Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-11-15
Jim Bishop:
Reporter

Ahe Exercise boy got Gown
off the colt and studied the
steamy fanks and the pulsing
nostrils. "A little lazy" he
said, ''but he can move" Jim
Jones, trainer for the Calumet
Stables, listened. "WaIk him a
little, Pinky," he said. The
boy threw his red tin helmet
on the ground and walked the
hot horse.
The boy is II years old. He
is Pinky Browne, the wonder
Of American race tracks. He
is not only II, he is also part
ly blind, almost totally deaf,
has snow white hair, walks
hnched forward, had hands
Like Rocky Mareian o, and
store teeth. He talks In a per-
petual Whitney whisper, like q
lifer.
THE OLD MAN stars In a
kids 6 a m e. He was Ben
Jones' favorite exercise boy
for 80 years, and, before that,
he exercised horses free lance
for another 20. He viii not
quit, and nobody will fire him.
When he squats his 1S5
pounds behind a filly's neck,
Pinky can vaguely see the
track and the rail. It's like
looking through frosted glass.
Pinky just aims the horse and
lets her 60.
He was born an albino In
Dubuque, Iowa, in February,
1892. His family moved to
Lexington, KY, and the boy
with the pink eyes and the
white hair got a job working
around stables. Once or twice,
he aspired to be a jockey, but
mis- ight-senSitive eyes made
him a poor judge Of position
and openings.
Pinky was over so when he
was exercising a horse named
Nippy at Santa Anita. She
was slow, so he hit her twice
with the bat. Nippy stopped
dead. He hit her again and
she sat like a dog. Pinky put
his arm around Nippy's neck
and spoke soothingly, but she
wouldn't forgive him.
She rolled over him twice.
Pinky's nose was broken, his
head was smashed, and all
his ribs broke off close to the
spine. At the hospital, the doc
tors didn't know where to
start, or even II 1t was worth
while doing a anything. But
Pinky is tough. He lived.
He had ridden Black Gold,
who won the Kentucky Derby
in 1925; Lawrin, who won the
Derby, Preamess and Bel
mont Stakes; Citation, anoth-
er triple-crown winner; Pen
sive, who won the big ones
and had a son named Ponder
who won the Derby In 1852,
and Whirlaway.
Pinky lifts head from the
toast and says: ''Whirla-
way. He won the triple crown
and everything else. That's
the best horse l was ever on"
Whirlaway didn't know how to
run when Ben Jones first got
him for Calumet. The moment
Whirlaway came out Of the
gate, he headed for the out
side rail and tried to run
through il. Not once or twice.
All the time.
"Pinky," said Ben Jones.
"This Is your horse. There
amt nobody gonna take you
off him. l don't know whether
he's worth a dollar or a hum
dred thousand. He sure amt
worth anything the way he's
going"
PNKY BROWNE got on
the big colt and, Is seconds
later, almost had his right leg
torn off as it ground against
the outside rail. Pinky pulled
Whirlaway to a walk. He
turned the horse aroun d,
made him 60 all the way back
to the starting gate, and be-
gan again.
The same thing happened.
It happened dozens Of times.
Always, Pinky stopped him,
and brought him back. Some
one had to win this contest Of
wills. It was Pinky. He found
that If he heightened the right
stirrup, Whirlaway moved to
the opposite side of the track,
close to the inside rail.
The exercise boy gave the
tip to Eddie Arcaro. In the
days of small purses for big
races, Whirlaway won
100000. Today, a race like
the Garden State Stakes
brings $S19, 900, biggest purse
of all time.
Copyright. 1858, King FeatureO