In the aftermath of the stunning defeat of Native Dancer by Dark Star in the 1953 Kentucky Derby by a scant head, many, of a superstitious nature, blamed the upset on the Dancer’s gray coloration.
For the hex remained in place: No gray or roan colored horse had ever won the Run for the Roses.
And in post-race analysis, the dialogue was often to the effect that if Native Dancer couldn’t win the Louisville classic, a horse of his coloration never would.
Meanwhile, in California, a very small gray colt, bearing the name Determine, was beginning to train for his racing debut as a 2-year-old, an event which would not take place for almost three months. And when it did, it was nothing spectacular. In a 12-horse field, he finished eighth without ever being in contention, 11 lengths behind the winner.
It took a while for Determine to graduate from the maiden ranks. But after four more unsuccessful efforts, he paid a visit to the winner’s circle at Del Mar, when the photo-finish camera verified he had won by a head.
Three more failures followed his initial victory, but when trainer William Molter stretched Determine from sprint races to a one-mile allowance event at Golden Gate Fields, the gray colt - ridden that day by Bill Shoemaker - led all the way to win by 10 lengths.
Victories in two small stakes events concluded a successful, but certainly unspectacular, early sophomore campaign. But better things were on the horizon.
Owner Andy Crevolin had big dreams for his little warrior as he began his 3-year-old season. Ray York settled in as his regular rider and after finishing second first time out after the New Year, Determine proceeded to win six races in a row including the Santa Anita and Bay Meadows Derbies.
In all of these efforts, Crevolin’s mighty-mite followed the same pattern – stalking the pace setters in the early going and gobbling them up as the run down the home lane began. With Determine in fine form, there was no hesitation, a trip to the Blue Grass was in order.
Crevolin and Molter opted to give their gray colt a race over the Churchill Downs surface prior to the big one and he wound up in a head-and-head battle with Hasty Road for the length of the stretch. The latter prevailed, but only by the scant margin of a head.
And the Derby itself turned out to be a rematch – a battle for the roses between the diminutive Determine and the huge Hasty Road.
The “big boy” set the pace early while Determine stalked in third place. At the top of the Downs’ stretch, Hasty Road had a two-length lead, but York asked the question and Determine caught up quickly. By the time they reached the eighth pole, York and Determine had the upper hand and he pulled away to win by a length and a half.
The hex was broken. A gray colt had won the Kentucky Derby and, to top it all off, Determine is believed to be the smallest horse to ever grace the Downs’ Presentation Stand on the first Saturday in May.
As the saying goes, good things come in small packages.
