Dan Patch
Dan Patch was a noted American Standardbred pacer. At a time when harness racing was one of the largest sports in the nation, Dan Patch was a major celebrity. He was undefeated in open competition, and was so dominant on the racetrack that other owners eventually refused to enter their horses against him. Instead, he ended his racing career performing time trials, and traveled extensively on exhibition, earning millions of dollars in purses, attendance gate receipts, and product endorsements. Dan Patch broke world speed records at least 14 times in the early 1900s. In 1905, he set a world's record for the fastest mile by a harness horse that stood unmatched for over 30 years. Unofficially, Dan Patch broke this record in 1906 with a clocking of 1:55. He died on July 11, 1916. His owner, Marion Willis Savage, died just one day later.
Dan Patch was inducted into the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in 1953 and the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2019.
Background
Dan Patch was a mahogany bay Standardbred stallion bred by Daniel Messner Jr., a prosperous dry goods merchant from Oxford, Indiana. In late 1894, Messner purchased a three-year-old filly named Zelica for $255, planning to use her as a driving horse. Zelica had gone lame in her only start and was later estimated to be worth under $100 at the time. In 1895, Messner paid a $150 stud fee to breed her to Joe Patchen, a top-quality racehorse, but untried as a sire. The resulting colt was foaled on April 29, 1896, at the livery stable in Oxford. His legs were so crooked that he could not at first stand on his own, leading many of the locals to call him "Messner's Folly". Some even suggested he be put down. Instead, Messner and his friends held the colt so he could ingest the colostrum from Zelica. The foal's legs gradually grew straighter, although he still had crooked hocks, especially on his left hind leg. The colt developed an alert, cheerful personality and was noted for his intelligence.In 1897, Messner applied to the American Trotting Association for the name Dan Patchen, based on his own first name and the last name of the colt's sire, with Dan P. as an alternative. Both names were taken, so the Trotting Association assigned a similar name, Dan Patch.
Zelica continued to be used as a driving horse with her colt running freely alongside until he was weaned around five or six months. At first, the young horse showed little promise. "The only redeemable feature about the little fellow was that he was friendly and cute," recalled Messner. "I honestly thought the colt's future would be confined to hauling a delivery wagon." However, a close friend named John Wattles, the owner of the livery stable in which Dan Patch was foaled, saw potential in the colt. Wattles received permission from Messner to train Dan Patch and gradually developed the horse's abilities. By late 1898, Messner was able to use Dan Patch as his driving horse, since Zelica was again in foal, and even hooked the horse up to his sleigh over the winter. The locals were increasingly impressed by the almost black colt, who loved to move fast, but was biddable enough to pull young boys behind him on the sleigh.
At maturity, Dan Patch stood tall at the withers and weighed a "hefty" 1,165 pounds. His hindquarters were notably higher than his front. He had a short body and long legs, a combination that would have been problematic for a trotter, as the hind legs would have risked striking the front leg in full stride. As a pacer, the risk of firing is nonexistent, as the front and hind legs on a given side move back and forth together. However, because of the crooked hock on his left hind, Dan Patch would initially "cross fire", meaning his left hind leg would sometimes hit his right fore. A special horseshoe was used on his left hind to stabilize the leg, resulting in a smooth, rhythmical stride. The left leg would still sometimes "paddle" wide though, striking the wheel of the training cart. Wattles resolved this problem by designing a wider sulky.
Ownership
Messner was the owner of a dry-goods store in Oxford and traveled extensively as a buyer of clothing and fabrics and other items for his growing business. During these trips, he frequently went to the harness races and probably made small bets with his friends. Despite his long-standing interest in the sport, Zelica was the first horse he ever owned.In 1902, Messner sold Dan Patch to Manley E. Sturges of New York, for a record $20,000. Sturges first became interested in Dan Patch in 1901 when he placed a large bet on the horse in a race at Brighton Beach. Sturges was the part owner and operator of an illegal, but highly profitable, casino in Manhattan, the Victoria Club. Although the casino was frequently raided, Sturges was never arrested and maintained a low profile. He made his first offer for Dan Patch in the summer of 1901, and was finally successful in February 1902. At that time, Messner cited many reasons for the sale, including the record price and the pressure of running his store. Years later, however, Messner said that he had felt threatened by Sturges. A two-year-old daughter of Dan Patch died suddenly in February 1902, apparently from poisoning, and Messner believed that Sturges was responsible.
In turn, Sturges sold Dan Patch in December 1902 to Marion Willis Savage, a resident of Hamilton Minnesota, for the then unheard of price of $60,000. Savage was the owner of the International Stock Food Company, which specialized in feed supplements for animals, and used the horse to advertise the business. Savage took great pride in his champion and was reported as saying he loved Dan Patch like a son. When not on exhibition, Dan Patch lived in Minnesota, either in the stable of Savage's Minneapolis mansion or at Savage's sprawling farm in Hamilton in an extravagant stable known as the "Taj Mahal".
