0.000 2.180 DEBRA: ... (H) Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, 2.180 4.579 (H) We'd like to welcome you to the Kentucky Horse Park, 4.579 6.737 and to the Hall of Champions presentation. 6.737 10.916 (H) We have four geldings and one stallion that we'll present for you this afternoon, 10.916 12.279 (H) and as we bring them out, 12.279 13.847 we'll give you the history on each one, 13.847 16.381 and please feel free to take all the pictures that you want, 16.381 17.713 and to ask questions. 17.713 40.750 ... 40.750 43.295 Our first horse here today at the Hall of Champions, 43.295 45.177 is our only thoroughbred stallion. 45.177 46.673 .. This is Bold Forbes. 46.673 49.527 .. (H) Bold Forbes is a dark bay or brown stallion, 49.527 51.798 and he was foaled in nineteen seventy-three. 51.798 54.198 (H) He is by the stallion Irish Castle, 54.198 56.370 and out of the unraced mare Comely Nell. 56.370 58.371 (H) He was bred by Lee Eaton, 58.371 59.678 and Red Bull Stables. 59.678 64.753 (H) This grandson of Bold Ruler was entered into a sale in July of nineteen seventy-four. 64.753 66.742 .. (H) Mister Estaban Tizol, 66.742 69.408 a banker and real estate developer from Puerto Rico, 69.408 71.115 (H) liked Bold Forbes' pedigree. 71.115 73.005 And he liked this horse so much, 73.005 75.154 (H) that he decided he was going to buy him, 75.154 76.520 no matter what the cost. 76.520 80.287 .. (H) The cost ended up being fifteen-thousand two-hundred dollars, 80.287 85.185 (H) and Bold Forbes was then shipped to El Commandante racetrack in San Juan Puerto Rico. 85.185 89.181 ... (H) In Bold Forbes' very first start in Puerto Rico as a two-year-old, 89.181 91.734 (H) he went off at odds of thirty-five to one, 91.734 94.099 .. and he won that race by seventeen lengths. 94.099 96.594 ... (H) He was entered into four more races, 96.594 97.500 .. he won them all, 97.500 98.735 (H) and in doing so, 98.735 101.515 he was named champion two-year-old in Puerto Rico. 101.515 105.545 ... (H) Well El Commandante is the only racetrack in Puerto Rico, 105.545 109.205 (H) so it didn't take Bold Forbes too long to run out of competition. 109.205 111.798 ... (H) So in the summer of nineteen seventy-five, 111.798 113.073 he was shipped to New York, 113.073 115.076 to his new trainer Laz Barrera. 115.076 117.842 ... (H) In New York he won the Freemont Stakes, 117.842 119.150 and the Saratoga Special, 119.150 120.458 before he injured his shins, 120.458 122.312 and was given the rest of the year off. 122.312 126.178 ... (H) Well all of Bold Forbes's races up to this point had been sprints, 126.178 127.828 or six furlong races. 127.828 130.682 (H) The Kentucky Derby is a much longer race, 130.682 131.815 at a mile and a quarter. 131.815 133.227 ... So as a three-year-old, 133.227 136.557 Forbes wasn't given much of a chance at all in the Kentucky Derby. 136.557 139.828 ... (H) But his trainer had more confidence in him than that, 139.828 142.359 (H) and with Angel Cordero junior in the saddle, 142.359 144.604 (H) Bold Forbes won the Kentucky Derby, 144.604 146.401 at odds of seventeen to one, 146.401 148.359 ... one length in front of the leader, 148.359 149.374 .. Honest Pleasure. 149.374 152.840 ... (H) The Preakness however was a disappointment for Bold Forbes. 152.840 154.850 He cut his left hind heel during the race, 154.850 156.638 but he still managed to run third. 156.638 158.540 ... (H) But when the Belmont rolled around, 158.540 159.787 he had that all healed up, 159.787 161.868 and he won the Belmont stakes by a neck. 161.868 163.180 ... (H) In October, 163.180 165.555 Forbes was entered into the Vosburgh Handicap, 165.555 168.206 and again he severely bruised his right hind foot. 168.206 170.490 (H) Again he ran a very game third, 170.490 171.533 but after this race, 171.533 175.459 he was considered too valuable a breeding stallion to risk any more injury. 175.459 178.011 (H) So he was retired to stud from the track. 