Old Rosebud

[Calzone Lord]

I've called this horse: "the most remarkable North American thoroughbred racer of all-time"

Perhaps even further adding to his remarkably -- he won the 1914 Kentucky Derby in the final time of 2:03 2/5ths. One-fifth of a second faster than the winning time this year.

What's more, the Churchill Downs surface was widely predicted to be slow for the 1914 Derby. This was the DRF Headline the morning of the race:





Only one other route race was carded that year. It was a claiming race won by a 6-year-old gelding named Rash:




Rash got 8.5 furlongs in 1:47 3/5ths. It was his fourth win in his last five starts. His final time translates to a raw figure 40 points slower than Old Rosebud's Derby time.

The two six furlong races on that Derby card went in: 1:14 flat and 1:13 2/5ths. In fact, the six furlong track record at the time was 1:11 flat. By comparison, on this years Derby card, the AC Avila maiden Masochist went 1:08.85 for six furlongs.

Anyway, it's pretty astonishing that a 1914 Derby winner owns a faster final time than a 2014 Derby winner.


Here's a link to an article I did on Old Rosebud earlier this year. He's truly an all-time great with an unbelievable story:

http://www.horseracingnation.com/blo...Years_Ago_123#