There was baseball, boxing and horse racing. At the turn of the 20th century they were the big three of American sports. And clearly the most favored of all was horse racing, particularly harness racing, and specifically, Dan Patch, a natural pacer (both right side legs move, followed by both legs on the left side).
No sports figure of that sport-happy time in America's brief history garnered more ink in the press or cash at the turnstile. Twice in his fabled career, Dan Patch drew crowds in excess of 100,000 at a reported one U.S. Dollar per head. His name appeared on everything from cut-plug tobacco cans and cigars to washing machines and pool cues.
He traveled in a custom built railcar with his picture appearing on both its sides, and, they say, its interior was lined in red velvet. The Jersey Lilly, the famous Lilly Langtry, came to meet him. President Eisenhower remembered seeing him at the Kansas State Fair in 1904 and as a boy, President to be, Harry Truman, sent him a fan letter. Dan Patch even had his own pet dog.
So dominating were his performances that often no horse would challenge him and he would pace against the clock. Dan Patch lost just two heats in his career and never lost a race. Fourteen times he broke world speed records and his official record for one mile stands at 1:55 1/4.
At the Minnesota State Fair in 1906 he scorched the track in 1:55 flat, an unofficial record which stood for thirty-two years until matched by Billy Direct in 1938. It was a four horse race with two of the contenders staying close to Dan, but video footage shows that both of these horses have broken and are galloping by the race's end. It was not until 1960 when Adios Butler paced a mile in 1:54 .3, that Dan Patch's unofficial record was broken.
The 111 year old video of the Minnesota State Fair race of 1906 follows. Imagine the times that Dan Patch might turn on today's modern tracks and using today's sophisticated equipment.
No sports figure of that sport-happy time in America's brief history garnered more ink in the press or cash at the turnstile. Twice in his fabled career, Dan Patch drew crowds in excess of 100,000 at a reported one U.S. Dollar per head. His name appeared on everything from cut-plug tobacco cans and cigars to washing machines and pool cues.
One of many products using the Dan Patch name.
He traveled in a custom built railcar with his picture appearing on both its sides, and, they say, its interior was lined in red velvet. The Jersey Lilly, the famous Lilly Langtry, came to meet him. President Eisenhower remembered seeing him at the Kansas State Fair in 1904 and as a boy, President to be, Harry Truman, sent him a fan letter. Dan Patch even had his own pet dog.
So dominating were his performances that often no horse would challenge him and he would pace against the clock. Dan Patch lost just two heats in his career and never lost a race. Fourteen times he broke world speed records and his official record for one mile stands at 1:55 1/4.
At the Minnesota State Fair in 1906 he scorched the track in 1:55 flat, an unofficial record which stood for thirty-two years until matched by Billy Direct in 1938. It was a four horse race with two of the contenders staying close to Dan, but video footage shows that both of these horses have broken and are galloping by the race's end. It was not until 1960 when Adios Butler paced a mile in 1:54 .3, that Dan Patch's unofficial record was broken.
The 111 year old video of the Minnesota State Fair race of 1906 follows. Imagine the times that Dan Patch might turn on today's modern tracks and using today's sophisticated equipment.
The following is a lovely tribute to Dan Patch.
As popular as harness racing had become, no horse approached the fame and popularity of Dan Patch. He had no peers and every other horse raced in his long shadow. They ran at county fairs and tracks in places that have long been forgotten. Their careers and lives were the definition of anonymity.
B.F. Wano was such a horse. Not much is known about him. He was a trotter (legs move on the diagonal: right front, left rear , etc.) and not a pacer. Like Dan Patch, Wano was a stallion and for that time, big for the breed at 15.3 hands, or just over five feet in height at the withers and weighing about 1100 pounds. He was powerfully built, muscular and well proportioned, with a short back and very straight legs. Across his form lay a lustrous, rich brown coat. Most assuredly all comparisons to Dan Patch end there.
The weather on September 21, 1906 at Fort Wayne, Indiana was undoubtedly fine as the average temperature for the month was 70.4 degrees, and it must have suited B.F. Wano, because in the third heat of the day he set a race record of 2:141/4. Or did he? According to a piece used to advertise his availability as a "sure foal getter," he did. But thanks to Paul Wilder at the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame in Goshen, New York, I learned that he tied the record and did not set it.
The race consisted of four heats with Wano finishing second in the first and second heats, and first in the third and fourth heats. His driver was obscure, someone named Morgan. For now this is all that is known about B, F. Wano, but on this one day in 1906 he ran his heart out (actually he trotted) and proved himself to all who watched.
His owner, W. H. Stults of Wren, Ohio, claimed in his advertising that B.F. Wano had trotted a mile in 2:10 and a half in 1:03. Who knows? Perhaps Stults engaged in a bit of advertising bombast so common in the early twentieth century when he said that, "in style and action he is perfect," and "his colts are large with fine style and action."
From the Wilshire (Ohio) Herald, May 5, 1904, "W.H. Stults and J.L. Moser were Wilshire vistiors Saturday afternoon. The latter is president and the former cashier of the Bank of Wren. They are both hustlers, and the leading financiers of their bailiwick." Hustlers? Mr. Stults later lived in Indiana where the trail ends - for now.
If anyone should know more about B.F. Wano or W.H. Stults please leave a comment.
If anyone should know more about B.F. Wano or W.H. Stults please leave a comment.
This article, in a slightly different form, appeared in the Horse Collaborative, now Horse Network.
Copyright 2015 by Loren R. Schumacher
Photo of B.F. Wano from the author's collection.
All other photos and videos belong to Getty Images or Youtube by unknown sources.
Copyright 2015 by Loren R. Schumacher
Photo of B.F. Wano from the author's collection.
All other photos and videos belong to Getty Images or Youtube by unknown sources.