178.011 183.016 ... (H) Bold Forbes was syndicated to stud for a hundred and thirty thousand dollars per share, 183.016 186.771 (H) and he stood his entire career at Arthur Hancock Stone Farm. 186.771 188.187 ... (H) As a stallion, 188.187 190.967 Bold Forbes produced a champion filly Tiffany Lass, 190.967 192.824 a winner of over half a million dollars, 192.824 194.046 (H) Bold Apparel, 194.046 195.575 a champion filly in Italy, 195.575 196.948 (H) Air Forbes One, 196.948 198.773 and over two-hundred other winners. 198.773 202.010 (H) .. Bold Forbes is a winner of over half a million dollars, 202.010 203.806 in just two years on the racetrack. 203.806 205.714 (H) He was in eighteen races, 205.714 207.198 and had thirteen wins, 207.198 208.897 and was never worse than third. 208.897 212.825 ... (H) He was retired from stud duty in the spring of nineteen ninety-one. 212.825 214.753 .. (H) He is twenty-one years old, 214.753 217.305 and stands fifteen point three hands tall. 217.305 218.760 .. (H) Ladies and gentlemen, 218.760 221.515 the nineteen seventy-six Kentucky Derby winner, 221.515 222.656 .. Bold Forbes. 222.656 228.710 MANY: .. ((APPLAUSE)) 228.710 230.191 DEBRA: .. Does anyone have any questions, 230.191 232.128 while we're waiting for the next horse to come out. 232.128 233.985 ... Questions? 233.985 234.978 ... Okay, 234.978 235.641 while we're waiting, 235.641 237.794 I'll just call everyone's attention to this horse, 237.794 238.923 @I @don't @know if everyone can see him, 238.923 241.641 (H) %over here in this paddock on= the right, 241.641 243.519 (H) this is Sergeant Pepper Feature, 243.519 243.768 and, 243.768 244.968 he's usually in our show, 244.968 245.115 but, 245.115 246.799 because Bold Forbes is up here today, 246.799 247.010 he -- 247.010 247.728 We kicked him out. 247.728 250.165 We have six horses that belong to the Hall of Champions, 250.165 251.665 (H) and only five stalls. 251.665 253.637 So we could only have five at a time in the show. 253.637 254.315 (H)= Um, 254.315 258.314 Sergeant Pepper was the nineteen eighty-two world champion racing quarter horse, 258.314 258.957 (H) and, 258.957 260.368 at the time of his retirement, 260.368 262.880 he was the eighth richest quarter horse in history, 262.880 265.843 (H) and he had earnings of over nine-hundred thousand dollars. 265.843 266.456 ... So, 266.456 267.708 on your way out .. today, 267.708 269.223 you might wanna just take a look over there, 269.223 270.449 and say hi to Sergeant Pepper. 270.449 295.850 ... 295.850 297.809 And there's Bold Forbes looking out the window. 297.809 299.021 <@ If anybody can see him, 299.021 299.715 he's right there, 299.715 301.073 (H) watching the show @>. 301.073 315.574 ... 315.574 319.796 (H) Our next horse is the first horse to retire here to the Hall of Champions, 319.796 321.132 that is not a racehorse. 321.132 322.718 ... This is Imperator. 322.718 326.015 And he is a five-gaited American Saddlebred showhorse. 326.015 327.022 ... (H) Perry, 327.022 328.242 as he is commonly called, 328.242 330.177 is by the sire Supreme Sultan, 330.177 333.322 who is buried in front of the saddlehorse museum here at the Horse Park. 333.322 335.612 .. (H) He is out of the dam Empress Wing, 335.612 338.172 .. and she is by the great sire Wing Commander. 338.172 342.485 (H) Only Wing Commander holds more world grand championships than Imperator. 342.485 345.294 .. (H) Perry was born in Wilmette Illinois, 345.294 347.450 (H) and he was purchased there as a two-year-old, 347.450 348.141 by his owner, 348.141 349.520 Doctor Geraldine Meanor, 349.520 351.118 (H) and then sent to his trainer, 351.118 351.838 Don Harris, 351.838 353.182 of Simpsonville Kentucky. 353.182 357.305 .. (H) Now Perry and Mister Harris had a very special bond that they shared. 357.305 359.450 (H) They both had the same birthday. 359.450 361.123 (H) And as the years went past, 361.123 363.219 and Imperator's popularity increased, 363.219 368.766 (H) Mister Harris didn't get too upset when Perry received more birthday cards and presents than he did. 368.766 373.364 ... (H) Being five-gaited means that Perry performs the three natural gaits, 373.364 374.888 .. the walk trot and canter, 374.888 376.546 (H) plus two manmade gaits, 376.546 377.876 the slow gait and the rack. 377.876 381.673 ... (H) The only difference in these gaits are the speed at which they're performed. 