International Trot
Encyclopedia
The International Trot was a harness racing
event held in the New York City
area that aimed to appeal to a mix of United States
and international entrants. The inaugural event was held at Roosevelt Raceway
in Westbury, New York
in 1959, and was held at the track until its closure in 1988. Thereafter, the race moved to Yonkers Raceway
in Yonkers, New York
. The initial running was held at a distance of 1.5 miles (2.4 km), with subsequent races held at a distance of 1.25 miles (2 km).
In advance of its third running in 1961, The New York Times
described that "There are many harness racing stakes that are older and quite a few that are richer, but there is none, that for glamour, pageantry, excitement and wild wagering matches the Roosevelt International Trot."
spread the word that the horse's chances were affected by the loss of over 150 pounds of artichoke
s that had been impounded, and then misplaced, by the United States Department of Agriculture
at Idlewild Airport
. Goldstein placed ads in The New York Times
and New York Herald Tribune
that read "French Trotter Needs Artichokes. Can You Help?", including a phone number of Roosevelt Raceway. Newspapers gave the story extensive play, with locals bring their backyard-grown artichokes to the track and United Airlines
flying artichokes in from Watsonville, California
, the artichoke capital of America. The horse was energized after eating the artichokes, or so Goldstein said, and went on to win the race in front of a crowd of 45,000. Jamin held on to win in front of a crowd of 48,000 spectators, with the Italian horse Tornese in second by half a length and betting favorite Trader Horn, an American entry, in third, 2¼ lengths out of second. Jamin ran the mile-and-a-half in 3:08.6.
dropped out of the 1960 race. The 9-year old Hairos II, driven by Willem Geersen, went on to win the mile-and-a-quarter second running in a field of seven in a time of 2:34, defeating the Italian horse Crevalcore by a half-length, with the American entry Silver Song, a 9-5 favorite, in third by a half-length behind Crevalcore. The crowd of 54,861 set a record, breaking the prior mark of 50,337 set at the track in August 1957.
during a win in a race in The Hague
. At the 1961 International Trot, a French horse named Kracovie that had won that year's European circuit was missing a stablemate, either a mountain sheep or a goat, that could not be brought into the United States due to quarantine regulations, and would not eat in the absence of its companion. As described by George Vecsey
in the Times, "The entertainer Tina Louise
just happened to have a goat in her Manhattan apartment. Wearing a low-cut dress, she and her agent and the goat paid a mission of mercy to Roosevelt." Despite the publicity, and the goat, Kracovie lost the race to Su Mac Lad
, with Tie Silk in third. Su Mac Lad, driven by Stanley Dancer
, finished in a time of 2:34.4 in driving rain and a sloppy track in front of 28,105 racing fans.
horse Tie Silk, who had finished in third the previous year and sixth the year before, won the $50,000 race in front of a crowd of 53,279. Six-year old Tie Silk, driven by Keith Waples
, won in a time of 2:34.2, with favorite and returning winner Su Mac Lad in second and world record holder Porterhouse
in third. The betting handle of $2,793,596 set a world record for a harness racing program, breaking the prior record set at the second running of the International Trot.
in 1988, the race was relocated to Yonkers Raceway
.
Harness racing
Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait . They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, although racing under saddle is also conducted in Europe.-Breeds:...
event held in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
area that aimed to appeal to a mix of United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and international entrants. The inaugural event was held at Roosevelt Raceway
Roosevelt Raceway
The Roosevelt Raceway motor sports race track was a Vanderbilt Cup / GP venue on New York's Long Island for the United States Grand Prix in 1936 and 1937. The original raceway was twisty and bumpy, making it not quite suited to the big-bore big-BHP racecars of the day. The 1937 layout was faster,...
in Westbury, New York
Westbury, New York
Westbury incorporated in 1932 as a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 15,146 at the 2010 census.The Village of Westbury is in the Town of North Hempstead....
in 1959, and was held at the track until its closure in 1988. Thereafter, the race moved to Yonkers Raceway
Yonkers Raceway
Yonkers Raceway, founded in 1899 as the Empire City Race Track, is a one-half-mile standardbred harness racing dirt track and New York state-approved slots racino located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, New York near the New York City border...
in Yonkers, New York
Yonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
. The initial running was held at a distance of 1.5 miles (2.4 km), with subsequent races held at a distance of 1.25 miles (2 km).
