Great Racing Stories: A New High for Ack Ack
This is the first installment of a new feature, titled “Great Racing Stories,” in which we will take a look at major stakes results over the years and uncover the untold stories of which most people are not aware, but add color and odd twists to the events behind these races. We begin with Ack Ack’s victory in the 1971 Santa Anita Handicap, which helped propel the 5-year-old to the first ever Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year. ~ Steve Haskin
Great Racing Stories: A New High For Ack Ack
By Steve Haskin
It was autumn, 50 years ago. The sensational 3-year-old crop of 1969 was all but gone from the racing scene. Defending Horse of the Year Arts and Letter suffered a bowed tendon in the Californian Stakes and was retired. Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Majestic Prince was retired after the Belmont Stakes. The 2-year-old champion and Flamingo and Florida Derby winner Top Knight was retired in July of ‘69, but would return in 1972 and wound up his career in ignominious fashion, running in allowance races at Lincoln Downs and Narragansett until the age of 9. The brilliant Reviewer was retired, as was Gotham and Wood Memorial winner Dike.
But there was one horse from that crop who was still around, and he was about to make an astounding transition in his career unlike anything seen in many years. His name was Ack Ack, who had been considered nothing more than an excellent sprinter and miler at 2, 3, and 4 who wanted no part of classic distances. In 18 career starts, only three were two-turn races and he was beaten in all of them. But he did set a track record winning the one-mile Derby Trial by seven lengths in 1:34 2/5 and won the one-mile Arlington Classic by 4 1/2 lengths, also in 1:34 2/5.
Bred by Captain Harry Guggenheim, who raced under the name of Cain Hoy Stable, Ack Ack went through an uneventful 4-year-old campaign, but was about to undergo a complete metamorphosis at the age of 5.
In 1969, Guggenheim, whose uncle Benjamin died aboard the Titanic, held a dispersal of his racing stock, but kept Ack Ack and sent him to California in 1970 to be trained by Charlie Whittingham, who replaced the colt’s previous trainer Frank “Downy” Bonsal. Whittingham continued to run Ack Ack at short distances, his only stakes victories coming in the seven-furlong Los Angeles Handicap via disqualification, run in a blazing 1:20 3/5, and the 6 1/2-furlong Autumn Days Handicap on the grass.
Put away for three months, he returned at age 5 to finish second in the six-furlong Palos Verdes Handicap and win the seven-furlong San Carlos Handicap in 1:21 flat. Six days after the San Carlos, Harry Guggenheim died of cancer and the majority interest in Ack Ack was sold to E.E. “Buddy” Fogelson, who was married to actress Greer Garson. Fogelson, who raced under the name Forked Lightning Ranch, kept two-thirds of the colt, with Whittingham purchasing the other third.
With the new ownership, Whittingham decided to try to stretch Ack Ack out and ran him in the 1 1/16-mile San Pasqual Handicap, which he barely held on to win by three-quarters of a length under 129 pounds. Not daunted in the slightest, Whittingham stretched him out even farther in the 1 1/8-mile San Antonio Stakes, which he won by 3 1/4 lengths is a swift 1:47 flat.
Now it was time for the real test. Could Ack Ack stretch out to a mile and a quarter in the Santa Anita Handicap, especially carrying 130 pounds? Only four other horses had won the Big Cap with as much as 130 pounds and two of those were the great Seabiscuit and Round Table. Back in those days, many of the great horses carried 130 pounds, and often much more. But March 13 was early in the year to carry that much weight.
Now is where the story gets really interesting, as witnessed by former trainer Bill Hirsch, son of Hall of Fame trainer William J. “Buddy” Hirsch and grandson of the legendary Max Hirsch.
On the morning of the Big Cap, Bill was on the backstretch walking hots for his father in order to earn some money to bet with that afternoon. Bill, who was friendly with Ack Ack’s groom, who we shall call jim, walked over to Whittingham’s barn to wish everyone good luck in the Big Cap. And that is when Jim, who rubbed Whittingham’s best horses and lived in a tack room at the end of the barn, four stalls down from Ack Ack’s stall, told Bill what had happened the night before.
