription Purses.^[3]

Hambletonian did not start during 1798. In a famous match with Mr. Cookson's Diamond over the four-mile Beacon Course at Newmarket on 25 March 1799, Hambletonian, ridden by Francis Buckle, won by a neck in a time of 7 minutes 15 seconds. He is said to have covered 21 feet in a single stride at the finish.^[4] Sir Henry had wagered 3,000 guineas on the outcome. The horse was afterwards the subject of the painting, Hambletonian Rubbing Down by the great equine artist, George Stubbs, who was then 75 years old. In 1800 Hambletonian won his only start in the Great Subscription Purse for six-year-olds and over at York.^[1]

Stud record[edit]

Hambletonian retired to stud in 1801 standing at Seacroft-Hall, near Leeds, then from 1802 to 1808 he stood at Hornsey's stables in Middlethorpe, York for a fee of 10 guineas per mare. In the 1809 season he was at Wynyard, near Stockton-on-Tees, in 1810 and 1811 he returned to Middlethorpe, with his fee rising to 20 and 25 guineas, 1812 and 1813 at Wynyard and finally at Catterick, near Richmond, in 1814, the last year he was advertised, his fee had declined to 15 guineas.^[2]

His most notable progeny included:

• Anticipation, won sixteen races, including the Ascot Gold Cup, twice; got excellent hunters
• Camerton, won Goodwood Cup, exported to France in 1818
• Camillus, won Doncaster Cup, successful sire^[5]
• Fair Helen (gr f 1808), second dam of the stallion and St Leger winner Margrave
• Goosander, dam of the Epsom Derby winner Sailor and the Oaks Stakes winner Shoveler and taproot mare of Family 6-c
• Lisette, dam of 2,000 Guineas winner Clearwell and a foundation mare of Family 19-b.
• Whitelock, continued the sire line through Blacklock and on to the undefeated St. Simon.^[6]

Hambletonian died 28 March 1818 and is buried in the grounds of Sir Henry's former home, Wynyard Park, County Durham.

See also[edit]

• Hambletonian 10, 1849–1876, a foundation sire of the harness racing breed known as the Standardbred.

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abThoroughbred Heritage: Hambletonian Retrieved 2010-10-25
2. ^ ^abThoroughbred Bloodlines: Hambletonian Retrieved 2010-10-25
3. ^Weatherby, Edward; Weatherby, James (1797). Racing Calendar.
4. ^Whyte, James Christie (1840). History of the British turf, from the earliest period to the present day, Volume I. London: H. Colburn. OL6544990M.
5. ^Australian Stud Book: Hambletonian Retrieved 2010-10-25
6. ^Barrie, Douglas M., The Australian Bloodhorse, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1956

EAST RUTHERFORD — “So, you ready?”

This is the question posed to me by Ken Warkentin, the silky-voiced announcer at Meadowlands Racetrack and Freehold Raceway who has called, by his account, 200,000 horse races of both the harness and thoroughbred variety all over the world, including in his native Canada.

By my account, I have called all of zero of them, and I’ve spent about 45 minutes with Warkentin, attempting to learn what it takes to call a race like the Hambletonian, the most prestigious harness race of all, which happens to be coming up on Saturday (his call will be on CBS Sports Network at 4 p.m. ET).

So, no, I’m not ready.

Luckily, I’m standing in front of a monitor in a Meadowlands hallway instead of in Warkentin’s booth a few stories above the track. Nobody, really, is listening.

Yet I’m still nervous all the same. I’ve always been fascinated with race callers because it looks impossible. How do you announce a race when there are so many names to remember — from horse to jockey to trainer to owner — while also keeping an eye on a full field and keeping it creative and exciting? And then how do you do that a dozen or more times in one day, or sometimes 50 races in 36 hours, as Warkentin estimated?

It never looks or sounds easy, and as I learned, it’s actually harder than you expect.

Pre-race

Warkentin grew up in Toronto with dreams of doing hockey play-by-play for his beloved Canadiens despite living in Maple Leafs country. So he figured if he started calling horse races, he might have an in to do hockey. While working toward a degree in broadcasting from Seneca College in Ontario, he began announcing races wherever he could, eventually landing at Flamboro Downs. When his neighbor got a satellite dish to watch races at the Meadowlands, he asked her to tape them on VHS so he could study the legendary voice of Tom Durkin.

He found he had a knack and a passion for the sport, and he put in the work — thousands upon thousands of races — to eventually land at the Meadowlands.

Warkentin handed me a packet he uses for a course when non-pros like myself want to try their hand (voice?) at his job. There’s the obvious: You want to be accurate and you want to speak with clarity. But he also emphasizes style.

