Ollie:

Finally got around to reading this. The events which were chronicled here took
place a little before I started following the game, but to show how much the game
has changed, note that Haskin comments that Prove Out had problem ankles and was
limited to making "only" 27 lifetime starts by the time he was halfway through
his 4YO season.

Today a 4YO with 27 lifetime starts would have to be considered an iron horse of
sorts.

Besides all the wonderful success the Chief had over the years, many New York
horseplayers will remember his unorthodox workouts (was not uncommon to see HAJ
horses work very briskly on the morning of the race, or some of his crack
sprinters work three eighths in 32 seconds and change) and that he had no
reluctance to use obscure riders (Noel Wynter a personal favorite of mine); I
also seem to recall that the Chief gave a lot of business to Robyn Smith (aka Mrs
Fred Astaire) at a time when female riders had not yet been fully accepted.

The Chief was also known for organizing and playing in rough football games with
some of his help, and I also came to learn that he had no problem hiring
backstretch castoffs and characters, and tolerated their idiosyncrasies so long
as they were dedicated to the horses in their care.

The article also mentions King Ranch. When I first began going to Belmont, in the
mid 1970s, my friends pointed out to me a splendidly dressed older woman who did
not look like she fit among the first floor grandstand riff raff; my friends
explained that this was the "King Ranch" lady, the owner of the famous Texas
spread and obviously very wealthy, who apparently enjoyed pushing four or five
dollars through the windows each race.

As to Prove Out, not many horses beat both Forego and Secretariat.