Jim, you see, had a rather dubious side job, which was selling marijuana on the backstretch, keeping his stash in his tack room. Because so many people knew what Jim was doing they would break into his tack room and steal some of the marijuana.
Jim needed to find a safe place to keep his stash and there was only one place he could think of. Ack Ack, who stood only 15.3 hands, was a diminutive demon who would try to savage anyone who got too close to his stall, preying on unsuspecting visitors who came to visit him. They finally had to put up a yoke screen in front of the horse’s stall to protect passersby. Also, instead of hanging his hay rack in the front of the stall as is the custom, they put his hay in a chain hay rack in the back corner of his stall where he couldn’t pose a danger to people.
Jim thought what better place to keep his marijuana than in the back of Ack Ack’s hay rack, wrapped in paper and plastic. This way even if anyone knew where it was they were not about to endanger their lives going in there.
On the night before the Big Cap, Ack Ack for some reason went on a rampage in his stall. Jim hurried over when he heard it and helped calm him down. The next morning Jim got up and went to work. The first thing he did was check on Ack Ack to see how he was. If something was bothering the horse that would get him so worked up they better find out what it was with the big race that afternoon.
When Jim went into Ack Ack’s stall he noticed that during his rampage he had ripped the chain rack from the wall. Jim went to get his pot stash and saw something that caused him to panic. Ack Ack had tore into the plastic and had eaten a large amount of the marijuana.
Jim was now faced with a dilemma. If he told Whittingham about it he figured he would have no recourse but to scratch the horse for fear of coming up positive. Jim had no idea if the horse would come up positive. After all, he was a horse, not a human being, and he had no idea how much pot Ack Ack had consumed. That’s when he saw Bill Hirsch and told him what had happened and that he didn’t know what to do. How do you tell your boss on the morning of the biggest race in Ack Ack’s life that the horse had eaten marijuana the night before?
He fretted about it all morning and then decided not to tell Whittingham and just hope for the best.
Ack Ack was sent off at 4-5, with his main threat, stablemate Cougar II, carrying 125 pounds, at 7-2. Cougar was coming off seven straight grass races and Whittingham was trying to take advantage of the Chilean-bred’s stamina to get him a piece of the Big Cap’s rich purse.
Overnight rains had made the track much slower than usual, and more testing. As expected, Ack Ack went to the lead under Bill Shoemaker, and after battling head and head for almost a half-mile he began to open up on the strung-out field. Two top-class horses, Figonero and Terlago, winner of the previous year’s Santa Anita Derby, made their runs, but could not get anywhere near Ack Ack, who opened a six-length lead at the eighth pole, with Shoemaker riding him vigorously with a series of right-handed whips. Out in the middle of the track came Cougar, making up ground quickly. But at the wire it was Ack Ack the winner by 1 1/2 lengths. He had lasted the 10 furlongs over a very slow track, but it wasn’t easy at the end, especially for a horse who never been 10 furlongs and was considered a sprinter/mile all his career.
Now came the moment of truth. Jim was a nervous wreck as he led Ack Ack to the test barn. All he could do now was wait and hope that there was no positive result. As it turned out there was none. Although getting high on marijuana was commonplace in the early ‘70s, pot was not exactly a drug anyone would associate with being in a horse’s system after a race.
Years later, Hirsch was having a drink with Whittingham and told him what had happened. As Hirsch put it, Charlie just shrugged his shoulders and said, “He would have won without that s–t!”
Ack Ack went on to do something you rarely if ever see. He dropped back to 5 1/2 furlongs and won the Hollywood Express by three lengths in near track record time, again carrying 130 pounds. Stretching back out, he won the 1 1/8-mile American Handicap on grass by four lengths breaking the course record, once again under 130 pounds, and then closed out his career by winning the mile and a quarter Hollywood Gold Cup by 3 3/4 lengths in 1:59 4/5 under 134 pounds.
