John Henry (horse)

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John Henry
John Henry by Steve Haskin
Sire:	Ole Bob Bowers
Grandsire:	Prince Blessed
Dam:	Once Double
Damsire:	Double Jay
Sex:	Gelding
Foaled:	1975
Country:	USA (Kentucky)
Colour:	Brown
Breeder:	Golden Chance Farm
Owner:	Dotsam Stable
Trainer:	Ron McAnally
Record:	83: 39-15-9
Earnings:	$6,591,860
Major Racing Wins & Honours & Awards
Major Racing Wins
Santa Anita Handicap (1981 & 1982) Arlington Million (1981 & 1984) Jockey Club Gold Cup (1981) Turf Classic Invitational (1984) Oak Tree Turf Championship (1980, 1981, 1982) Hollywood Invitational Handicap (1980, 1981, 1984) San Luis Rey Handicap (1980, 1981)
Racing Awards
U.S. Champion Older Male Horse (1981) U.S. Champion Turf Horse (1980, 1981, 1983, 1984) United States Horse of the Year (1981 & 1984)
Honours
U.S. Racing Hall of Fame (1990) #23 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century Statue at Arlington Park
Infobox last updated on: September 17, 2006.

John Henry, born in 1975, is an American Thoroughbred race horse named after the folk hero John Henry. As a youngster, the equine John Henry had a habit of tearing steel water and feed buckets off stall walls and stomping them flat. This reminded his then-owners of the legendary John Henry, who was known as a "steel-drivin' man". He was gelded both for his orneriness^[1] as well as his lack of breeding. A Golden Chance Farm foal, John Henry was from breeding that might best be described as plebeian. His sire, Ole Bob Bowers, once sold for just $900 and was not in much demand by breeders. His dam, Once Double, was an undistinguished runner and producer, but was sired by Double Jay, a brilliantly fast graded stakes race winner who had proven to be a useful broodmare sire.

John Henry was sold as a yearling for $1,100 at the Keeneland January Mixed sale to Jean Calloway who is credited with giving John Henry his name. Besides being back at the knee (a flaw in conformation that generally makes a long racing career unlikely), undersized, and plainly bred, John Henry had bashed his head in his stall just before being led to the ring, bloodying his face. Needless to say, he was not an attractive prospect. From there, he was shuffled around through a series trainers, making his mark as a workmanlike racehorse who earned money in minor stakes, allowance races, and mid-level claiming races. One such allowance race took place at Saratoga Race Course on August 8, 1978. The race is of note in that John Henry finished behind Darby Creek Road who won in a track record time of 1:20 2/5 for 7 furlongs. Also of note was the fact that unknown to all attending that day, the race card featured two future Hall of Fame horses. At that point, John Henry was a nobody, but later on the card the great Affirmed scored a heart stopping victory in the Jim Dandy Stakes over the speedy Sensitive Prince.

1 Going to California
2 Growing Old in Style
3 John Henry's accomplishments
4 See also
5 Footnotes
6 References

[edit] Going to California

In 1979, John Henry was sent to the trainer Ron McAnally in California. (McAnally learned the trade under his uncle, Reggie Cornell, the trainer of Silky Sullivan.) Whether it was the hall-of-famer McAnally's handling of him, the change of scene from the east coast to the tracks in California, or just late maturing cannot be determined; but it was at this point that the small, plain, dark bay or brown gelding started hitting his stride. John Henry won 26 of 39 starts with Ron McAnally.

Racing through the age of 9, John Henry became a force to be reckoned with in the handicap and turf stakes races of the time. He twice won the Santa Anita Handicap (once by disqualification) and twice won the Arlington Million Stakes. His final race record stood at 83 starts, 39 wins, 15 seconds, and 9 thirds with $6,497,947 in earnings. He was twice voted the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year.

There's a bronze statue called "Against All Odds" created by Edwin Bugucki that stands on a balcony overlooking the paddock at Arlington Park. It commemorates one of John Henry's most thrilling, as well as his most controversial, finishes. It was the inaugural Arlington Million and two horses, John and an Irish 5 year-old named The Bart, came sweeping home almost as one horse. Virtually everyone watching, including the racing judges, was sure The Bart had beaten a charging John Henry who was closing relentlessly, sure that the finish line would come too soon for John to catch up. Everyone was wrong. John won, not by a nose, but a lip.

[edit] Growing Old in Style

John Henry's brass nameplate

John Henry's owner, Sam Rubin, sent the gelded horse to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington to live^[2] in the Hall of Champions barn with other retired champions like Cigar and Da Hoss. In the annals of racing, John Henry earned his place of greatness through toughness, tenacity and hard work rather than intrinsic brilliance.

John Henry had many quirks that endeared him to his followers, not the least of which was the habit of turning towards the tote board after a victory as if checking the time of the race, or possibly the payoff. Regular rider Chris McCarron often described him as very smart, commenting: "I'm just along for the ride." McAnally also attributed his career to his soundness, noting him to step over rocks on the way to his morning exercise. John Henry also once was determined to get to the winner's circle after losing a race, dragging his groom to get there.

John Henry, in the view of many followers of thoroughbred racing, was one of the best come-from-behind horses (or "closers") in recent history. The only other horse comparable was aforementioned Silky Sullivan. In The Blood-Horse ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, John Henry was ranked #23.

John Henry is one of the longest lived race horses ever, currently 32 years old. Race horses commonly live 15-20 years, a few reach 25, but very few reach 30.

On March 9, 2007, he turned 32. [[1]]

John Henry was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York in 1990.

[edit] John Henry's accomplishments

Voted 7 Eclipse Awards
Voted Horse of the Year 1981 and 1984
Won Horse of the Year more than once, but not in consecutive years
Voted Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse 1981

Oldest horse to win Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year - at age 9
Oldest horse to win a Grade 1 race - at age 9
Voted Eclipse Award for Outstanding Male Turf Horse - 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984
Won 30 stakes races
Only horse to win the Arlington Million (G1) twice - 1981 & 1984
One of only two horses to win the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) twice - 1981 & 1982
Won more grade stakes than any other Thoroughbred - 25
Voted racehorse of the decade for the 1980's
Still the richest gelding of any breed in history
Retired as the world's richest thoroughbred - July 28, 1985
Inducted into National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1990
Ranked #23 in the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century

[edit] See also

Repeat winners of horse races

[edit] Footnotes

^ Equus Magazine once sent a psychic to "commune" with John Henry. According to the psychic, John Henry who was a fractious colt, once saw another unmanageble colt killed in a nearby stall. This taught John Henry a valuable lesson. He was supposed to have said, "We have no real choices but one path to follow—pleasing humans. The only real win we have is our own survival."
^ No doubt because he was an unbreedable gelding, but also because he wasn't "nice." On more than one occasion, John Henry bit his owner, or anyone else within reach.