A Look Back to 1959 (06/24/10)

Posted Thursday, June 24, 2010

                                                        By Mike Paradise

  This is another in a new weekly feature exclusively on www.harnessillinois.com. Every week I’ll post a least one “Looking Back feature. Mostly they’ll be
 of the great horses who have competed in our state through the years. At times they’ll be pictures from the winner’s circle, special celebrations, and in some cases old memorable race track scenes. Some of these photos haven’t been printed or posted in decades . . . others have never been printed at all.
  
  Just by right clicking your computer mouse, going to “Save Picture As”, you can make your own jpeg copy of any Looking Back photo posted. You can e-mail them and share with a friend or maybe start your own computer file of “Looking Back” memories.        

 
                                               Looking Back

                                             SPORTSMAN’S PARK OPENS IN 1959

    This was the scene some 61 years ago as workers put the finishing touches to the Sportsman’s Park Clubhouse entrance for the start of the 1959 summer harness meeting.

  That year the great Illinois bred Bye Bye Byrd became the fastest pacer in the track’s history in the inaugural American National Maturity Pace on July 17 with a 1:58.2 clocking, also a world record for a five-eights oval with Clint Hodgins at his lines who received a $1,000 reward for being the first driver in the 14-year-old history of the Cicero, Illinois track to guide a horse under the coveted two-minute mile barrier.

  Other American National champions that year included Senator Frost in the initial Maturity Trot for four-year-olds and up in 2:01 and Knight Time and Samson Direct who exchanged victories in heats of the 2-year-old pace.

   In 1959 Sportsman’s Park’s racing secretary was a young Stan Bernstein who would go on to become one of the most distinguished figures nationally in our sports’ history  That summer’s leading driver was its defending champion Del Insko.

  And it was the year when the Chicago White Sox ended a 40 year drought and captured their first American League pennant since 1919.

   To view Archived Notes and Quotes click here.      

                     County Fair Report
 

  The opening program of the Perry County Fair at Pinckneyville was raced on an “off” track when six Egyptian Colt Stakes champions were crowned . . . Johnny Rice’s Fox Valley Dublin won for the third time on the fair circuit in four career starts in the opener, coming from last to first in the last half mile for driver Terry Skinner in 2:11.3 mile on a surface listed “good.” The filly's next start will be Sunday night at Balmoral . . .Freddie Patton Jr. drove the first of his two ECS winners in the second event when Fox Valley B rand proved best by 5 1 /2 lengths in 2:13.2, the first of two winners for trainer Willie Jones. His freshman Bc’s Perfect Adam took the second two-year-old trot division in the youngster’s career debut . . . Patton also brought home the first freshman colt trot champion Sh’s Snap Shot in that horse’s initial start through a disqualification . . . Another winner in her career bow was Tickle Me Grace who blew away her Egyptian Colt Stakes field by almost 20 lengths with driver Ronnie Gillespie in the first freshman filly trot. The second went to Vertis Wilson’s Remi More (Lamarquis Cheatham), in another 20-length romp.

PERRY COUNTY FAIR at PINCKNEYVILLE

Tuesday, June 22 Results

FIRST: ECS 2-Year-Old Filly Pace, Purse $1,937:
Winner (Driver)   Time
Fox Valley Dublin (Terry Skinner)  2:11.3
Trainer: Johnny Rice. Owner: Johnny Rice.

SECOND: ECS 2-Year-Old Colt Pace, Purse $1,837:
Fox Valley Strand (Freddie Patton Jr.) 2:13.3
Trainer: Willie Jones. Owner: Charles Arthur.

THIRD: ECS 2-Year-Old Filly Trot, 1st Div, Purse $948:
Tickle Me Grace (Ronnie Gillespie)  2:19.4
Trainer: Roshun Trigg. Owner: Ronald Knupp.

FOURTH: ECS 2-Year-Old Filly Trot, 2nd Div, Purse $948:
Remi More (Lamaquis Cheatham)  2:23.2
Trainer: Vertis Wilson. Owner: Vertis Wilson.

FIFTH: ECS 2-Year-Old Colt Trot, 1st Div, Purse $983:
Sh’s Snap Shot (Freddie Patton, Jr.)  2:25.1
Trainer: Freddie Patton Jr. Owners: Ron Phillips, John Carver and Jesse Ferge.

SIXTH: ECS 2-Year-Old Colt Trot, 1st Div, Purse $983:
Bc’s Perfect Adam (Willie Jones)  2:23.4
Trainer: Willie Jones. Owner:  Willie Jones.

SEVENTH: Maidens, Pace, 1st Div, Purse $600:
Grannie Nannie (Tannor Spittier)  2:18.3
Trainer: Tannor Spittier. Owner: Tannor Spittier.

EIGHTH: Maidens, Pace, 1st Div, Purse $600:
Lilwobbydobby (Ronnie Gillespie)  2:12.4
Trainer: Rushun Trigg. Owner: World Class Racing.