After the Gold Cup, Whittingham felt there was little left for Ack Ack to achieve, especially having just carried 134 pounds to victory, so it was decided to retire him to Claiborne Farm, where he sired 40 stakes winners, including the classy and hard-knocking Broad Brush and international star Youth, winner of the French Derby in France, Canadian International Championship in Canada, and Washington D.C. International in the U.S.
Ack Ack captured three Eclipse Awards in 1971 – Horse of the Year, Champion Older Male, and Champion Sprinter. In 1975, he was enshrined into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame. He died at Claiborne in 1990 at age 24.
Ack Ack had many “highs” in his career, but nothing quite like the Santa Anita Handicap.
I’m gonna guess the name of the only horse who finished in front of Ack Ack that year…was it King of Cricket…or Reb’s Policy? Ack Ack had some kind of year, turf or dirt, six furlongs or mile and a quarter AND carried weight! Even with all that going for him—Ack Ack wasn’t as popular as Cougar II, “The Big Cat”, who drew large crowds for his races.
It was Jungle Savage
Wow what a story! I saw Figonero II many times, he won the Hollywood Gold Cup I think, he was chestnut as I recall, and I remember Alvaro Pineda rode him a lot…the late great Alvaro Pineda, who was killed when his mount Austin Mittler reared back and crushed his head in the starting gate—they padded the gate where he was injured after that…..Terlago was a beautiful animal, as black as a horse can get! I saw him many times, too—like Figonero, Terlago won one big race–Santa Anita Derby—and not much more, as I recall.
I am one of those who loves to read these stories but doesn’t always reply or comment. I don’t like to keep repeating or echoing the comments of other readers. I remember the triple crown in 1969 so well. I was still in college and was working on Saturdays. I loved Majestic Prince, so I told my boss that I was feeling sickly to leave work early to watch the derby. After that year, I graduated college, was engaged, and working in New York for a museum, so I didn’t really follow racing as closely as I used to. I really loved this account of Ack Ack’s achievement. Thank you for sharing your stories and please keep them coming.
Thank you, Mary Lou. I appreciate it whenever you do comment. Did you ever read my column on Bloodhorse about that 1969 3-year-old crop? It is a very long and detailed and covered that whole amazing year of 1969.
I just read “My Favorite Year”. I was so blown away reading the first paragraph about all the things that happened that year. I do remember all of them, but really forgot that they all happened that year. I remember Elliot Burch as a great trainer and I love how he ran Arts and Letters instead of “training up” to the triple crown. Back then, a loss helped the horse move forward.
I remember feeling sad that Majestic Prince was going to run in the Belmont; Longden’s understanding of his horse was accurate. He used long gallops to build stamina and the Prince did finish 2nd. But he probably was not going to get the better of Arts and Letters again.
I read this article over a week ago, and just noticed something…..okay, I’m a little slow on the uptake…..I just ‘got’ your clever headline, or ‘head.’ I’ve always enjoyed your heads, one of my favs being ‘Curlin Go Braugh’ back in Curlin’s heyday. So many others. Thanks, Steve, for bringing a welcome, tho belated, chuckle.
You gettin’ slow on me, Solo? 🙂 I can’t belieive you remember that Curlin head. Most people never comment on the heads, but I do put a lot of time in coming up with a good one. One of my favorites from way back in 2003 was a column I did on Tagg and his curmugeon attitiude to the media during the Triple Crown. I like him a lot and the head was “Is His Barclay Worse Than his Bite?” I kinda liked that one. Or last year’s post Derby column, “Prat Falls into Derby Mount.”
Steve, last thoughts on your witty headlines: I do remember the Tagg head. Recent favs of mine are A Case of Vino, Tiz Nobler in the Mind, Max a (20) Million. But an oldie I also love was Lawyer Ron-Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. Keep them coming, please!
Wow, you definitely are my Head Man. Thanks very much for keeping track of all these. Its good to know they are appreciated.
Steve, this is a great idea. Thank you so much for doing this, you are a wonderful writer and story teller. Glad you have decided to become part of Secretariat.com. I look forward to many more, how often will you be posting new stories?