381.673 387.082 ... Perry's greatest accomplishment was winning the five-gaited world grand championship four times. 387.082 390.354 (H) And he has also been reserve world champion five times. 390.354 392.290 ... (H) He was shown eighty-five times, 392.290 394.167 at forty-four shows around the country. 394.167 396.137 (H) He has sixty-eight blue ribbons, 396.137 397.185 thirteen seconds, 397.185 399.854 and very rarely was he ever worse than third. 399.854 402.183 ... (H) Now the first time Perry was shown, 402.183 404.396 he was very wild and inexperienced, 404.396 407.354 and he stepped on just about every foot in the show ring. 407.354 411.005 (H) And he even chased the judges out of the ring on several occasions. 411.005 413.226 ... (H) But the second time he was shown, 413.226 414.608 he had improved so much, 414.608 417.955 (H) the judges said he would have won if he'd been lying on his back, 417.955 419.950 .. with all four feet stuck up in the air. 419.950 424.623 ... (H) Perry's most beautiful characteristic during his show career was his tail. 424.623 426.608 .. (H) At the highlight of his career, 426.608 428.924 (H) .. Perry's tail was fourteen feet long, 428.924 431.146 and could be wrapped completely around his body. 431.146 434.076 ... If you wanted to take a picture of all of Perry, 434.076 437.052 (H) you had to take two pictures to include all of his tail. 437.052 438.657 .. (H) When Perry was retired, 438.657 440.152 Mister Harris cut his tail, 440.152 441.768 to make it easier to care for, 441.768 446.670 (H) and he was able to make three false tails from the hair he had taken from Perry's tail. 446.670 450.175 .. (H) Well Perry had been retired here for about two years, 450.175 452.513 (H) but had never had a formal retirement. 452.513 454.965 (H) So in August of nineteen ninety-one, 454.965 459.208 Perry was formally retired at the world championship horse show in Louisville Kentucky. 459.208 460.484 .. (H) That night, 460.484 461.905 Imperator and his trainer, 461.905 463.005 Mister Don Harris, 463.005 464.295 (H) stepped into the ring, 464.295 465.577 one last time together, 465.577 470.450 (H) and were both named the American Saddlebred horse and trainer for the decade of the nineteen-eighties. 470.450 472.635 ... (H) Perry is now twenty years old, 472.635 475.000 and stands fifteen point three hands tall. 475.000 476.385 (H) Ladies and gentlemen, 476.385 478.316 the four-time world grand champion, 478.316 479.207 .. Imperator. 479.207 485.654 MANY: .. ((APPLAUSE)) 485.654 487.713 DEBRA: .. Does anyone have any questions, 487.713 487.947 while we're -- 487.947 488.401 Yes. 488.401 492.198 AUD: ... What's the average age that a horse lives to. 492.198 494.398 DEBRA: (H) A good average is about twenty-eight, 494.398 495.988 if they're well taken care of. 495.988 496.336 Um, 496.336 498.617 a lotta horses will live into their thirties. 498.617 501.865 ... (H) A- a good way to compare horse ages to humans, 501.865 503.429 is to multiply by three. 503.429 504.690 ... And -- 504.690 504.986 Except, 504.986 506.365 I think the oldest liv- -- 506.365 506.577 Oh, 506.577 507.521 oldest horse on record, 507.521 508.964 I think in the Guinness Book of World Records, 508.964 510.321 was sixty-two @. 510.321 515.400 ... So don't multiply that .. that one by three. 515.400 516.260 <@ That would be what, 516.260 518.494 (H) a hundred and eighty-six .. (H) @>. 518.494 520.179 .. Are there any other questions? 520.179 522.180 ... No? 522.180 525.384 ... If anyone's interested in seeing what Perry looked like, 525.384 527.411 when he had his fourteen-foot tail, 527.411 528.070 (H) um, 528.070 529.779 when you come into the visitor center, 529.779 531.664 I don't know if- if .. anybody noticed this, 531.664 533.833 (H) there's a TV monitor right after you -- 533.833 535.760 .. Where you b=uy your tickets when you come in, 535.760 536.349 and you look up, 536.349 536.881 and there's a -- 536.881 540.737 (H) An ongoing Hall of Champions presentation on this TV monitor up there, 540.737 541.604 (H) and uh, 541.604 543.904 there's a little clip of Imperator on there, 543.904 545.347 and I think he's slowgaiting, 545.347 547.206 .. which was his most .. beautiful gait, 547.206 547.895 .. (H) um, 547.895 550.083 and you can see his fourteen-foot tail up there, 550.083 550.442 and that was- -- 550.442 551.472 It was really beautiful. 