Word: ben
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Ultimate result: Calumet's high-pressure horse factory, which costs $500,000 a year to operate, earned a whopping $1,269,710 in purses last year; the year before it won $1,402,436, a runaway record. Says Ben Jones: "It's like running a grocery store ... I love to hear that cash register ring...
When Calumet's own foals begin dropping early each year, no time is lost preparing them for their goal in life?the race track. Halters go on the wobbly legged foals when they are only two days old. Ben Jones and his hard-working farm manager, Paul ("Dutch") Ebelhardt, like horses to get used to human hands early. After that, the Calumet education proceeds with the greatest caution and care. Yearlings, for instance, are legged-up three months before being called on for speed over the farm's three-quarter-mile training track...
...Ben Jones recognized Whirlaway as a potentially great horse?even though he was foolish and eccentric off the race track, and completely crazy on it. It took three men to put a saddle on him. In the paddock the horse shook like an aspen. When he went into a turn during a race, no amount of strong-arming by a jockey could keep him from going wide...
Bull-headed Ben rolled up his sleeves. Month after month, he led Whirlaway around like a puppy dog, let him inspect the inside rail, sniff the starting gate, look over the stands. Now & then, Ben would stop to let the horse nibble at some grass. Whirlaway visited the paddock so often that it began to seem like a second home. Gradually the addled horse seemed to realize that there was nothing about a race track that was going to hurt...
Before the 1941 Derby, Ben told Jockey Eddie Arcaro to "take it slow around the far turn. This horse can be last at the head stretch and win for you." Actually, Whirlaway and Arcaro were fourth heading into the stretch, but they put on a breathtaking charge and won by eight lengths...