Thank you so much
Thanks so much, Carol. I really appreciate that. As I have since I started, I will be writing at least one a column a week, usually on a Monday or Tuesday. As we get closer to the breeders’ Cup I probably will have two a week. And dont forget the Derby Rankings (formerly Derby Dozen) begin in January. Hope to see more of you,
Wow! I always thought marijuana calmed you down. I believe running in sprints sharpens a horse up for the longer distances. Thanks Steve looking forward to more of your writing gems.
I will try to keep ’em coming, Marlaine. Thanks. I dont think the concern was how or if it affected the horse, but would it show up in the blood test. Now if it was hash, that might be a different story.
I agree with you Marlaine. Remember when 3 year olds were brought up to the classics by running shorter and gradually stretching out in their preps? If a horse raced as a 2 year old, the same method was applied. The farthest they went was 1 1/16 in October/November. Now it seems that 2 year olds are racing that distance in the late summer, even if its their first start. Just an example: I think Big Brown won at 1 1/8 to break his maiden.
What an absolutely wonderful read. Ack Ack was unbeatable when he was in Charlie’s hands, and as versatile as could be. Charlie was the absolute master trainer. Thanks Steve. I really enjoyed this story.
I appreciate it, Karen. Thank you!
Here’s a fitting tidbit for this story. I had the opportunity to ask Peggy Whittingham what were Charlie Whittingham’s top three best horses he trained, she said, “That’s easy. SUNDAY SILENCE, ACK ACK and COUGAR was third. Sometimes ACK ACK was #1, but the Kentucky Derby weighs so heavily, so that usually tipped the scale for SUNDAY SILENCE…but it was close.”
Charlie was a top trainer and had won a couple of Big Caps with decent horses, but Ack Ack was his first great horse and first champion and really put him in the national spotlight
Ack Ack was actually supposed to go East with the Woodward as the major target. He had a bad case of colic however and was retired.
Too funny Steve, marvellously rendered under your skill full writing. These little incidents ‘color’ the fun in what is a beautiful but perilous sport. Ack Ack must have been quite relaxed and ready for a stellar performance. Obviously, the testing methods were fairly inadequate in the 1970s compared to the modern era.
I apprecate it, David. Thank you
Your stories charmingly reveal a uniqueness in each ‘Star’ that endears them to racing hearts. Cool that Ack Ack’s Big ‘Cap field was ‘strung out’ behind him;) He & Cougar ll both amazed, as I’ve learned. Thankful the gallant horses have someone to so nobly tell their tales.
What a great story! I had forgotten all about Ack Ack. I wasn’t quite as big a race fan back in those days, but of course, as a Louisvillian, I’ve always watched the Derby. I do recall the Derby Trial that year. It was an important race back then. I love this story, and especially the marijuana connection. I’m glad that Churchill still has a race named in his honor.
On a somewhat related note, Charlie Whittingham wouldn’t allow a rematch of ACK ACK and COUGAR II after this Santa Anita Handicap. COUGAR’s groom, whom I met in 2012, said that after the race Whittingham said that COUGAR’s effort, on a track that he probably didn’t like (he was known for disliking wet and “off” tracks), was very good, and that he would not allow the two horses to meet again on a fast track.
That turned out to be true because although COUGAR was entered later in the year for the 10 furlong Hollywood Gold Cup, Whittingham scratched him, presumably so that ACK ACK could have an easier time of it and keep his Horse of the Year campaign on track. Scratching COUGAR from the race made Mary F. Jones very angry, since she was looking forward to a rematch on a fast track, and she thought her horse was on a Horse of the Year campaign himself. After the Big ‘Cap COUGAR had won the San Juan Capistrano, Californian Stakes and the Ford Pinto Invitational (later renamed Hollywood Turf Invitational), prompting Jones to comment, “I cannot wait to have it out with ACK ACK!”
