Book Review: Black Gold Reminds Us Why We Breed, Race, and Dream

It was an era of controversial stewards' calls, late money affecting the odds before the break, and tracks facing increasing financial pressure from government.

It was a time when criticism of short field sizes was rampant, breeding operations continued to take risks on untested sires, and when sugar horses–those who didn't run often in order to preserve their stamina–were seemingly everywhere.

If that wasn't enough, the age witnessed the rise of the Kentucky Derby as an increasingly highly commercialized party, as debates raged over when Pimlico's Preakness Stakes should run.

The year wasn't 2023; it was hundred years prior in 1923. The more things change, the more…check.

To the historically driven, it's not anachronistic to find significant pieces of the past spurning the trash heap of history. Instead, they are resting comfortably on a tuffet and teed-up nicely for all of us in the present to witness, if we are willing to listen.

That is precisely what author Avalyn Hunter's new book, Dream Derby: The Myth and Legend of Black Gold, just out from the University Press of Kentucky's Horses In History Series, does as it takes in the larger events surrounding a colt named Black Gold, his dam Useeit and their owner Rosa Hoots. This is a monograph with a complex story around their march to what was then the 50th Kentucky Derby in 1924.

Chances are you've read Marguerite Henry's famous children's book, illustrated by Dennis Wesley, about the little black colt that could. First published in 1957, it went through numerous printings, but Hunter is not looking to supplant the plucky images that were created over the generations. For her, the story behind the legend isn't just one dusty fact after another.

Dream Derby is a splendid prism in which to view key American events leading up to and after World War I, as the nation spun into the turn of the Roaring '20s. We learn that horse racing's roads in North America were traveled regularly by dreamers seeking the winner's circle prizes from Mexico to Canada and everywhere in between.

Central to the plot is Black Gold's owner, Rosa Hoots. Raised in the ways of the Osage people in Oklahoma, she was a shrewd businesswoman in Tulsa at the time. Her husband passed away and left her Useeit, along with the prophecy that she would produce a Derby winner. She did send her mare to Kentucky and the resulting colt, named Black Gold, was a reference to the booming oil deposits that many of the Osage discovered after moving to reservation land.

Colby Hernandez lays the ceremonial wreath at Black Gold's grave after his win this year's Black Gold S. at Fair Grounds | Hodges Photography

Not only does Hunter do an excellent job explaining the complexities of racial discrimination associated with the subject of David Grann's 2017 bestseller Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (which is a major motion picture from Martin Scorsese this fall), but she also examines the impact of the Tulsa race riots of 1921. She ably helps us to understand the world that Hoots inhabited and despite advances for women in categories like suffrage, it didn't mean the road was clear. As a horsewoman and not from the Eastern establishment, Black Gold's owner entered a world that is still dominated by men to this day.

The supporting cast is just as intriguing and chock full of characters worth mentioning. We find the hard-drinking trainer, Hanley Webb, who believed that cutting a hole in the stall next to his charge was essential, so he could use it as both an office and a bedroom to sleep as close as possible to his horse. There's 20-something jockey J.D. Mooney, who scratched and clawed his way back into Webb's good graces in order to pilot the best horse he ever rode. Who can forget Colonel Edward Riley Bradley? The founder of Idle Hour Stock Farm, Bradley's timely appearance in New Orleans after a Useeit victory brought the Hoots's mare to breed with his little-known sire Black Toney.

Also figuring prominently is the story of Churchill Downs's tipping point and the role played by Matt Winn. Hunter makes no bones about the integral role played by him. The Derby nearly perished into regional obscurity before his arrival in the early 20th century, and how different would everything be if that major cultural event never happened? Winn's savvy bookkeeping and courting of everyone from the racing press to the Eastern powerhouse breeders kept Churchill from going down–their pun at that time, not mine.

With the path to the 150th Derby upon us, reflection on what this sport meant then and what it means to us today can be grounding. The case of Black Gold and his rise to fame is just as alive today as it was then. In times like these, nothing like a reason to breed, race and dream.

Dream Derby: The Myth and Legend of Black Gold by University Press of Kentucky, 221 pages, September 2023.

The post Book Review: Black Gold Reminds Us Why We Breed, Race, and Dream appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

TIF Lauds Keeneland For Proactively Addressing Late Odds Shift

Keeneland didn't just offer customers free programs and past performances over their recently concluded five-day summer meet, they made a highly unusual announcement on Saturday morning.

After customer complaints on Friday afternoon, Keeneland explained a late odds change from the previous day's races, assuring the public the bets were appropriately time-stamped before betting was closed.

It's a tiny, first step for an industry which has too often left the majority of its customers behind, promoting the access of a few massive wagering syndicates above the experiences of the general public.

The field for Keeneland's sixth race on Friday jumped from the stalls and #3 Early Mischief was 10-1. While it doesn't happen often, the odds for the race were still on the screen as the field broke away. The next time the odds appeared on the screen, after the race was finished and Keeneland was showing a head-on replay of the start of the race, Early Mischief was listed at 5-1.

Those who bet the race, bet racing in general or simply observed the incident, commented negatively on the situation via social media in its aftermath. Incidents such as these occur with regularity across the sport, often leading to substantial frustration from customers and, in general, silence from racetracks and bet-takers.

Needless to say, concerned customers could have a variety of questions.

Was the bet entered after the race started and Early Mischief ended up on the lead?

Why does it take the tote system so long to update?

Is there anything nefarious involved here?

These are all fair questions. Customers ask these questions because incidents like the one at Keeneland occur with regularity across North American racing. Day in and day out.

Much to their credit, Keeneland did publish a statement on Saturday morning following the Early Mischief odds shift:

“In Keeneland's 6th race on Friday, there was a significant late odds shift on the winner, Early Mischief (3). Upon request from Keeneland, the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau analyzed the wagering records. During the last cycle, 26 percent of the win pool was received ($61,000). Of this amount, $16,000 was wagered on the 3 horse, dropping his odds from 10-1 to 5-1.

“Upon examination, several large win wagers were placed on the 3 horse just prior to post and those were reflected as horses left the gate. Keeneland refreshes win odds every 10 seconds to give the customer as accurate a picture as possible.

“All wagers were time stamped properly and were placed prior to the start of the race.”

CLICK HERE to read more on Keeneland's announcement…

The post TIF Lauds Keeneland For Proactively Addressing Late Odds Shift appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights