Kentucky Derby Champions of the 1960s
Northern Dancer and Majestic Prince Led Decade of Talent
Apr 14, 2009
In 1964 and again in 1969, jockey Bill Hartack won Kentucky Derby competitions by a mere neck of his mounts, Northern Dancer and Majestic Prince, respectively. Northern Dancer's pedigree was to die for on both sides of his house, while Majestic Prince's ancestry was almost as good, particularly on his sire's side.
Trainers or Pedigrees to The Derby Winner's Circle?
Before those well-pedigreed champions raced, along came little Carry Back of such humble breeding that he was dismissed by most horsemen as too plain to even be on the same level as his 1961 Derby competition.
Although Carry Back's great grandsire was Equipoise, and his dams traced to the English stallion Blenheim II, his sire, Saggy, was little accomplished. Carry Back was out of the unnoticed mare, Joppy.
There are those horsemen, however, that believe the handling of a Thoroughbred is the key to success. How did Tom Smith get the Man o' War grandson, but claiming loser Seabiscuit to become a champion? What was H. Allen Jerkens magic in getting Misty Day consistently to the wire first after others had thrown in the towel on her chances to strut in the winner's circle?
Hirsch Jacobs believed training was all. Treating a horse like a million dollar winner increases the horse's chances of becoming a high purse winner, was Jacobs' philosophy. By using this strategy, Jacobs got the maximum out of a Thoroughbred named Stymie, who went to post a record 135 times. Stymie finished on the board in 96 of his starts.
Jack Price, trainer of Carry Back, believed treating a cheap horse cheaply resulted in the horse running cheaply. While breeding brings potential to a foal, considered and patient conditioning is the added ingredient that can bring exceptional success, Price insisted. He took Carry Back to the 1961 Derby's finish line with $492,368 already in the lowly-bred colt's bankroll.
1960s Kentucky Derby Winners
- 1960 --- Venetian Way ----- trainer, Victor Sovinski --- jockey, Bill Hartack
- 1961 --- Carry Back ----- Jack Price --- Johnny Sellers
- 1962 --- Decidedly ----- Horatio Luro --- Bill Hartack
- 1963 --- Chateaugay ----- J.P. Conway --- Braulio Baeza
- 1964 --- Northern Dancer ----- Horatio Luro --- Bill Hartack
- 1965 --- Lucky Debonari ----- Frank Catrone --- Willie Shoemaker
- 1966 --- Kauai King ----- Henry Forrest --- Don Brumfield
- 1967 --- Proud Clarion ----- Lloyd "Boo" Gentry --- Bobby Ussery
- 1968 --- Forward Pass ----- Lou Cavalaris --- Bobby Ussery
- 1969 --- Majestic Prince ----- John Longden --- Bill Hartack
Tales From the 1960s Kentucky Derby Titles
In 1969, jockey Bill Hartack won his fifth Derby title with his victory aboard Majestic Prince. Trainer John Longden had also won a Derby as a jockey on Count Fleet in 1943. Longden is the only man to achieve two such wins.
Forward Pass is the only Derby winner to not have actually won the race. In 1968, he was awarded first place after victor Dancer's Image was disqualified because he post-tested positive for phenylbutazone, an illegal painkiller.
In 1963, owner John W. Galbreath attached two wishbones to Chateaugay's tack because he had studied Derby lore, and he was convinced that dreams, schemes and voodoo were alive and well in horse racing.
(Breeding Resource: Ainslie's Complete Guide to Thoroughbred Racing, 1968, by Tom Ainslie, Chapter Four, "The Mystery of Breeding".)
