Legends

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charles strub santa anita park california seabiscuit horse racing racetrack

Charles H. Strub: The Man Called ‘Mr. Santa Anita’

Dr. Charles Henry Strub was one of those entrepreneurial businessmen seemingly capable of succeeding in any imaginable enterprise. He started out small as a baseball player of modest ability and as a dentist keen to embrace innovation. By the time of his death, he had kickstarted the career of baseball legend Joe DiMaggio, amassed a multimillion-dollar fortune, and transformed Santa Anita Park into one of horse racing’s greatest stages.

The Fashionably Late-Running Carry Back, a True Cinderella Story

The history of horse racing is filled with rags-to-riches stories of horses and horsemen rising from unknown beginnings to succeed at the highest levels of the sport. But has there ever been a champion as improbable as Carry Back?

His story reads like a fairy tale, a veritable Cinderella story.

All Along, Turf Classic, Aqueduct, Eclipse Award, 1983 Horse of the Year, Coglianese photos, Patrick Biancone, Daniel Wildenstein

A Horse of the Year in 42 Days: All Along’s Magical Run to the Record Books

At the start of autumn in 1983, All Along was not remotely a candidate for any type of year-end award in North American Thoroughbred racing or her native France. She had not won a race all year.

Everything changed in the span of 42 days.

Regret: The Filly Who Made the Kentucky Derby

Martin J. “Matt” Winn rarely took no for an answer.

In 1902, the Churchill Downs racing facility was in serious financial trouble and in danger of closing. Winn assembled a group of local investors, bought the track, and the right to the name the Kentucky Derby.

J.O. Tobin, Swaps Stakes, 1977, Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew, 1978 champion sprinter, BloodHorse Library

More Than Slew’s First Conqueror: Appreciating the Accomplishments of the Underrated J.O. Tobin

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.

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