In advance of its third running in 1961, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described that "There are many harness racing stakes that are older and quite a few that are richer, but there is none, that for glamour, pageantry, excitement and wild wagering matches the Roosevelt International Trot."
1959
In 1959, a trotter from France named Jamin was scheduled to run in the inaugural International Trot at Roosevelt Raceway. The track's publicist, Joe GoldsteinJoe Goldstein
Herbert Joseph "Joe" Goldstein was an American publicist who promoted sporting events in New York City for 60 years, including basketball at Madison Square Garden, the New York City Marathon and a trotter with an affinity for artichokes.Goldstein was born in Conway, South Carolina where his father...
spread the word that the horse's chances were affected by the loss of over 150 pounds of artichoke
Artichoke
-Plants:* Globe artichoke, a partially edible perennial thistle originating in southern Europe around the Mediterranean* Jerusalem artichoke, a species of sunflower with an edible tuber...
s that had been impounded, and then misplaced, by the United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
at Idlewild Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
. Goldstein placed ads in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and New York Herald Tribune
New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune was a daily newspaper created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald.Other predecessors, which had earlier merged into the New York Tribune, included the original The New Yorker newsweekly , and the Whig Party's Log Cabin.The paper was home to...
that read "French Trotter Needs Artichokes. Can You Help?", including a phone number of Roosevelt Raceway. Newspapers gave the story extensive play, with locals bring their backyard-grown artichokes to the track and United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
flying artichokes in from Watsonville, California
Watsonville, California
Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 51,199 according to the 2010 census.Located on the central coast of California, the economy centers predominantly around the farming industry. It is known for growing strawberries, apples, lettuce and a host...
, the artichoke capital of America. The horse was energized after eating the artichokes, or so Goldstein said, and went on to win the race in front of a crowd of 45,000. Jamin held on to win in front of a crowd of 48,000 spectators, with the Italian horse Tornese in second by half a length and betting favorite Trader Horn, an American entry, in third, 2¼ lengths out of second. Jamin ran the mile-and-a-half in 3:08.6.
1960
Both first-time champion Jamin and Ruder Konge of DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
dropped out of the 1960 race. The 9-year old Hairos II, driven by Willem Geersen, went on to win the mile-and-a-quarter second running in a field of seven in a time of 2:34, defeating the Italian horse Crevalcore by a half-length, with the American entry Silver Song, a 9-5 favorite, in third by a half-length behind Crevalcore. The crowd of 54,861 set a record, breaking the prior mark of 50,337 set at the track in August 1957.
1961
Hairos II was unable to defend his title in the 1961 race, after suffering a bowed tendonBowed tendon
Tendinitis/tendonitis is inflammation of a tendon. Many times, the tendon tissue is torn. A bowed tendon is a horseman's term for a tendon after a horse has sustained an injury that caused the tendon fibers to be torn, and then healed with "bowed" appearance.-Description of a Tendinitis in...
during a win in a race in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. At the 1961 International Trot, a French horse named Kracovie that had won that year's European circuit was missing a stablemate, either a mountain sheep or a goat, that could not be brought into the United States due to quarantine regulations, and would not eat in the absence of its companion. As described by George Vecsey
George Vecsey
George Vecsey is an American non-fiction author and sports columnist for The New York Times. Vecsey is best known for his work in sports, but has co-written several autobiographies with non-sports figures.-Career:...
in the Times, "The entertainer Tina Louise
Tina Louise
Tina Louise is an American actress, singer, and author. She is best known for her role as the "movie star" Ginger Grant on the television situation comedy Gilligan's Island .-Early life:...
just happened to have a goat in her Manhattan apartment. Wearing a low-cut dress, she and her agent and the goat paid a mission of mercy to Roosevelt." Despite the publicity, and the goat, Kracovie lost the race to Su Mac Lad
Su Mac Lad
Su Mac Lad was an American gelding trotter. He reached the peak of his racing career in the 1960s. In 1962, he was harness racing's career money leader and named Harness Horse of the Year...