Whittingham justified himself by saying that COUGAR could not beat ACK ACK at 10 furlongs, but just because he said it doesn’t mean it was true (or untrue), and he should have let it be settled on the track. Just because a particular horse beats another horse once doesn’t mean it would (or wouldn’t) happen again. In this case, these two needed a rematch.
Of course, there was Cougar’s greatest performance in the Woodward, in which he was robbed by the NYRA stewards. I’m not so sure I agree with Charlie that Cougar couldnt beat Ack Ack at 10 furlongs.
Mary F. Jones sure thought that COUGAR could beat ACK ACK. I just love her comment, “I cannot wait to have it out with ACK ACK!” She always had a classic comment though. After COUGAR ran badly on soft turn in the United Nations Handicap, she said, “I wish we could get RUN THE GANTLET on a firm turf course – I’m sure COUGAR would beat him by 5 lengths.”
LOVE your writing and especially love the historical columns. Really brings those times to life for me.
Was really sad when you announced you were leaving the Bloodhorse but elated to find you here.
Now I can still get my “Haskin fix”
Thank you very much, Susan. So glad you found me here. It’s always nice to be addictive LOL
Loved this story! Thank you so much for writing these stories…im newer to your page though i always read your stuff on blood horse and was happy to find you are writing on secretariat.com..Hope you will continue!!!! ill try to get the word out on your articles. I have friends that train steeplechase horses but love all racing so ill try to share the website where you are writing…hope you keep up with this type of story…this may seem like a silly question but was there a horse that ran not so long ago that was called ack ack ack and where did the name come from I know that ACK are the airport codes letters for nantucket Island airport..just curious…thank you!
Thank you so much, Eileen. I’m so glad you found us, and hope your friends join us as well.. We try to keep it fun here and write about what we hope the readers will enjoy.
Ack Ack is sired by Battle Joined, and ack ack is the term that is used for antiaircraft gunfire, the short bursts of gunfire that sounds like ack ack ack ack ack.
Please don’t stop writing about the greats of yesteryear. When I read that you were going to do that, I thought maybe you could give Citation some back story, even though you are too young to have seen him in person. I was eleven years old when Citation won the Triple Crown. I did not see him in person, nor any other of the great horses. How did I even know about the Kentucky Derby not so long after the War? No TV. No major newspapers in my home town. Thinking back, it must have been the newsreels that came with Saturday matinees. I remember a big black horse with flowers hanging around him. It’s only recently that I discovered Citation was a bay. The newsreels were in black and white.
Great memories. I have seen those newsreels and Citation was pure poetry in motion. What a gorgeous fluid strice he had. Thank you, Oldie.
I really enjoyed reading this story. Very interesting all around, and the groom’s eyes had to have widened by a lot when he came into the stall.
Steve, keep posting great stories like this. People want to read them. And what a horse Ack Ack was!
And Whittingham’s response to what Jim told him was classic!
I wll, Alan, Thank you
Thanks Steve, these are the stories I live for! So much more than the cold PP’s. Can’t wait for the next one!
Me too.
Thanks very much, Dale. That is very reassuring that the historcal columns are well received
What a backstory. I had heard my father talk about this horse and always loved his name. My father believed that the sunrise and set on Bill Shoemaker. It was fun to hear him and my uncle Ed Argue as to their favorite jockeys and who rode who and what might have happened of….. this and that. Had happened. I wonder if my Dad ever knew about the weed story. Classic!
Thanks Steve.
What a tale, Steve. As they say, you just can’t make this stuff up. But your gift to us is weaving all the threads into a fascinating tapestry. I was surprised to learn how small he was–given the name Ack Ack, I thought he’d be a big bruiser. Thanks for a most enjoyable read. I look forward to the next, and I plan to post each time I read one.
I appreciate that, thank you. I wll try to come up with more of the little known back stories
I love these strolls down Memory Lane! The 1970’s were the halcyon days of horse racing and I hope that racing fans take interest in these times and these great horses!