551.472 556.602 .. (SNIFF) ... 556.602 557.375 Do you have a question? 557.375 558.347 ... Back there? 558.347 560.886 AUD: ... He wants to know how you say hi to a horse. 560.886 561.855 DEBRA: ... Um, 561.855 563.114 ... just say hi @. 563.114 564.361 .. You can just say hi, 564.361 564.580 and they- -- 564.580 565.631 And you can say their name, 565.631 566.863 .. cause they know their names. 566.863 569.085 ... So if you wanted to say hi to Imperator, 569.085 569.347 just -- 569.347 570.483 .. And he goes by Perry, 570.483 572.444 so if you just come up to him and say , 572.444 573.627 he'll know you're talking to him. 573.627 581.590 ... (H) Our next horse is one of our two thoroughbred geldings here at the Hall of Champions, 581.590 582.830 this is Forego. 582.830 586.147 ... (H) Forego is by the Argentine stallion Forli, 586.147 589.088 .. and he is out of the champion race mare Lady Golconda. 589.088 592.660 ... He was bred and raised at Claiborne Farm in Paris Kentucky. 592.660 594.801 .. (H) Due to Forego's large size, 594.801 596.534 he was not raced as a two-year-old, 596.534 599.662 (H) because his owners thought they would give him more time to mature. 599.662 602.485 ... (H) He started his racing career as a three-year-old. 602.485 606.518 And he ran well enough to be entered in the nineteen seventy-three Kentucky Derby. 606.518 611.542 ... (H) Well you may recall that this was the year that a horse named Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, 611.542 613.605 (H) on his way to sweeping the Triple Crown. 613.605 617.291 ... (H) Well Forego wasn't as successful as Secretariat that day, 617.291 619.191 (H) But he did run a fine race. 619.191 621.527 ... (H) He was involved in a bumping incident, 621.527 623.485 as the horses left the starting gate. 623.485 624.976 (H) He recovered from that, 624.976 626.378 .. but he and another horse, 626.378 627.052 Our Native, 627.052 628.923 (H) bumped through the entire stretch, 628.923 631.558 and both horses ended in a photo finish for third. 631.558 633.499 ... After the steward's inquiry, 633.499 635.313 (H) Forego had to settle for fourth, 635.313 638.345 .. because the steward said the bumping was all his fault. 638.345 640.644 ... (H) The older Forego got, 640.644 641.723 the better he got, 641.723 645.205 and he became one of the greatest handicap horses to ever race. 645.205 649.229 (H) He has also been voted one of the top ten racehorses of the century. 649.229 652.204 ... (H) Being a handicap horse means that Forego ha- -- 652.204 654.271 Forego had to carry a lot of extra weight, 654.271 656.842 (H) over whatever distance he was asked to run, 656.842 659.725 (H) in order to give the other horses more of a chance. 659.725 662.207 ... (H) He was in thirty-four handicap events, 662.207 663.253 and thirty times, 663.253 664.822 he was the high-weighted horse. 664.822 668.026 ... (H) The most weight Forego ever had to carry to victory, 668.026 669.979 was a hundred and thirty-seven pounds. 669.979 673.438 (H) And that was in the nineteen seventy-six Marlboro Cup. 673.438 675.673 ... (H) Well before the race it had rained, 675.673 676.973 and the track was sloppy, 676.973 680.467 (H) and Forego was always a little wimpy about getting his feet wet. 680.467 682.401 ... So as the field turned for home, 682.401 684.528 it looked just as if he was hopelessly beaten, 684.528 687.217 some ten lengths behind the leader Honest Pleasure. 687.217 690.734 ... (H) Honest Pleasure had been the Kentucky Derby favorite that year, 690.734 693.126 ... He was three years younger than Forego, 693.126 696.145 (H) and was carrying almost twenty pounds less in weight. 696.145 697.871 ... But determined to win, 697.871 700.209 (H) Forego made up that last quarter mile, 700.209 701.847 in twenty-two seconds flat, 701.847 704.093 (H) and he beat Honest Pleasure at the wire. 704.093 705.910 ... The jockey that rode Forego, 705.910 707.384 the great Willy Shoemaker, 707.384 709.279 (H) said there wasn't a horse alive, 709.279 711.251 that could've beaten Forego on that day. 711.251 713.706 ... (H) Forego was named horse of the year, 713.706 715.018 three consecutive years, 715.018 717.969 in nineteen seventy-four seventy-five and seventy-six. 717.969 720.314 (H) And he has also been champion sprinter, 720.314 722.373 as well as champion handicap horse. 