SC Rewind: Many Shades Of Grey

In this week's edition of Rewind Robert Smith talks about grey horses and some of the folklore that surrounds these rather rare animals. He recalls the names of a few memorable 'Greys' and invites readers to add their favourites.

Pictured is an unidentified but well dressed grey horse (Author's collection)

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Throughout the entire recorded history of harness racing relatively few "grey" or "gray" (both are correct) horses have stepped on the track. The sport's registry recognizes a variety of colour palettes with the majority of horses being in one of about five main designations. The tags of bay, black and brown make up the majority, with those considered "chestnut" following in the distance. In the far reaches of the "list" are a very few registered as either grey or roan. I read one time that the U.S.T.A. estimates grey horses make up less than 5 per cent of all registrants; that is even higher than I would have imagined.

Despite the minuscule statistics, a number of grey horses have captured the hearts and the fancy of literally millions of fans. There seems to be a certain inherent mystique about them. Horses grey in colour are characterized by many almost unbelievable traits. At times folklore has deemed them to have "powers" such as bringing good luck. Whatever is fact or fiction, it seems that most people love grey horses and just enjoy looking at them. A few years ago when Ontario racing fans were thrilled each time the great Admirals Express stepped on the track, resident photographer Clive Cohen said that he had more requests for posters and pictures of him than all others put together.

Without question the honour of being the most famous, popular and beloved grey horse of the modern age goes to Admirals Express, affectionately known as "The Grey Gladiator". He had a tremendous career on the track, racing from age two until he was retired at the end of his 10-year old-campaign. Sadly he enjoyed a rather short retirement and had to be humanely destroyed due to a serious and unrepairable fractured leg at only age 14. He was owned by Gary and Laurel Gust and Cheryl and Ed Sayfie of Rockford, Michigan and groomed by Wellington Charles. He was trained by Mike Hales and most often driven by Paul MacDonell. While he was foaled in Michigan, he did a great deal of his memorable racing on the very tough WEG Circuit and was dearly beloved by all Canadian race fans.

Paul MacDonell recently shared a few of his recollections about his time spent with Admirals Express.

"Admiral was one of a kind! One thing I always remembered about him was when I went to his paddock stall he had the cross ties stretched as far as they would allow, as if to say 'let's get on with this'. He was also a bit of a bull in the post parade, he didn't like slowing down at any time. Of course he was all business in the race.

"My dad also trained a few greys, one being Armbro Kazam​;​ I think she was from the first crop of Laag. Another one he trained was Happy Truligan. It seemed people always had an interest in the way the greys p​er​formed. I guess they were just more noticeable​."​

The most memorable and tremendously popular grey horse of all time in harness racing circles was Greyhound. Foaled in 1932 he came along at a difficult time in history as the world battled through the Great Depression. Racing for low purses brought about by the times, Greyhound served as a symbol of hope wherever he appeared. His 1935 victory in the Hambletonian was the apex of his long career. While his speed and endurance on the track made him famous, his earnings were small in comparison to what he might have achieved in another era. His career ended basically because he had no competition even at his advanced age.

(Greyhound is shown here at his retirement home in Illinois with Doc Flannery.)

Following a well earned retirement he was stabled at his owner's rather swank layout at St. Charles, Illinois and thousands of visitors stopped by each year to get a look at their hero. At one time he could be hired to appear at fairs and other gatherings and always drew a huge crowd.

A guest book was maintained for visitors and an estimated 25,000 people signed it as they stopped by to have a close up look. Greyhound's guests were recorded from 27 different countries and all 50 States.

His only owner following his purchase as a yearling for $900, Col. E.J. Baker stated in his will that the famous grey was to "live in style" for all of his days. He indeed did that and lived to the age of 33, passing away in 1965.

I have not written too much on this horse as one day soon I plan to devote a complete Rewind to Greyhound and his tremendous contribution to the sport.

An old ad that suggested hiring Greyhound as a promoter for special race days.

Long before either Greyhound or Admirals Express, Canada had the world's most famous and beloved grey harness horse. He was foaled in Michigan and purchased by Mr. Frank W. Entricken of Tavistock, Ont. for the princely sum of $185 and brought to Canada. A foal of 1902 his registered name was The Eel after being called "Silver Joe" early in his lifetime and before his illustrious track career began at the age of five. When most horses of the day were racing for "peanuts", The Eel competed and won races carrying purses in excess of $5,000 on the prestigious Grand Circuit at many U.S. tracks. His speed tab of 2:02 1/4 made him a world champion.

​​The Eel, who starred on both regular and ice courses, was handled by noted horseman Dan A. McEwan of London, Ont.

A number of grey horses in the earlier part of the 20th century were said to be direct descendants of this memorable campaigner once dubbed "Handsomest horse in the world." He was used as a sire during his racing days which turned out to be a blessing as he died at a fairly young age. His passing was apparently suspicious in nature with some speculation that he was poisoned.

The Eel in light harness shows his dapples [The Lemp Studio Collection, Tavistock.]

I have assembled a list of a few grey horses that I recall from memory alone. Some I have seen, others are just from hearing their names or reading about them. This list is completely at random and is not intended to include or exclude any horse; it is just a few I came up with. Also it may contain some horses who are technically "Roan" by registration. If anyone in the reading audience wants to add to the list please feel free to do so. Also welcomed are any special grey horse stories.

This short list would include Smog, Laag, Ginnie Lee C., Yarg (Gray spelled backwards), The Grey Goose, Cream Of Tartar, Keystone Wallis, Baron Storm, Silver Ronnie, Silver Laird, Silver T Lee, Ruff Me Up and Bold Talent. It seems that a lot of grey horses have been named with their colour in mind. I think my favourite was a 1950's horse called Gray Flannel.

Shown above is Native Dancer believed to be the greatest of all grey Thoroughbreds. The incidence of greys in Thoroughbreds is apparently much more prevalent than with Standardbreds.