I hope so, Mike. Cougar was really flying at the end of that race. He sure telegraphed what was to come
Great story and writing, as always, Steve. Brings to mind a particular Racetrack morning back then… I rode our colt around behind the gate, waiting, in hopes of company for his first full breaking school. Before long, a smallish youngster showed up, and we both loaded. After our colts settled enough, the other rider and I each nodded to the starter. Bell clanging, the gates flew open, and we both got our mounts away clean. Now, I was on a decent enough colt. But within three strides, that other colt pulled away and opened so much ground, mine wasn’t even an also-ran.
“Dang,” I asked, after pulling up. “Who was that?”
The reply: “Ack Ack.”
That is great, Paula. Thank you. I remember people, including Allen Jerkens, saying that at Saratoga when a certain unknown dark bay 2-year-old broke out of the gate.
Steve, Thank you for this Ack Ack story which was just great. I still look for Include and Encaustic progeny who are running and follow them. The only tail hair I have is from Broad Brush!
Susan, don’t forget Mongoose!
Paula, are you the same Paula Turner of Baby Huey fame? If so, wow….I never saw Slew run, but he’s second only to Man o’War in my heart, and not far behind at all. Hope you and your family are doing well. I hope Billy is doing better…
What a nice treat! I loved your story. Keep them coming, please!
I’ve always loved your stories of our Great Ones as I call the horses of old. You always put so much feeling in them that make us feel like we were there with them at the time. A lot of these stories and the horses themselves I would not know about if not for you Steve. Please keep on writing them!!
Thank you very much, Rita. I appreciate you saying that. If others feel the way you do I will definitely keep writing them.
Unfortunately, Rita, other readers on here dont share your interest, so this will probably be a short-lived series. The comments on Facebook have been good, but I need to attract readers here and this one didnt work.
Steve, if I may ask, what are the metrics used for determining the attraction of readers? And where is “here” – is it the site or your blog?
Just using the comments, although I do understand lots of people read but didnt comment. I try to write these columns with diverse subjects, current and historical, to promote discussion and get people involved and give them a place to talk racing. So that is all I have to go by.
Steve, I hope you don’t mind if I make a few observations and suggestions to help accomplish your purpose? Take them or leave them on their own merits, but let me say that I do have training and experience as a programmer and computer software user interface designer, so these are not arising entirely from my perspective as a user.
1. As someone who very often reads on a small screen and without a real keyboard and mouse, I find it comparatively difficult to make comments on this site, relative to ease of using your previous employer’s site. So I am less likely to do so. This is because, to comment directly on your posting, I have to scroll down and locate the end of the prior comments, then type my name in one box and then move to another box and type my email address every single time. It would be easier if I could have an account so I can login for at least a day, if not more, and every time I comment when I am logged in the software automatically connects my comment with my account information and displays it.
Related, if I arrive at the commenting function by clicking on a reply, on a small screen it is very easy to detach my comment from the one I am replying to because a random touch near the label “Leave a Reply to [insert name]” may cause the detaching and I may not notice because the only indicator is the presence of the label “to [insert name]” and my “typing” with the tiny onscreen keyboard may cause the label to scroll up to where it is no longer visible.
If the comment box were just below your posting and above the comments, instead of at the end, it would make replying to your posting easier.
2. I recall your fairly recent discovery of the voting function supported by Disqus. Once a user is logged in to that system, it’s a very easy way to create visual evidence of one’s feelings about the comment that you voted on. The way Disqus works, it allows each user to go to their account to see all the replies made using the system to one’s own comments, no matter what page or site on which it was made, together with the votes the receive. The combination of the ease of taking action on this site – even wordlessly – together with the ability to see one’s interactional history supports the creation of an historical sense of community.
If this site could have at least some one-click function for people to visually communicate something about something they read here without typing, I think more of a sense of community could begin to be created, as well as more evidence of the existence of a community.
3. Already, the decision to permit more replies has allowed more extensive conversations, so thank you for that. I suspect the number of replies allowed is not the most important factor supporting some of the interpersonal nastiness evident elsewhere. NOT adopting Disqus wholesale probably provides the broadest protection.
