SC Rewind: The Thrill Of A Dead Heat

In the latest edition of Rewind Robert Smith discusses the phenomenon of a dead heat in harness racing; always a rather exciting and often intriguing happening.  He traces some of the history associated with this facet of racing and recalls a few of the better known and perhaps memorable dead heats of days gone by.  He also has some old photos involving dead heats. 

Dead heats in harness racing go back a very long way,  in fact they occurred well before the advent of the photo finish camera which has been around for a rather long time.  I have read that in the very old days that when a dead heat was declared it could be settled in two possible ways. First choice was by holding a second deciding race, unless the owners agreed to divide the purse.   I think that happened more in thoroughbred racing but that is just a guess.  I think it would be safe to say that the practice of sharing the purse has most often been the normal outcome. 

When the technology became available to have an actual photo of the precise moment the horses hit the finish wire the outcome became quite a bit simpler to handle.  Over the years with advances in camera technology probably less dead heats have occurred as extremely "fine" pictures of finishes have been made possible. 

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Canada's first official triple dead heat for win occurred at Windsor Raceway over 53 years ago on October 14, 1970 and was recorded as the fifth in history. The photo finish camera could not separate three horses at the wire. They were Arnolds Gem driven by Bud Foster, Bervaldo piloted by Gerry Bookmyer and Banjo Phil in rein to Charlie Grunkemeyer. Oddly all drivers were U.S.-based but racing at a Canadian track. A large picture of the event hung in the upper level of the Windsor grandstand near the clubhouse entrance for many years. Shortly after this rare event occurred, a special handout was given to thousands of Windsor race goers as a commemorative reminder of this event.

The use of photo finish camera technology in horse racing began back in the 1930's; first at several Thoroughbred tracks such as Hialeah, Santa Anita and Hawthorne. It eventually came into widespread use at harness tracks as well. The idea was conceived as far back as 1882 but the technology was not yet available. One ingenious photographer back then came up with the idea of putting a thin black thread across the track that could be "tripped" as the first horse crossed the finish line, thus setting off his camera!

Reportedly harness racing's first triple dead-heat for win occurred at Freehold Raceway in New Jersey on October 3, 1953 as pictured above.  Oddly the three horses were all three-year-old fillies and each of their names began with the letter "P". The camera was unable to separate Patchover, Penny Maid and Payne Hal at the finish wire.

MEMORABLE DEAD HEATS 

In 1951 a triple dead heat for second occurred at Roosevelt and it created such a level of interest that track officials had a special postcard created to celebrate the occasion.  For many years postcards were popular for sending short messages and also were used as advertisements.  They also had a colourized version of the photo finish made as a lasting memory of this happening. 

Back of the postcard. Interesting that the postage was two cents! 

The caption read "Triple Dead Heat made fans gasp at Roosevelt Raceway (August 24, 1951) as Lucky Chief (1), True Kitty (6), and Hal Tryax (7) cannot be separated. The race was The Baldwin Pace and was won by Dale Brewer (3)." Note - the winning driver was Eddie Cobb. 

Fastest Ever Dead Heat 

The June 24, 1983 report in the New York Times read as follows:

Cam Fella, the 1-9 favourite, and Walt Hanover, an 80-1 shot, finished in a dead heat tonight in the third leg of the Gov. Alfred E. Driscoll at Meadowlands Racetrack. The pair finished in 1:53.1, the fastest mile ever in a harness race at that time that ended in a dead heat for the win. Driven by Pat Crowe, Cam Fella who won his sixth straight, paid $2.10 across the board. Walt Hanover with Tom Haughton in the sulky,  returned $15.00 to win, the payoff being much lower than the odds indicated because of the combined win pool. 

Dead Heats Aplenty 

London's annual signature race was known as "The Molson Pace" from 1992 to 2017.  For some strange reason a number of dead heats occurred in that race on more than one occasion.  In 1998 there was a triple dead heat and in 2000 a two-horse dead heat.  

Mix Up At Monticello 

In June 2011 a real oddity occurred at Monticello Raceway; a one of a kind happening I would think.  In the final strides of a race a rallying horse named Armbro Dasher fell to the track catapulting driver Bobby Williams Jr. over the horse but he was not injured . Two other horses, one on either side of the fallen horse,  advanced to the lead and ended up in a dead heat for win...or so it appeared at first.  A judge's review of the finish resulted in both horses involved in the dead heat being guilty of interference on the fallen horse.  The judges then placed both dead-heat winners out of the money. The horse that finished just behind the dead heat duo was declared the winner. 

In 1972 one of the most memorable dead heats in recent memory took place in a rather high profile race  The scene was The Meadows in Pennsylvania.  In that year's Adios Pace Canadian entrant Strike Out, driven by Keith Waples dead heated with Jay Time and Gene Riegle.  A write up following the race read like this: 

"Riegle and Waples both drove so hard that it was a full eight minutes after they had crossed the finish line before either knew what had happened. As the tote board lights finally flashed, two numbers appeared, one and nine, indicating the first dead heat ever in a classic harness race."

Perhaps the most memorable of all dead heats (pictured above) saw Park Avenue Joe Ron Waples (inside) and Probe (Wm. Fahy) finish in a dead heat in the 1989 Hambletonian.

Quote For The Week - Almost a short story.  A U.S. college football coach was interviewed right after his team had played very poorly, making all sorts of misplays, and of course lost.  The interviewer asked the question "What did you think of your team's execution today?" He replied "I am in favour of it." 

Who Is It?  

In 1969 after some 30 years of harness racing at the famed Roosevelt Raceway the first ever dead heat between two brothers as drivers occurred.  It instantly became a good reason for a special publicity event and a presentation.  A framed photograph of the history-making event was presented to the brother combo as part of a pre-race ceremony. Can you name the brothers pictured above? Both were regular participants at Roosevelt and undoubtedly drove against each other regularly.  I believe both are still with us.  

Who Else Is It?  

The above race ended in a dead heat for win in 1973, a little over 50 years ago.  It involved a couple of pretty high profile horses and drivers. Can you identify any or all of the horses and drivers?  Canadian interests were quite involved if you're looking for a clue. 

Dead Heat Trivia 

#1 - On Aug. 22, 1981 a triple dead heat for win occurred at Greenwood Raceway; obviously three drivers were involved.  Just a little over 12 months later on Sept. 2, 1982,  another triple dead heat took place again at Greenwood.  One of the winning drivers from the first triple dead heat race was again involved in the second.  This made him the only driver in harness racing history to be a winning driver in two triple dead heats (see note below).  Can you name this well known Eastern Ontario born driver who is still active in the sport at the present time over 40 years later?    

Note: This driver was the only one at the time and I do not believe anyone else has accomplished this feat since but not totally certain. 

#2 - A  number of years ago at Windsor Raceway (possibly 15 or so,  not able to find exact date) a young driver scored his first career win in a dead heat with a veteran driver who was originally from the Maritimes.  Both drivers are still active at this time and probably still race against each other at London.  Can you name them?  I recall being a spectator at his rather rare event and hope my memory is correct.