, with Tie Silk in third. Su Mac Lad, driven by Stanley Dancer
Stanley Dancer
Stanley Franklin Dancer was an American harness racing driver and trainer. He was the only horsemen to drive and train three Triple Crowns in horse racing. In total, he drove 23 Triple Crown winners. He was the first trainer to campaign a horse to $1 million in a career, Cardigan Bay in 1968 and...
, finished in a time of 2:34.4 in driving rain and a sloppy track in front of 28,105 racing fans.
1962
The lightly regarded CanadianCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
horse Tie Silk, who had finished in third the previous year and sixth the year before, won the $50,000 race in front of a crowd of 53,279. Six-year old Tie Silk, driven by Keith Waples
Keith Waples
Keith Waples is a Hall of Fame sulky driver and trainer in the sport of harness racing. In 1959, Waples became the first driver to record a sub two-minute mile in Canada and the first to win a $100,000 race in Canada.In 1962, Keith Waples drove Tie Silk to victory in the International Trot at...
, won in a time of 2:34.2, with favorite and returning winner Su Mac Lad in second and world record holder Porterhouse
Porterhouse (horse)
Porterhouse was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by Liz Person and raced under her Llangollen Farm banner, Porterhouse was a son of the Argentine-bred Endeavour who also sired Corn Husker, Prove It and Pretense, three top runners who each won the Santa Anita Handicap. His dam was...
in third. The betting handle of $2,793,596 set a world record for a harness racing program, breaking the prior record set at the second running of the International Trot.
1963
Su Mac Lad, who had won in 1961 but dropped to second in 1962, returned to win the 1963 running in a seven-horse field, before a crowd of 41,197 of what The New York Times called "screaming harness racing buffs". The Dutch horse Martini II came in second, with returning champion Tie Silk in third. Driven by Stanley Dancer, Su Mac Lad paid bettors $2.90 to win in tying a world record at the 1¼-mile distance with a time of 2:32.6. The 9-to-20 favorite came in a half-length ahead of Martini II who in turn beat Tie Silk by 7.5 lengths. The $25,000 Su Mac Lad took home brought his career winnings to $687,549, the most of any pacer or trotter as of that date.1989
After the demise of Roosevelt RacewayRoosevelt Raceway
The Roosevelt Raceway motor sports race track was a Vanderbilt Cup / GP venue on New York's Long Island for the United States Grand Prix in 1936 and 1937. The original raceway was twisty and bumpy, making it not quite suited to the big-bore big-BHP racecars of the day. The 1937 layout was faster,...
in 1988, the race was relocated to Yonkers Raceway
Yonkers Raceway
Yonkers Raceway, founded in 1899 as the Empire City Race Track, is a one-half-mile standardbred harness racing dirt track and New York state-approved slots racino located at the intersection of Central Park Avenue and Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers, New York near the New York City border...
.