“Are you smarmy, slick, cool, nervous?” he asks. “Be yourself. Define your style.”

Then, it’s all about coloring in around the information you’re providing. Yes, a horse is in the lead, but is it going too fast when it’s known for coming from behind? Is it a 99-to-1 longshot that’s shocking the world? How many different words can you use to describe the incredible action in front of you (“Dazzling! Astounding! Amazing!”)?

I decided I would to be on brand and try to crack a few dad jokes with the horse names, which seems easy enough.

(Narrator voice: It was not).

Warkentin also showed me his race program that he marks up and puts on a music stand in front of his window. He gets the proofs of the program days before races and does his research, scrawling driver silks and notes, such as winning streaks horses might be on, records they might set if they win, and so on.

It obviously helps that he knows the sport and can recite facts off the top of his head when he needs to. That’s where I ran into a considerable amount of trouble. Yes, I’ve watched Triple Crown thoroughbred races since I was a kid and got chills every time I heard Dave Johnson scream, “And DOWN the stretch they come!” (Johnson, as it happens, worked at the Meadowlands with Durkin.)

But as you’ll see, the lack of horse racing knowledge hindered me, along with — I don’t know — zero days of race-calling experience.

It’s post time

The monitor Warkentin put me in front of a monitor connected to a database with replays of recent races from tracks around the country. Sadly, he couldn’t give me the full experience he gets every week of calling a live race using binoculars, since races only happen twice a week — Fridays and Saturdays — at the Meadowlands. He would stand with me and point out what to call if I was tripped up, which I was extremely thankful for.

Hambletonian Horse Race

There was one advantage I thought I had: Harness racing is slower than thoroughbreds, and with the standardbreds pulling sulkeys (carts with drivers on them), maybe it wouldn’t be as hard as the 16 or 17 horses running in a pack at the Kentucky Derby. Races like the Hambletonian also start behind a moving gate on a truck, with the horses starting at a jog.

Warkentin pulled up race No. 2 from last Saturday’s action at the Meadowlands, hit “watch replay” and up popped a field of eight, ready to trot and pace.

Past Hambletonian Winners

And they’re off!

The process: Name all the horses in the field as they settle in. Keep an eye on who’s in the lead, but then mention who’s making moves. Then, announce the splits if you can at various points, like the quarter pole, half-mile and three-quarters pole to see what the pace is. Then it’s all about the finish, where Warkentin advised me to mention the top-four finishers for those bettors who put money on a superfecta.

As you could have guessed, it was a disaster. I couldn’t see the numbers on the horses well at all and I had to look at Warkentin’s marked lineup to see which drivers were contending. I missed a racer in back making a move, and Warkentin interrupted my call filled with dead air and lots of “ummmm” by pointing out one standardbred was boxed in. I mis-named horses. I forgot that a 60-to-1 longshot was in contention, something I should have noted. At least I successfully described a “three-wide” situation — that’s three horses side-by-side — as it developed.

The second race he gave me had a shorter field of seven and included a horse named McThriller (who was “McThriller in the night,” of course), Highalator, who was in “high gear,” annd Dealt A Winner, who I mentioned would not be a winner since he was at the back of the pack.

But because I concentrated on the humor, I didn’t talk about the timing during the race or where the horses were on the track.

“The thing you seem to be struggling with is the vernacular,” Warkentin told me. “It’s the back stretch, the far turn, three-eighths to go. That’s something you have to get down over the years and then you don’t think about that.”

He set up a replay of a third race from last week — a race of 3-year-old Fillies (so don’t give the horses male pronouns!) with nine horses. The result? You can watch for yourself below. Although I can’t show you the actual race, all you need to know is Millies Possession and Evident Beauty crossed the line together in a photo finish.

Yes, it’s still really bad. I still struggled to see which horse was which for most of the race. Despite the fact that the fillies weren’t, in fact, going at a “blistering pace” (oops!), I finally felt a little more comfortable as they came down the stretch.

The finish

There’s an X-factor that Warkentin pointed out after our lesson: Gravitas, especially in the face of a sport that isn’t as big as it once was. He remembered the days when there would be five or six days of races per week instead of the two at the Meadowlands now. His thrilling calls, he hopes, are a part of keeping the excitement going.

Although that doesn’t mean you turn the call of each and every race into the greatest moment in sports history, it’s something to keep in the back of your mind when you step to the mic.

“You are the spokesperson for the sport,” he said. “This is it. The sport of harness racing, the Meadowlands is it. That’s pretty big. That’s important.”