722.373 726.433 ... (H) An Eclipse Award is the highest honor a thoroughbred can receive. 726.433 728.719 (H) And Forego holds eight Eclipse Awards, 728.719 730.606 which is more than any other horse. 730.606 733.389 ... Forego retired in nineteen seventy-eight, 733.389 736.303 (H) with earnings of over one point nine million dollars, 736.303 739.419 which made him the second richest thoroughbred in history at that time, 739.419 740.393 behind Kelso. 740.393 744.518 ... (H) He was inducted into racing's hall of fame in nineteen seventy-nine. 744.518 748.394 ... (H) Forego is one of our senior citizens here at the Hall of Champions, 748.394 750.164 (H) he is twenty-four years old, 750.164 754.311 and stands a very impressive (H) seventeen point one hands tall. 754.311 755.732 ... Ladies and gentlemen, 755.732 757.235 the great handicap horse, 757.235 758.083 ... Forego. 758.083 764.457 MANY: ... ((APPLAUSE)) 764.457 766.161 DEBRA: ... Does anyone have any questions? 766.161 768.396 ... Questions? 768.396 785.373 ... 785.373 785.849 , 785.849 786.291 (H) Oh. 786.291 786.754 <@ Okay, 786.754 787.975 (H) I don't have my glasses on, 787.975 788.832 I couldn't see you [(H)]@>. 788.600 790.651 AUD: [What] is the average weight for a horse. 790.651 792.053 DEBRA: ... Um it varies, 792.053 792.539 um, 792.539 793.558 ... like .. probably, 793.558 794.767 ... (TSK) let's see, 794.767 796.462 Forego probably weigh=s around t-, 796.462 797.834 ... oh about twelve hundred, 797.834 799.006 ... maybe twelve fifty, 799.006 801.554 (H) some of the draft horses weigh over a to=n, 801.554 802.826 ... in the draft horse barn, 802.826 803.265 some of the -- 803.265 805.066 The Belgians are the biggest horses. 805.066 807.194 ... The- the Shires are the tallest, 807.194 808.760 but the Belgians are the heaviest. 808.760 808.972 And -- 808.972 810.537 .. Have you been to the draft barn yet? 810.537 812.759 ... % Did you see Roy and Captain, 812.759 814.360 ... , 814.360 815.361 ... They weigh, 815.361 816.622 .. they both weigh over two th- -- 816.622 817.143 I th- -- 817.143 818.557 I know .. Roy does. 818.557 819.636 I'm not sure about Captain, 819.636 821.271 but Roy weighs over two thousand pounds. 821.271 824.444 ... Yes. 824.444 825.825 AUD: .. Isn't Secretariat, 825.825 827.990 ... didn't he die=, 827.990 830.140 and wasn't he buried on . 829.300 829.477 DEBRA: [Uh], 830.140 831.910 .. uh he's buried at Claiborne Farm. 831.910 832.305 AUD: Claiborne. 832.305 832.707 DEBRA: Mhm. 832.707 834.819 AUD: ... How did he die. 834.819 835.628 DEBRA: ... Pardon? 835.628 836.467 AUD: .. How did he die. 836.467 837.425 DEBRA: .. He was put down, 837.425 838.661 he had laminitis, 838.661 839.964 .. which is a disease of the h- -- 839.964 840.846 Of the hoof, 840.846 842.592 ... and and they put him down. 842.592 853.154 ... (H) Our next horse to come out today, 853.154 855.833 is our other thoroughbred gelding to be retired here, 855.833 858.530 (H) and you'll see that he's a lot smaller than Forego. 858.530 860.335 ... This is John Henry. 860.335 864.454 ... (H) John Henry is the horse that comes from very humble beginnings. 864.454 867.012 (H) He is by the stallion Old Bob Bowers, 867.012 869.547 who was not much of a racehorse or a stallion either. 869.547 872.245 .. (H) And he is out of the brood mare Once Double, 872.245 873.988 (H) who outside of John Henry, 873.988 876.075 had very little success as a brood mare. 876.075 879.775 ... (H) John was born on March ninth nineteen seventy-five, 879.775 882.222 at Golden Chance Farm in Paris Kentucky. 882.222 885.332 .. (H) The farm kept John until nineteen seventy-six, 885.332 888.275 when he was consigned to the Keenenland January Mixed Sale. 888.275 891.645 .. (H) Now this sale is not a very good time to sell a horse, 891.645 896.021 (H) it's usually when people try to sell the horses they don't think are worth feeding through the winter. 