Past winners
Winners of the race include the following:| Year | Horse | Driver | Country | $2 on Winner | Winning time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Jamin | Jean Riaud | $11.70 | 3:08.6 | |
| 1960 | Hairos II | Willem Geersen | $11.90 | 2:34.0 | |
| 1961 | Su Mac Lad Su Mac Lad Su Mac Lad was an American gelding trotter. He reached the peak of his racing career in the 1960s. In 1962, he was harness racing's career money leader and named Harness Horse of the Year... |
Stanley Dancer Stanley Dancer Stanley Franklin Dancer was an American harness racing driver and trainer. He was the only horsemen to drive and train three Triple Crowns in horse racing. In total, he drove 23 Triple Crown winners. He was the first trainer to campaign a horse to $1 million in a career, Cardigan Bay in 1968 and... |
2:34.4 |
| Year | Nation | First | Nation | Second | Nation | Third | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Jamin | Tornese | Trader Horn | ||||
| 1960 | Hairos II | Crevalcore | Silver Song | ||||
| 1961 | Su Mac Lad | Kracovie | Tie Silk | ||||
| 1962 | Tie Silk | Su Mac Lad | Porterhouse | ||||
| 1963 | Su Mac Lad | Martini II | Tie Silk | ||||
| 1964 | Speedy Scot | Su Mac Lad | Pick Wick | ||||
| 1965 | Pluvier III | Steno | Quioco | ||||
| 1966 | Armbro Flight | Roquepine | Noble Victory | ||||
| 1967 | Roquepine | Fresh Yankee | Governor Armbro | ||||
| 1968 | Roquepine | Kentucky Fibber | Fresh Yankee | ||||
| 1969 | Une de Mai | Nevele Pride | Fresh Yankee | ||||
| 1970 | Fresh Yankee | Tidalium Pelo | |||||
| 1971 | Une de Mai | Fresh Yankee | Dart Hanover | ||||
| 1972 | Speedy Crown | Une de Mai | Fresh Yankee | ||||
| 1973 | Delmonica Hanover | ||||||
| 1974 | Delmonica Hanover | Dosson | |||||
| 1975 | Savoir | Bellino II | Surge Hanover | ||||
| 1976 | Equileo | Bellino II | Meadow Bright | ||||
| 1977 | Delfo | Bellino II | |||||
| 1978 | Cold Comfort | Petite Evander Petite Evander Petite Evander was a New Zealand bred Standardbred racemare. She developed into a successful racehorse, winning races in New Zealand, Australia and the United States, and was the dam of dual Inter-Dominion winner Pride Of Petite. As a notable champion, she was inducted into the New Zealand Trotting... |
Hadol du Vivier | ||||
| 1979 | Doublemint | Express Gaxe | Charme Asserdal | ||||
| 1980 | Classical Way | Ideal du Gazeau | Petite Evander | ||||
| 1981 | Ideal du Gazeau | Jorky | Pamir Brodde | ||||
| 1982 | Ideal du Gazeau | Zebu | Nino Blazing | ||||
| 1983 | Ideal du Gazeau | Legolas | Ianthin | ||||
| 1984 | Lutin d'Isigny | The Onion | Crown Wood | ||||
| 1985 | Lutin d'Isigny | Sandy Bowl | Ogorek | ||||
| 1986 | Habib | Robins Wonder | Mack the Knife | ||||
| 1987 | Callit | Potin d'Amour | Tabor Lobell | ||||
| 1988 | Mack Lobell Mack Lobell Mack Lobell is a brown racing trotter by Mystic Park out of Matina Hanover by Speedy Count.He won $3,917,594 during his career. He was elected Harness Horse of the Year in 1987 and 1988... |
A.J.'s Speed | Go Get Lost | ||||
| 1989 | Kit Lobell | Indus | Mack Lobell Mack Lobell Mack Lobell is a brown racing trotter by Mystic Park out of Matina Hanover by Speedy Count.He won $3,917,594 during his career. He was elected Harness Horse of the Year in 1987 and 1988... |
||||
| 1990 | Reve d'Udon | No Sex Please | Meadow Roland | ||||
| 1991 | Peace Corps | Reve d'Udon | Florida Jewel | ||||
| 1992 | Atas Fighter L. | Night Court Dan | Ursulo de Crouay | ||||
| 1993 | Giant Force | Meadow Prophet | Sea Cove | ||||
| 1995 | His Majesty | S.J.'s Photo | Panifesto |