The man people in harness racing circles refer to as 'the master,' Keith Waples, reflects on his historic mile that occurred 50 years ago today
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On July 21, 1959, the legendary horseman guided Mighty Dudley to the first sub-2:00 mile in Canadian history at Richeleu Park in Quebec.
“The one I thought I’d have the most trouble with that night was Chief Maid, and with the Seven hole, I didn’t want to leave against her," Waples told Trot Insider. "But as it turned out, they all kept taking turns and when it was my turn to come, I still had lots of horse.”
Apparently it was not unexpected that somebody would beat the 2:00 barrier that week because Mighty Dudley had won in 2:00.1 the previous week. Waples says that Chief Maid, “was quite a good mare”.
The Hall of Famer continued that Mighty Dudley himself was not necessarily a standout at the time, although he was a nice horse and went some very good races.
"He just got beat a neck by Bye Bye Byrd at Batavia in 1:59.1 later that year.”
Robert Smith reflected on the historic event in his Saturday website feature, the SC Rewind.
The following (regarding
The following (regarding George Giguere) from the December 13, 1950 Harness Horse:
Lusty Louis
The Horse of the Year in Canada
By J.-Emile Dion
Presiding judge at the Quebec (Canada) Raceway
CLIPPING three full seconds off his individual record established on the Lexington, Ky., mile track on October 8, 1948, to 2:05 at the Quebec (Canada) Raceway, a half-mile oval, on October 8, 1950, and topping this with twenty-nine straight victories-being undefeated from June 15th to the end of the season, the 10-year-old pacer Lusty Louis, now owned by Mr. Jos. Cauchon, wealthy contractor and sportsman of Quebec City, Canada, has been picked as the horse of the year in Canada.
Lusty Louis, by Louis V. Henley-dam; Betty Volo--started his career when he was about seven years old, on the American mid-west tracks, mostly in Illinois, performing for the first time at Taylorsville, Ill., on July 16, 1947. However, his first victory came the following year, when he took the first and second heats in 2:16 and 2:14 for his first records, on July 28, 1948, at Urbana, Ill. A few weeks later, on September 3rd, he lowered his mark to 2:122/5 in the second heat, at Danville, Ill. Then, moving on to the big ovals, he went in 2:08 flat, on the red clay of the Lexington mile track, on October 2nd of that same year.
This good pacer was placed on the block at the Harrisburg sale, in the fall of 1949 and was acquired by Mr. Karl G. Wells and Mrs. Katherine Hess, of Aultsville, Ontario. He was brought to Canada and raced at Dufferin Park in the first months of 1950. Then he moved to the half-mile track of Richelieu Park, Montreal, taking part in only a few heats there, before his journey to some of the fairs in that territory to land finally at the Quebec Raceway, where he was to establish himself as one of the greatest pacers seen in this section of the country. He first raced in the Capital City on June 25th and a few days later was bought by Mr. Cauchon. Lusty Louis kept on winning against the best until he brought his string of victories to twenty-nine straight wins at the close of the season, by the end of October.
The winnings of Lusty Louis in three seasons total $8,779.15, of which $4,052 were earned in Quebec City during the last season. Both his owner Mr. Cauchon, who has done so much for harness racing here and who is largely responsible for the development which made Quebec Raceway, the most modern track in Canada, and comparable to big time ovals such as Yonkers and Roosevelt Raceways, as well as Trainer Jules Giguere and Driver George Giguere, and all stable hands, believe that Lusty Louis will outdo his past performances next year, and should lower his own mark of 2:05.
Briefly, here is how Lusty Louis' individual record went from his first mark to this date-the heat is indicated between parentheses:
July 28, 1948 Urbana, Ill. 2:16 (1)
July 28, 1948 Urbana, Ill. 2:14 (1)
Sept. 3, 1948 Danville, Ill. 2:12 2/5 (2)
Oct. 2, 1948 Lexington, Ky.(mile track) 2:08 (1)
July 14, 1950 Quebec City, Canada 2:07 (1)
Aug. 27, 1950 Sherbrooke, Canada 2:052/5 (1)
Oct. 8, 1950 Quebec City, Canada 2:05 (1)
Thus, in two seasons Lusty Louis has clipped 11 seconds off his first mark, taking it from 2:16 to 2:05, which is quite a record in itself.
(The brief article was accompanied by a terrible quality image of Lusty Louis and George Giguere)
I, too, will never forget
I, too, will never forget that race, even though I wasn't there that night. These horses had been battling each other week in and week out and they were flirting with the 2:00 standard. Breaking it was inevitable and just a matter of time.
Thanks to the Giguere family for the footage. They were so involved in harness racing in Quebec right up to the end.
Thanks to Robert Giguere for
Thanks to Robert Giguere for sending in a link to the video of this race. Gigeure was the groom for Great Adios, driven by his father Jules Giguère.
The first part of the video contains race footage of the "Miracle Mile", followed by the 1:49.1 time trial of Niatross.
-JP
Hall of Fame Trifecta
Hall of Fame Trifecta Picture
The man on the left of the picture is George Giguère, Richelieu Park race secretary and a member of the Canadian Hall of Fame(‘78). The other gentleman on the picture is Raymond Lemay, Richelieu Park General manager also a member Canadian Hall of Fame(‘83) both involved in staging the event..