The Washington herald., 1919-01-13
OLD RACERS TO
Be RUN AGAIN
Old Rosebud, King of Han
dicap Thoroughbreds,
to Resume Racing.

Old Rosebud, king of the handicap
/ horses" will race again this year.
| This announcement will quicken the
pulse of racegoers, for "Old Buddy"
as>he is affectionately called, is to
| the turf what "Matty" is to baseball
/ "a popular idol He was too lame
to race in 1918.
1t will be Old Buddy's second come
back stur of his career. If he wins
| half the number of races he did in
1917. he will have accomplished a
new record of performances such as
no other horse has to his credit His
! performances give him a niche in
the hall of fame reserved for mighty
thoroughbreds, but should he again
/ top the list of handicap winners, such
| as he did in 1917, he will go down
! in turf history as the most remarka-
! BILE horse that was ever foaled In
! America. Old Rosebud has been no
| favOritc Of fortune. The ills and all
| mentS of racehorses have rested heav-
| lily on him from his 2-year-old year
| lSl3-to the present time. when his
years number seven. And yet, in
spite Of his physical handicap. he
! has beaten the. best racehorses in
| the United States and Canada, .es-
/ tablished records for classic" events
and in one season. that of 1917. won
| more handicaps than any other
! horse.
Three things. assets of great impor-
! tance to a racehorse. were conducive
| to his success extreme speed, great
/ courage and fine action. These es-
sentials he possessed to a great de-
gree. Whether they would have been
! brought TO the surface in the hands
| OF an ordinary trainer is matter OF
! conjecture. But fate placed him in
! charge of Frank ID. Weir, top notch
trainer OF thoroughbreds.
| 1t was Weir's skill that brought Old
: Rosebud's speed to the front. and his
skill. plus patience. that has enabled
Old Buddy to come back to the turf
, twice after he had broken down badly
| and was regarded as a hopeless Grip
pie by many trainers.
Old Rosebud raced in 19l3-14-I7.
/ when he was two, three and six years
old. respectively. Each year his win
ming career was cut short by his ten
dons giving way. When A raceborse
I breaks down" as horseman say, he
does not literally break a leg
! The sheath which holds his tendons
tears. and the tendons stretch ana
: r"Come loose and fabDy. like the elas-
/ tic in a wOrn-out garter. The leg
bows or curves. and lets down be
/ hind. lie is then broken down. ana
/ only heroic treatment, the use or
! red-hot irons. can straighten the leg
again.
! Old Rosebud began his 2-year-Old
/ career in Mexico at the Juarez track
I He came up the line of the circuit
winning race after race. took the
! Canadians into camp and then AZ
! Saratoga made the Eastern cham.
I piOns eat his dust.
As a 3-year-Old he won Che Ken
lucky Derby of 1914. and hung up a
race record of 2.o3 SIS. That was
not approached by the great horses
that won this event in the three
| following ycars-ReErct. George
Smith and Omar Khayyam. Regret
won in EOS % George Smith in
/ 2.O4 and Omar Khayyam in 2.O4 3-5.
Old Rosebud won with his head in
his chest, never being fully extend
ed during any stage of the mile and
! a quarter route.
1t was during his race for the
Withers Stakes at Belmont Park
, that he "broke down" He was
making his run, and just about
! drawing into a winning lead when
the sheath ruptured on his near
foreleg and he hobbled home a Grip
pie. He was turned out in a pad
! dock for three years. and then came
back in 1917.
In 1917 Old Buddy started twenty
one times. He won fifteen races. fin
I ished second once and third three
times being unplaCed only twice. This
record has never been equalled by n
| 6-year-old gelding. He beat all the
best horses in training-Roamer. Bar
| row. Hodge. Boots, The Finn. He
won more handicaps. conceding big
weight to his rivals. than any other
racer, and thus earned the title of
Handicap King" A few of his vic
tories were the Carter. Frontier, In
augural Delaware and Bay View
Two of the remarkable things in
, connection with Old Rosebud's career
are that he has never been beaten by
/ a poor horse and that he has never
been ridden by a first-class jockey
Roamer and other great horses. at
times. have run some bad races and
| have been beaten by poor horses
| Old Buddy. never! When this hap
pened there was a reason-he was
| cripple in the race.
Peak. who was ruled of i'm 1917 for
his ride on Judge WingfieId at Bel
mont Park. was Old Rosebud's pilot
Peak. at his very best, was never
| better than a first-class exercise or
stable hoy. Old Rosebud won his races
| by sheer merit, without help. but
frequently hindered, by his Jockey.