896.021 898.298 ... (H) So because of his small size, 898.298 899.522 his lack of pedigree, 899.522 900.382 but most of all, 900.382 902.161 his very nasty disposition, 902.161 904.885 (H) John brought only eleven hundred dollars. 904.885 907.220 ... (H) And from the time of this first sale, 907.220 909.048 until May nineteen seventy-eight, 909.048 910.228 (H) John was sold, 910.228 911.628 over half a dozen times, 911.628 913.052 because nobody wanted him, 913.052 914.958 (H) and nobody could get along with him. 914.958 917.561 ... (H) But in May of nineteen seventy-eight, 917.561 918.859 a New York businessman, 918.859 919.612 Sam Rubin, 919.612 922.034 (H) decided it would be fun to own a racehorse. 922.034 925.096 .. (H) Well Mister Rubin didn't know anything about horses, 925.096 927.174 (H) and the only thing he knew about racing, 927.174 928.861 is where the valet parking was. 928.861 930.796 ... (H) So he bought John Henry, 930.796 931.837 over the telephone, 931.837 932.681 sight unseen, 932.681 934.521 for twenty-five thousand dollars. 934.521 936.533 .. (H) John then went to New York, 936.533 938.484 to his first trainer Bobby Donato. 938.484 940.789 .. (H) In his very first New York start, 940.789 943.292 he won a twenty-five thousand dollar claiming race, 943.292 943.979 over the dirt, 943.979 945.297 by one and a half lengths. 945.297 947.431 .. (H) His next race was on turf, 947.431 949.250 (H) which John preferred to run on, 949.250 950.238 and again he won, 950.238 952.144 but this time by fourteen lengths. 952.144 956.616 ... (H) Well a group of horsemen who knew more about racing than Mister Rubin did, 956.616 958.788 (H) advised him to send John west, 958.788 960.837 .. where the turf racing was more lucrative, 960.837 961.829 more competitive, 961.829 963.276 and run all year long. 963.276 965.501 ... So in late nineteen seventy-nine, 965.501 966.845 (H) John headed west, 966.845 967.846 to his new trainer, 967.846 968.969 .. Ronald McAnally. 968.969 970.560 ... (H) In nineteen eighty, 970.560 972.965 John won over nine-hundred thousand dollars. 972.965 974.601 .. (H) In nineteen eighty-one, 974.601 976.906 John won the very first Arlington Million, 976.906 979.384 (H) over one point seven million dollars, 979.384 981.003 and was voted horse of the year. 981.003 982.776 .. (H) In nineteen eighty-two, 982.776 983.680 and nineteen eighty-three, 983.680 984.952 John had some injuries, 984.952 986.371 and only won four races, 986.371 989.249 (H) but they mounted up to one point two million dollars. 989.249 993.739 ... (H) And when Mister McAnally wanted to bring John Henry back as a nine-year-old, 993.739 997.964 (H) folks were pretty skeptical about his chances of being competitive at this age. 997.964 1000.839 ... (H) Well John did lose his first race that year, 1000.839 1004.121 (H) but he went on to have his best year ever on the racetrack. 1004.121 1006.163 ... (H) He won six graded stakes, 1006.163 1008.752 including a repeat victory in the Arlington Million, 1008.752 1011.081 (H) over two point three million dollars, 1011.081 1012.975 and again was voted horse of the year. 1012.975 1015.920 ... (H) When John was retired in nineteen eighty-four, 1015.920 1018.337 he was the world's richest thoroughbred in history. 1018.337 1021.482 (H) With earnings over six point five million dollars. 1021.482 1024.246 ... (H) Since then Alisheba has beat his record, 1024.246 1026.126 but John is still the richest gelding. 1026.126 1028.572 ... (H) John holds seven Eclipse Awards, 1028.572 1030.617 which is second only to Forego's eight, 1030.617 1033.989 (H) and was inducted into the racing hall of fame in nineteen ninety. 1033.989 1037.242 ... John was also named the thoroughbred horse of the decade, 1037.242 1038.388 for the nineteen eighties. 1038.388 1041.352 ... (H) John has been retired here for eight years now. 1041.352 1043.065 (H) He is nineteen years old, 1043.065 1044.707 and stands a very small=, 1044.707 1046.980 (H) fifteen point one hands tall. 1046.980 1048.451 .. (H) Ladies and gentlemen, 1048.451 1050.719 the great great .. John Henry. 1050.719 1056.443 MANY: .. ((APPLAUSE)) 1056.443 1058.774 DEBRA: ... Does anyone have any questions? 