It was the late 1930s. The New York Yankees were unbeatable in the world of baseball. Boxing fans were watching the great Joe Louis punch his way into the record books. Just a few miles from Lexington, Kentucky bordering historic Keeneland race course, a horse by the name of Bull Lea was about to take center stage in what would soon become America’s most famous horse racing stable.
THE BEGINNINGS
In an odd twist Calumet had its roots in harness racing. When the original owner W. M. Wright passed away in 1932, his son Warren made the wisest decision of his life. He headed the farm into a new direction. He exchanged his father’s harness sulkies for a set of jockey silks that were about to become as famous in the horse racing universe as the New York Yankee’s pinstripes were to baseball fans. The devil’s red with blue hoop sleeved silks would carry Mr. Wright on a magic carpet ride that was to include no less than eight Kentucky derby winners.
BULL LEA
This was the gift that Warren Wright needed to make his dream come true. He purchased Bull Lea as a two-year-old in 1937. The Bull had a fine racing career, culminating with a score in the prestigious Widener Handicap at Hialeah in the winter of 1939. Then, it was back to Calumet. There, he began his second career. The breeder’s shed was Bull Lea’s new stomping grounds. This is the place where he planted the seeds that put Calumet on the map as the home of champions. His exploits in the Sultan’s Harem are legendary. He sired an astounding fifty- eight stakes winners. Included in this exclusive list are such greats as Armed, Coaltown and Two Lea. These were Horses of the Year and future Hall of Fame inductees. The list goes on and on. That being said, it is time to introduce today’s subject.
CITATION
Calumet’s long history of producing champions is well documented. Now it’s time to look back at the career of its masterpiece. It was the Spring of 1945. George Patton and his Third Army had just crossed the Rhine River and entered Nazi Germany. He had broken German resistance in the West. This was a headline being read across the world. Four thousand miles away in a stall at Calumet Farm, a bay (reddish brown) colored foal crafted by the Racing Gods was born. His breeding was impeccable. The rich blood of the great sire Bull Lea ran through his veins. On the Dam side, it was that of the World-renowned stallion Hyperion. The mixture of these two bloodlines had just produced the perfect thoroughbred specimen. With all the earmarks required for racetrack success, he wouldn’t take long to prove it.
UNLEASHING THE THUNDER
Citation’s career started where so many other top thoroughbreds strutted their stuff. On the northern shore of Maryland, he made his debut at storied Havre De Grace. There he easily took his first start. This guy was about to turn the racing world upside down. With his contracted rider Al Snider on board he breezed through his rookie season. In the fall of that year of 1947, he took America’s most important two-year-old event, the Belmont Futurity. Then he was headed south to add Pimlico’s Futurity to his growing resume. Add to that the Two-Year-Old Colt of the Year. Much was expected for 1948. Citation would not disappoint.
MYSTERY IN THE EVERGLADES
Citation embarked on his sophomore season at where else, Florida’s winter palace Hialeah Park. There he swept four straight races. Under a hand ride from his jockey Al Snider he culminated the run with an easy victory in the famed Flamingo Stakes. This was to be Al Snider’s swan song on his illustrious mount. Shortly after the race, Snider, his friend Tommy Trotter Sr, whose son by the same name would later become horse racing’s most well-known racing secretary, and another friend embarked on a fishing trip to the Everglades. They were last spotted in a small boat on the evening of March 4,1948. Eight days later the boat was found empty with no sign of distress. The three passengers were never found. There have been many rumors as to what may have happened. We can only surmise as to what occurred on that last night of Al Snider’s life.
EDDIE ARCARO
The hierarchy of Calumet were stunned. This was never expected. Wright and his ingenius trainer Ben Jones were in a predicament. There was only one way out. They called on “The Master,” the one and only Edward Arcaro to take the reins. He was then and still is universally considered the greatest race rider that ever lived. With all his God given talent, he was ready for the challenge ahead. His first start on Citation was back at Havre De Grace where it all began. In a shocking upset, Arcaro lost the race. He made no excuses. More important events were in his sights. Citation and Arcaro didn’t take long to get in synch. Two races and two easy wins found them on the way to Louisville and a date with destiny. The Kentucky Derby was a forgone conclusion. Arcaro with his steady hands got Citation home in a cake walk. In a grand gesture, Eddie showed the class befitting a King. He presented his share of the Derby prize money to the widow of Al Snider. Citation was off to Baltimore, where he cruised home in the Preakness. The Belmont Stakes was just as easy. He had nailed down the Triple Crown. There was more to come. Now it was time for a road show. Everywhere fans wanted to see the wonder horse in action. Warren Wright gave them what they asked. He won major races from one end of the country to the other. He thrilled crowds in New York. Then it was on to Chicago where he continued his winning ways. Tanforan, south of San Francisco on the historic El Camino Real got the last glimpse of him as a three-year-old. There he took that track’s main event, the Tanforan Handicap. Citation had now won fifteen races in a row. It did not come without a price. He came out of the race injured. The question every horse racing enthusiast was asking. Will he ever run again?
OUT OF THE WOODS AND THE LAST HURRAH
We will never know what a healthy Citation would have done as a four-year-old. We can only imagine. He sat out the entire 1949 Season. There were several attempts to race him. Each time a setback occurred. The calendar turned to 1950. Doug MacArthur came home from Korea with all the pomp reserved for an Emperor. The Philadelphia Phillies made headlines as they fought their way to the NL pennant, forever remembered as the “Whiz Kids”. At the elegant home of Warren Wright, Master of Calumet, plans were being made to unleash Citation for his final run to glory. Big Cy, as he was fondly called, was sent out to California. There he would finish his magnificent career. Citation never regained the form that had made him an icon of the sport. There was a rider change. Steve Brooks, one of the all-time greats, rode him throughout his last season. An Irish import by the name of Noor was about to go head to head with Citation in a series of races that defy the imagination. Five times they met on California racetracks. Noor was able to best Citation in four of them. The great Citation made Noor work for it. It took world’s records for Noor to beat him in two of those races. In the others track records fell like dominoes. Big Cy had gladly seen the last of Noor. World records were becoming the norm in races where Citation was entered. He got his when he set the mark for a mile in a blistering 1:33.3 at Golden Gate Fields that June. Citation came up lame after his last battle with Noor. 1950 was over for the Champ.
He was readied for 1951. This time it would be his last dance. Mr. Wright had one more thing to ask of his wonder horse. He wanted to see Citation become the first horse to win a million dollars in purse money. He did just that. On July 14, 1951 he was paraded onto the Hollywood Park Racetrack. The race, Hollywood’s most important event, The Gold Cup. Steve Brooks took him to the lead and never looked back. Citation was going out the same way he came in, a winner. He surpassed the million-dollar mark and was retired. He had showed guts and determination in his last seasons. Less than sound, he had pushed his foes to the outer limits when besting him. Eddie Arcaro’s great friend and mine, Tommy Roberts relayed this quote directly from “The Master.” In one of their many conversations he explained to Tommy, “Cy was like driving a car, he was one of those rare horses that could stop and start making his way around the track... Hard to do, but it kept them both out of trouble”. Citation’s legacy will never waiver. He stands in an exclusive Club that includes only two other members. Their names are Man O’ War and Secretariat.
