Glacier County chief., 1940-10-18
HeadWork Won Big Billings Race
FOR Mac Crandall in 1911 When
He Shared RoadWOrk With Horse

~ ~ VIC lued IidG gave pHIn 10 the
today, the Greeks decided to take a
day off from the war business against
Troy and hold a chariot race.
Now Ulysses was the smartest
Greek in the army but, he was not
the wisest. There was a difference be-
tween SmartneSs and wisdom, even
then. Ulysses could outslicker the
country competition and even was
good enough to make his wife, Pene-
lope, think he batted around the coun-
try with sirens and nymphS a score OF
years before coming home because he
couldn't help it. But, there was an
other gent named Nestor who really
gave deep thought to things and knew
how to read an ace in the hole.
1t was NeStor to whom Ulysses went
for sound counsel when he got in a
jam And, his consultation with Mes
tor on the day of the race event re-
suited in a nifty by Nestor which has
survived the ages.
They don't always pay bets on the
favorite and the horse first under the
wire collects" NeStor said in effect.
He didn't think, it is believed gen.
orally, that many centuries later an
other gent named Mac Crandall. now
a Billings barber, would get the
thought wave he had originated and
act on it. But Mac did.
Billings citizens. headed by John ID.
Losekamp. decided that, as part Of the
1911 Fourth of July celebration, they
would hold a two-day ZIG mile horse
race to test the stamina of horses
bred in Montana and Wyoming. The
course was from the Billings city hall
to Lavina and back, twice.
Mac looked at the entries, sized I'D
the course and picked little bay
stallion called Muggins, for his part
ner. AS later shown, and admitted by
Crandall. the horse was willing be-
cause it knew, from the start, it would
not have to do all the work. Which
gave Muggins an edge in the begin
ming
You see, Crandall figured that all
the other riders would be just that
riders. They would ride all the way
and the horses would have to do the
work. So, reasoned Mac, suppose I
give Muggins a break and train right
along with him. When he gets tired
he'll take a rest while the other horses
are wearing themselves out. So, Mac
and the horse went into training, Mac
practicing walking along beside the
horse and Muggins practicing going
strong only when mounted.
Teddy Favorite
Teddy. brown stallion from Cody,
Wyo. that had previously won the
500-mile race from Evanston, Wyo., to
Denver. Thousands of dollars were
wagered on the well known and eX-
perienced croSs-country mount, and il
was a disappointment when the horse
for the last lap of the grind.
The paceSetter for the early part
OF the contest was Brownie, owned by
E. B. Ryan. Billings Stockman, that
quit Is miles from the finish line.
The second-place winner of the first
days journey from the city hall TO
Lavina and back was Goldbug, a game
of Absarokee This horse was able to
nose out Daily by a desperate leap
as the two passed under the wire at
the end of the race.
Daily was one of the few horses
owned by his rider, Raymond Lowe,
cowpuncher from Custer. who never
led his mount but maintained a con-
sistent pace to grab third money.
Another cowboy in the competition
was Bob Chadwick of Miles City who.
with Club, was several hours behind
the winner Walt Lee entered Ribbons
but she became sick near Painted
Robe. IS miles out, the first day Of
the race. and was back in the stable
before the contest was really under
way.
Brief Glory
Morris Ranger, who was riding Oak
No. 2, owned by Hardy Bros, Billings
stockman, decided that if he could not
win the race. at least he could enjoy
a moment of glory. His steed stood up
all right the first day but 20 miles gu;
on the second decided that she had
done enough walking. Ranger waited
until 4 p. m. and then rode back to
the city amid cheers of victory. Just
before he checked in at the city hall,
he announced that his horse had been
disqualified hours before.
Teddy entered the race highly tout
ed as an easy winner. Two hundred
and sixteen miles would be duck soup
to horse that had outrun all COM
petition over a 5O0-mile stretch. Tex
Holm, its owner, had previously eX-
hlblted both the horse and its rider
in Billings on a tour to boost Cody
as an entrance to Yellowstone park
Little serious thought was given 10
picked the horse rom his livery stable
as his entry in the race Ii was i
small 6-year-old animal weighing only
$50 pounds, and the rider, Mac Gran
dali, then 33 years old. was small. too
HIS weight at the start of the grind
was l27 pounds, and before the race
was over he had lost II pounds Of
that.
Tests Course
A month before the start OF the
horse marathon, Crandall, who YVES
breaking in horses for H M. Ramsey
in Billings. started training himself
and the beast. Late in June he wound
up the road work by testing Muggins
over l08 miles of the course
When the race started Mac put his
theory into operation. To help his
animal, he diSmounted and ran along
side his charge up and down all the
hills. This was allowed by the rules
and the popular story is that Mac
ran half of the ZIG miles. He denies
this and estimates that his road work
was not more than so or 60 miles
There were three checking stations
in addition to city hall. One was at
the 2O-mile mark, another at Broad
view. and the third at Lavina Here
the horses were Uatered and at Ia.