1058.774 1060.497 ... Yes. 1060.497 1062.479 AUD: .. The horses that retire here, 1062.479 1063.456 how much exercise, 1063.456 1064.866 and what kind of XX XXX. 1064.866 1065.359 DEBRA: Okay. 1065.359 1067.812 .. These horses are .. are not ridden anymore, 1067.812 1068.087 um, 1068.087 1068.506 they're just, 1068.506 1069.340 @ l- like you said, 1069.340 1070.066 they're retired, 1070.066 1071.725 (H) they each have their own paddock, 1071.725 1073.583 except for Sergeant Pepper and Imperator, 1073.583 1073.842 they -- 1073.842 1075.007 We turn them out together, 1075.007 1075.946 because they're friends, 1075.946 1077.988 (H) and mostly they just hang out in their paddock, 1077.988 1078.805 and they graze and, 1078.805 1080.325 (H) they exercise themselves, 1080.325 1081.383 they run around a lot, 1081.383 1082.745 and keep themselves in shape, 1082.745 1083.061 and, 1083.061 1084.424 (H) that's about all they @do. 1084.424 1084.815 @They @get, 1084.815 1086.212 (H) they get lots of treats, 1086.212 1087.496 and lots of lo=ve and, 1087.496 1088.976 .. s- we think they're happy. 1088.976 1089.410 .. But, 1089.410 1090.575 (H) they still run around, 1090.575 1090.886 um, 1090.886 1092.227 just .. like young horses, 1092.227 1094.180 sometimes John will get out there and run around, 1094.180 1095.901 he'll rear up on his hind legs, 1095.901 1096.856 like .. @Silver, 1096.856 1097.316 <@ you know and do @> -- 1097.316 1098.807 (H) And uh it's real cute, 1098.807 1100.243 uh Forego'll run around, 1100.243 1101.013 (H) Willie, 1101.013 1102.956 .. and his little goat will get out there and, 1102.956 1104.057 (H) and run and, 1104.057 1105.966 .. Imperator usually likes to trot. 1105.966 1106.997 He doesn't gallop a lot, 1106.997 1109.088 but he trots around like he did when he was showing and, 1109.088 1109.773 (H) it's -- 1109.773 1110.460 .. They're real cute. 1110.460 1112.462 ... There any other questions? 1112.462 1113.871 AUD: ... Yes. 1113.871 1115.063 ... What -- 1115.063 1115.867 .. Uh, 1115.867 1117.531 .. the goat .. in with the horse. 1117.531 1118.604 Are they just .. good friends? 1118.604 1118.882 DEBRA: Uhuh. 1118.882 1120.121 .. That's his little buddy @. 1120.121 1121.578 ... They're just friends. 1121.578 1122.058 (H) He- -- 1122.058 1124.266 Willie doesn't really like other horses very well. 1124.266 1125.702 .. (H) And and he likes people, 1125.702 1128.356 but he's not as affectionate as maybe Perry, 1128.356 1129.642 or .. Sergeant Pepper so, 1129.642 1131.084 (H) we don't want him to get lonely, 1131.084 1131.853 <@ and that's his @>, 1131.853 1133.391 .. @ that's his little friend @. 1133.391 1136.109 ... @@ .. @ 1136.109 1141.567 ... Originally they had got the goat for John Henry, 1141.567 1143.064 when he first came to live here, 1143.064 1143.986 eight years ago, 1143.986 1145.614 (H) and they put the goat in the stall with him, 1145.614 1146.636 he kicked it back out, 1146.636 1147.961 @@ (H) <@ and um, 1147.961 1149.413 (H) @> so Willie adopted it. 1149.413 1149.903 @@ 1149.903 1151.769 And that .. original goat died about a year ago, 1151.769 1153.299 and Willie was real sad and depressed, 1153.299 1154.425 so they got him a new one. 1154.425 1159.690 ... (H) Our last horse to come out today, 1159.690 1161.583 is our standardbred representative, 1161.583 1162.538 Rambling Willie. 1162.538 1165.598 .. (H) A standardbred races at a trot or a pace, 1165.598 1167.368 and they pull a sulky with a driver. 1167.368 1168.820 ... (H) Willie is a pacer. 1168.820 1171.777 ... (H) Willie was born in Monroeville Indiana, 1171.777 1174.235 and he began his racing career as a to-year-old, 1174.235 1175.830 for his owner Raymond Gibson. 1175.830 1179.257 (H) He had four starts with two seconds and two thirds, 1179.257 1181.152 (H) so he did show some promise, 1181.152 1184.290 but Mister Gibson decided to sell Willie as a three-year-old. 1184.290 1187.709 ... (H) Willie was sold to a hall of fame trainer and driver, 1187.709 1189.001 Mister Robert Farrington, 1189.001 1190.663 for fifteen thousand dollars. 