Steve, I do hope you keep writing them. I haven’t been excited about horse racing since HAP was retired – it’s just hard for me to be hopeful at this point -so I haven’t been as up to date on your articles as I was before. There’s no one else like you in racing…..!
Great back story Steve, I was at Santa Anita that day. I watched the race from the Clubhouse. I refused to bet Ack Ack because he was 4/5. He was pretty sharp that season at Santa Anita so we all figured he would win the race. So maybe (ha ha) there is some medicinal quality to weed after all. This post does my heart good, I really appreciate that you took the time to write about one of our West Coast champions. I know you have written blogs before on west coast horses but this post was extra special to me.
Thank you very much
So happy you enjoyed it, Deacon. Thank you. Unfortunately, a lot of your equine heroes in California have gotten lost over the years. East and West have been like two different worlds, with different heroes, both equine and human.
Steve, would you write something about the history of the continental divide, if you haven’t already? Maybe including, or in addition, the north-south relationship?
Many posters on my Facebook pages seem to be excited over this new potential series of the wild and wacky stories behind the stories. But we’ll see what kind of response it gets. If enough people seem interested in it I will try to dig up more stories such as this.
I know one thing Steve, I love these stories. I think the problem may be that many past bloggers don’t know where you ended up. I am not sure how you reach these folks. Also due to job losses around the country & the Covid perhaps many folks
may feel isolated and alone, not feeling like getting involved with fun stuff like this.
All I know is that I am here and I am enjoying all of these old stories. 🙂
That’s very kind of you, Deacon. It’s good to know that. There have been several from the bloodhorse blog that have come over here. but obviously a lot have not. It’s two different types of websites. People go to Bloodhorse.com every day looking for news and they will often see a new blog there. Here, you have to come specifically looking for a new blog. There is no news to check up on. But that’s fine. I enjoy writing for those who have come here and on my Facebook pages. If it’s not near the volume we had at Bloodhorse so be it. It is to be expected.
Surly and possibly stoned, Ack Ack sleeps it off and wins. Great to read more of Mr. Haskin bringing history to life.
Thanks very much. I am hoping the historical columns prove popular, as they did for years on Bloodhorse. I guess the old potheads of the ’70s can relate to this story.
What a hoot! Thanks, Steve.
I already loved your stories of Broad Brush; Getting to know Ack Ack gives even more depth to their color.
Keep ‘em coming.
Thanks, I’m glad you remember the Broad Brush column. Now perhaps we know where he got his amazing toughness.
Steve, none of your work is forgettable. Your columns on Broad Brush were published during the long time period when I wasn’t following racing, so I am hugely appreciative of the archive that allows me to catch up. It’s not quite like being there, but it’s close enough. I got back on the bandwagon by way of Tiznow, so your columns on him, especially the one where you pull together stories of him, Broad Brush and FuPeg are warp and woof of my construction of memories of times that I didn’t experience in real life. Not ideal, but it’s what I’ve got. I doubt you missed it, but it was nice to see Now Tiz Time (Tiznow – Brush Hour/Broad Brush) graduate easily at Remington last week. He’s got potential and probably personality to burn.
ACK ACK was spectacular! Thanks for the great article. I had never heard a word about this – eating marijuana – but it does make for an interesting story!
Steve,
What an excellent article you wrote. No one could have captured it better.
Bill Hirsch
Thank you very much, Bill, and thanks for sharing it.
Can you imagine if he ate todays pot!! He probably would not only have won, but would have been so high he could have probably run backwards and watched himself doing it at the same time, lol. Seriously, what an incredible crop of horses that was. Would love to see you write about the really old timers from the 30s and 40s. Horses like Armed and Discovery. Those that paved the way for weight carriers like Ack Ack, Forego, etc., and most of todays generation may have no knowledge of.
What a great story. Fact is always greater then fiction. Jim must of been sweating bullets. I wonder how much Ack Ack actually ate. Back in 75 we had a dog that grabbed a kilo bag and ripped it apart. It was all over the place. The dog slept very soundly that night while we were vacuuming up the house! What a Night.