July 3, 1977. A crowd of more than 68,000 packed the Hollywood Park grandstand for an event not seen in more than a quarter of a century. For the first time since Citation became Thoroughbred racing’s first millionaire after capturing the 1951 Hollywood Gold Cup, the Track of the Lakes and Flowers hosted a Triple Crown winner in Seattle Slew.

Fresh off his dominating performance in the Belmont Stakes on June 11, the undefeated champion rolled into Hollywood Park as he sought to extend his record to 10 consecutive victories. But on that summer afternoon, a dark bay colt named J.O. Tobin would give Hollywood Park the most shocking moment in its storied history.

Taking the lead early, J.O. Tobin never let anyone get ahead of him as he and jockey Bill Shoemaker romped home by eight lengths in 1:58.60, narrowly missing both the track and world record time for 1 1/4 miles. However, the major story was the fact that J.O. Tobin had just handed Seattle Slew his first defeat. As a result, the Never Bend colt immediately ensured his place in the annals of Thoroughbred racing.

But the moment turned out to be a double-edged sword, for J.O Tobin went on to be primarily remembered for that one race when he actually crafted a career as an accomplished racehorse.

To start with, J.O. Tobin was quite adept on the turf. In fact, his entire 2-year-old season consisted of only grass racing. Spending his 1976 campaign in Europe while trained by Noel Murless, J.O. Tobin won his first three starts in England, all of which were sprints. Moreover, he took a pair of Group 2 stakes while competing at both Goodwood and Doncaster Racecourse. A stop at Longchamp in France came next, and that allowed him to go about a mile in a Group 1 race. The outcome was a third-place finish, but it confirmed the fact that J.O. Tobin was classy and consistent.

Given how his juvenile campaign went, the 1977 racing year ended up being an ironic one for J.O. Tobin. Now based in Southern California and trained by John H. Adams, the colt had limited exposure to both sprinting and turf racing in his new surroundings. Rather, he became well acquainted with routing and running on dirt. But those changes did not faze J.O. Tobin, for he brought that class and consistency he displayed in Europe to North America.

In six starts as a 3-year-old, J.O. Tobin collected three wins. All of them came at Hollywood Park, and he added a second-place effort at Santa Anita Park. He won going a mile on turf, 1 1/8 miles on turf, and 1 1/4 miles on dirt. Outside of his off the board finishes in the Preakness, in which he had a bad start, and the Woodward Handicap, J. O. Tobin delivered a campaign that allowed him to demonstrate his versatility as a Thoroughbred. It also set him up for what was to come as an older racehorse.

While 1976 highlighted his turf and sprinting prowess and 1977 gave him the opportunity to show more of what he was capable of on the track, J.O. Tobin put together all of his strengths for an excellent 1978 season under new trainer Lazaro Barrera. Once again, the all-around talent was in plain sight:

• Third or better in eight of eleven starts
• Won at three different racetracks: Santa Anita, Hollywood Park, and Belmont Park
• Six victories, all in stakes
• Three wins sprinting (all at seven furlongs) and three victories routing (two at 1 1/16 miles, one at 1 1/8 miles).
• Conquered a sloppy surface for the first time in Santa Anita’s Grade 2 Malibu Stakes on New Year’s Day.
• Scored another turf triumph by winning Santa Anita’s Grade 2 San Bernardino Handicap in late March.

Clearly, J.O. Tobin had a productive year after turning 4. But for all he accomplished during that time, the trio of sprints he collected played the deepest role of all. Along with the Malibu, J.O. Tobin captured the Grade 2 Los Angeles Handicap at Hollywood Park and the Tom Fool Handicap at Belmont Park. Those three races put J.O. Tobin in a tie with Dr. Patches for champion sprinter honors, giving the former his greatest achievement following his last year of competition.

With a record of 12 wins, two seconds, and two thirds in 21 career starts, J.O. Tobin did well for himself handling different distances and surfaces. But he also competed in a time period that was dominated by two Triple Crown winners. In beating one of them, J.O. Tobin escaped obscurity, but that same moment would morph into a fog that overshadowed the accomplishments of a racehorse that was a true all-around talent.