Racing career
Dan Patch made his first start as a four-year-old in 1900. At the time, harness races consisted of multiple heats – a horse had to win a majority of heats to be declared the race winner. During his career, Dan Patch never lost a race and lost only two heats. The first of those two losses occurred in his second start against what was termed "real competition" at the Lafayette Fair. In that heat, Dan Patch was last at the beginning of the homestretch and despite closing rapidly, lost by a nose. The other loss occurred in 1901 at Brighton Beach in a heat where the judges determined that the driver was "not driving to win", much to the fury of the crowd.1900: Indiana county fairs
Wattles began training Dan Patch in earnest at a half-mile track in Templeton in 1899. Before his first start in August 1900, Dan Patch impressed Messner and Wattles with a timed mile of 2:14, a promising performance for an unprompted horse who did not seem to be working hard. On August 30, they entered him at the Boswell county fair with a purse of $250 against 2:35 horses, meaning their fastest official time was no better than the next level of 2:20. Attendance at the fair that day exceeded 8,000, boosted by a large contingent from Oxford, who wanted to see the local favorite. Dan Patch did not disappoint, winning in three straight heats in times of 2:24, 2:24 and 2:24. Wattles had not pushed the colt, wanting to be able to stay at the 2:35 level and perhaps to improve his odds in potential side bets in his upcoming races.With only five days of rest, Dan Patch made his next start at the Lafayette Fair for a purse of $300. Although the race was still at the 2:35 level, the competition was much stiffer. With a field of nine horses, five or six horses started in the first tier, while Dan Patch started in the second tier. Dan Patch was jostled and trapped at the back of the field until Wattles finally found racing room as they entered the homestretch. Dan Patch closed rapidly but just missed in a heat timed at 2:18. Although some blamed Wattles for the loss, Wattles himself blamed it on a new harness. Regardless, Dan Patch proved his superiority by winning the next three heats, the fastest of which was completed in 2:16.
On September 12, Dan Patch took the winner's share of another purse worth $300 at the fair in Crawfordsville in three straight heats in times of 2:19, 2:20 and 2:20. The following week, the horse was asked for a little more effort in a $400 race at the Brazil fair. He responded with times of 2:16, 2:19 and 2:17. Messner had hoped to end the year at the Terre Haute fair but heavy rains forced the cancellation of the race. Dan Patch ended the year with four wins and earnings of $625.
1901: the Grand Circuit
In 1901, Messner decided to test Dan Patch against the best horses in the country on the Grand Circuit, a series of valuable races around the north-eastern United States. Accordingly, he hired Myron McHenry to be Dan Patch's new trainer and driver. Though McHenry was reputed to be difficult to work with, his ability with horses was such that he was called "America's greatest reinsman". On May 13, Dan Patch left Oxford on a train bound for Cleveland so that McHenry could try him out. In their first drive together, Dan Patch did not appear to be working hard but the stopwatch showed he had been moving fast. McHenry reportedly said to the horse, "You're either the world's biggest counterfeit, or you're the fastest horse in the world."McHenry worked with Dan Patch for two months before the start of the Grand Circuit season. Although he had been trained well by Wattles, he still had some gaiting issues associated with his conformation. McHenry had the toe of Dan Patch's feet trimmed short while using a shoe that was raised in the back, a combination that some observers said made the horse look like he was wearing high heels. Despite the odd appearance, the shoeing improved on the earlier changes made by Wattles to keep Dan Patch's hind legs from interfering with his front legs while reducing the wide action that led to him sometimes striking the wheels of the sulky. Always a natural pacer who required no hobbles or special equipment to keep him on stride, Dan Patch soon attracted interest from observers of the training sessions.
He made his first start with McHenry at the racetrack in Windsor, Ontario, on July 10 in a race for 2:15 level pacers. With a purse of $600, the race was meant to serve as a modest test for a horse whose official best time was 2:16. Dan Patch won in three straight heats, the fastest of which was completed in 2:07.
On July 17 in Detroit, he made his first start on the Grand Circuit at the Grosse Pointe racetrack. Although he faced some steep competition, he again won easily in straight heats. The Grand Circuit continued in Cleveland, Columbus, and Buffalo with Dan Patch continuing to build his reputation with one win after the other. In the Buffalo race, McHenry took Dan Patch to the back of the field in one of the heats, then unleashed him in the stretch. He responded with a final quarter mile in 30 seconds, a noteworthy fraction at a time when only one pacer had ever broken the two-minute barrier for the mile. McHenry told reporters, "Dan Patch is the best pacer I've ever drawn a rein over."
Dan Patch made his next start on August 16 at the Brighton Beach racetrack in New York City, known as a gambling hotbed. He was the heavy favorite to win the race, but his odds to win the first heat drifted up from 3/5 to 5/4, attracting a "mad scramble" from bettors looking to cash in. The start of the first heat was delayed by over an hour due to an equipment malfunction. When the race began, Dan Patch went to the early lead but was then eased back. In the homestretch, he was given "modest" encouragement but failed to close enough ground, finishing fourth. Bettors were incensed, believing McHenry did not drive to win, possibly after having tipped the bookmakers given the way the odds changed before the race. The time for the heat was 2:09, two seconds slower than Dan Patch's best time to date. McHenry stated that he had held back because he had heard that the winner was fast and he wanted to see how things sorted out. Some reports say the judges paid no attention to the "improbable" result. However, the Boston Globe reported that the judges were "very displeased" and others reported on a heated meeting of the officials and a near riot by the fans.
In the second heat, Dan Patch won in a time of 2:04, a new personal best. Because of the delay in the start of the first heat and another delay due to protests over its result, the third heat was not run until the next day. Dan Patch again won easily, this time in 2:07 before winning the fourth and final heat in 2:05.
His next start was at the Readville racetrack in Boston on August 22. The Globe reporter noted that Dan Patch was clearly superior to the field while the race result would be "as close as McHenry cares to draw the finishes." No betting was allowed, and Dan Patch won easily in straight heats. Following the race, he developed a cough but still raced on August 30 at the Narragansett Trotting Park in Cranston, Rhode Island on August 30. Pushed in the first heat to a time of 2:04, he won the next two heats and was reported to have made a deep bow to the crowd after the race.
Dan Patch followed up with routine wins in Hartford, Cincinnati, Lexington, and Memphis. All told, he won 12 races in 1901. He was supposed to finish the season at the Terre Haute meet, but no one would enter against him. Instead, he returned home on November 2. On November 14, Oxford held the first "Dan Patch Day", in which the horse was led around town to the tune of the newly written "Dan Patch Two Step".