1190.663 1192.489 (H) But not long after he bought him, 1192.489 1195.916 Mister Farrington decided he'd spent too much money on this horse, 1195.916 1198.888 (H) so he called a friend of his from Cincinnati Ohio, 1198.888 1200.039 Mister Paul Sebert, 1200.039 1204.062 (H) and he tried to talk Mister Sebert into buying a half interest in Willie. 1204.062 1206.956 ... (H) Well Mister Sebert had owned horses before, 1206.956 1208.791 (H) and his luck had been pretty bad. 1208.791 1210.656 .. (H) The first horse he owned died, 1210.656 1212.179 before it made it to the racetrack, 1212.179 1214.790 (H) and the second horse he owned made it to the races, 1214.790 1215.895 and she ran and ran, 1215.895 1217.389 but just couldn't win anything, 1217.389 1218.305 so he sold her. 1218.305 1219.737 .. (H) And after he sold her, 1219.737 1223.293 she went on to win her next four starts in a row for her new owner. 1223.293 1226.950 ... (H) Well Mister Sebert did buy a half interest in Willie though, 1226.950 1229.565 (H) and things didn't start off so well there either. 1229.565 1232.044 ... Willie was being raced at county fairs, 1232.044 1233.422 in Ohio and Indiana, 1233.422 1235.950 (H) and was being beaten on a regular basis. 1235.950 1240.796 ... (H) Well around this time Mister Farrington's wife Vivian was having a birthday, 1240.796 1243.074 (H) and he was trying to decide what to get her. 1243.074 1246.318 .. (H) So Mister Farrington decided that a good present for Vivian, 1246.318 1248.009 would be the other half of Willie. 1248.009 1251.110 ... (H) Well Vivian was a very religious person, 1251.110 1254.627 (H) and her father at that time was the minister of a nearby church. 1254.627 1256.364 .. (H) So Vivian decided, 1256.364 1259.159 that if Willie ever had any success at the racetrack, 1259.159 1261.170 (H) she would donate ten percent, 1261.170 1262.853 of her half of Willie's earnings, 1262.853 1264.194 to her father's church. 1264.194 1267.106 ... (H) And that's when Willie's racing career took off. 1267.106 1268.069 MANY: (LAUGHTER) 1268.069 1269.770 DEBRA: (H) Because of his success, 1269.770 1271.117 and his ties to the church, 1271.117 1272.721 .. there was a book written about Willie, 1272.721 1273.256 titled, 1273.256 1274.340 (H) Rambling Willie, 1274.340 1275.763 The Horse That God Loved. 1275.763 1277.831 .. (H) In order to promote his book, 1277.831 1279.795 .. Willie would hold autograph sessions. 1279.795 1282.063 .. (H) One day when Willie was in New York, 1282.063 1284.878 he had an autograph session at Macy's department store. 1284.878 1286.642 (H) And he was such a hit there, 1286.642 1289.491 that Macy's gave him his very own charge card. 1289.491 1291.024 MANY: (LAUGHTER)[=] 1290.231 1295.074 DEBRA: [(H) Well Willie] is without a doubt one of the toughest and most durable horses to ever race. 1295.074 1297.859 (H) He raced from the age of two to thirteen. 1297.859 1301.122 .. He had an incredible three-hundred and five starts. 1301.122 1303.478 (H) He won a hundred and twenty-eight times, 1303.478 1305.696 (H) sixty-nine times he finished second, 1305.696 1307.976 .. and seventy-nine times he paced the mile, 1307.976 1309.189 in two minutes or less, 1309.189 1311.706 (H) which is a record Willie still holds today. 1311.706 1313.162 ... When he retired, 1313.162 1315.120 he was the richest standardbred in history, 1315.120 1317.512 (H) with earnings over two million dollars. 1317.512 1321.084 ... (H) Willie is our other senior citizen here at the Hall of Champions, 1321.084 1322.933 (H) he is twenty-four years old, 1322.933 1325.489 and stands fifteen point two hands tall. 1325.489 1326.977 (H) Ladies and gentlemen, 1326.977 1328.365 the horse that God loved, 1328.365 1329.494 .. Rambling Willie. 1329.494 1335.499 MANY: ((APPLAUSE))[=] 1334.014 1335.317 DEBRA: [.. Now I'll just let everybody know, 1335.317 1338.527 that] Willie's book is for sale here at the Horse Park gift shop. 1338.527 1340.436 ... (H) And we'd like to thank everyone, 1340.436 1341.634 for coming to the Horse Park, 1341.634 1343.586 and to the Hall of Champions presentation, 1343.586 1344.953 (H) we hope you've had a good day, 1344.953 1346.178 and if you have any questions, 1346.178 1347.735 feel free to ask us on your way out. 1347.735 1348.735 .. Thank you very much. 1348.735 1354.296 MANY: ... ((APPLAUSE))