Horse of the Year

When the shiny horn tootled First Call, only three thoroughbreds trotted to the post: that sprinting fool, Bold Ruler, back in shape after a bout with heart trouble; the handsome bay, Round Table, riding high on an eleven-straight winning string; and the controversial colt, Gallant Man, who lost the Derby by a dirty nose. Between them they had already earned nearly $1,500,000; now they were after a piddling $82,350. But the money didn't matter. The winner of last week's race at New Jersey's Garden State track would be America's Horse of the Year.

Bold Ruler broke on top. But everyone knew he had early foot. He also had Jockey Eddie Arcaro, a race-riding wizard with enough magic to boost a bag of bones out of the starting gate ahead of Man o' War. The big question: Could the Ruler run for a mile and a quarter? Jockey Arcaro never had to ask. Rounding the final turn, his mount had so much left that it hardly seemed like a horse race. Bold Ruler won in a breeze, 2 1/4 lengths in front of Gallant Man, 10 1/4 ahead of Round Table. Proud Eddie rubbed it in: "He's better right now than he ever was."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.