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Does anyone know of any racehorses that could put thosands of racegoers just by turning up to race? Was it true that wherever Desert Orchid ran his appearence would put thousands of people on the gate just by turning up? I have seen a youtube clip of dessie winning the 1989 Victor Chandler Chase and what struck me was the massive roar of the crowd at Ascot that day. There must of been tens of thousends of people most of whom came just to see dessie. I wonder if that was the same everywhere else when desert orchid turned up? Even had he ran on the all-weather at Wolverhampton it would have put a few hundred more on the crowd then usual. What other horse could put bums on seats?
Does anyone know of any racehorses that could put thosands of racegoers just by turning up to race?
Quixall Crossett. Next question!
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Quixall Crossett. Next question!
gc
seconded and Jeremy & I were always part of the madding crowd!
To be honest most decent horses will add to the crowds to a greater or lesser extent.
Certainly horses like Dessie and Red Rum had a huge impact on crowds.
I remember being at Towcester in February 1997, where they had the biggest crowd I have ever seen there and that was down to one of the best races ever staged at the course. It was only a three runner race but it featured Collier Bay and Relkeel, with the latter making a return to the racecourse after a two year absence. The majority of racegoers were there just to see these two and especially Relkeel. The fairytale result would have been for Relkeel to win but he was narrowly beaten with, im my view, the combination of the Towcester hill and two year absence being the deciding factor. Relkeel got his revenge later that year by winning the Bula, with the odds on fav Pridwell splitting him and Collier Bay.
"quixallcrossett":368o8565 wrote: Quixall Crossett. Next question!
gc
seconded and Jeremy & I were always part of the madding crowd!
Cregg Rose was underated though QC
who was it that trained Nick the Brief – was it Robert Alner [?] who complained because there used to be kids standing by the fences waving flags and things when Dessie sailed past…..one of the only times that I went to a racecourse was to see Roll a Joint because I was curious to see what his owners looked like [expected a load of hippies]. What does draw me to a racecourse is to see famous old horses parading before the racing; love to see them at Cheltenham and the first thing I do is to go to the pre parade ring to see which old stars are in the stables to the left.
Not many horses can put a significant amount on the gate. In my time, probably only Arkle and Desert Orchid were big crowd pullers, although Red Rum and Mill House did ok in this respect. I can’t think of a flat racer who’s been a real success in this department.
Abroad, Phar Lap and Seabiscuit really pulled them in during the Depression years, John Henry was a big draw in the 1980s and more recently, Silent Witness attracted a fanatical following in Hong Kong. The mega-horse Niatross, New York Post’s Athlete Of The Year in 1980, embarked on a 20 city tour in 1996 at the age of 19.
Think it was John Upson who trained Nick The Brief.
Manhattan Boy used to put several hundred on the gate at Plumpton whenever he ran there.
Manhattan Boy used to put several hundred on the gate at Plumpton whenever he ran there.
I expect Whippers Delight must have done as well.
I wonder what the likes of New Perk, Cool Roxy, Perroquet, Prince Carlton etc etc did for Fakenham’s gates over the years.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
Venusian I think covered it completely. Before any of our times Golden Miller must have had a huge following
"ARKLE" had a bigger fan club than Robbie Williams
You could send him a Christmas Card and just write Arkle Irleland on the envelope and it would get there. Which was quite a thing back then.
Post cards get well soon cards xmas cards flooded in from all over the world. Some had no address just one word "Himself" written on them.
You can imagine what is was like on race days. Packed out stands for a horse that was 1/10 and unbackable just to get a glimps of him. Tv rating also went through the roof when he ran.
Probabaly the only horse my Mother ever heard of and can remember my Dad putting off a family trip until the Sunday because he was running and me and my siters wanted to watch him on TV. Even my Dad knew the horse and loved to watch him and he never had a bet in his life.
Had a friend with 2 dogs he called them Arkle and Millhouse
Among the Irish Danoli apparantly had a huge following but they would use any excuse for a p’ss up
A crowd of over 124,000 turned out to see Smarty Jones’s attempt to win the Triple Crown at Belmont in 2004.
The record Belmont attendance prior to 2002 was 85,000.
103,000 turned out in dreadful conditions to see Funny Cide at Belmont in 2003 and a year or so later the combination of Funny Cide and a Sunday giveaway saw Saratoga getting a record crowd.
Cigar also pulled the crowds in in 1996, after the World Cup, as he was heading towards the all-time US winning streak and pulled the crowds in at the match race at Arlington and when he was finally defeated at Del Mar by Dare and Go.
Both Cigar and Smarty Jones had the ability to draw fans to the track early in the morning. I believe that one early morning in Saratoga in 1996 early morning works were watched by over 10,000 and a huge crowd turned out at Philadephia Park on the Saturday morning between the Derby and Preakness to see Smarty Jones
Exeter was a special day when Best Mate was there.They even made a special race just for him
R.I.P to the Best
Kingston Town, Sunline, Lonhro and Northerly always drew a big crowd in Australia in recent years and Hong Kong was always guaranteed an extra 30,000 when Silent Witness ran.
certainly red rum, desert orchid and arkle
persian punch,best mate, istabraq, florida pearl, beef or salmon, moscow flyer
lisa
Arkle was considered a superstar in his day; crowds flocked to see ‘himself’ whenever and wherever he raced.
Nijinsky was another major draw who captured the public’s imagination. Before his "Arc" defeat, the press hailed him as "the horse of the century."
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