Ercel Ellis - Kentucky Horse Trails

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC

www.historypress.com

Copyright 2019 by Ercel Ellis Jr.

All rights reserved

First published 2019

e-book edition 2019

ISBN 978.1.43966.738.5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019936993

print edition ISBN 978.1.46714.147.5

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Contents

Foreword

Red Wingfield was an old horse trainer back when I was a race track veterinarian. His foreman, Red Bolus, often spoke of horses long forgotten, and would say, There aint many of us old boys left. That expression stuck with me, and as the years passed, it meant more and more. Ercel Ellis has written a book, now that hes one of the old boys, titled Kentucky Horse Tales. It includes many tales of personal experience, horses he knew and some he grew up with, Mata Hari, Spy Song and Man o War. These are fascinating stories, and I bet a lot of us old boys still remember where they were and what they were doing on November 1, 1947, when they heard that Man o War had died.

Robert W. Copelan, DVM

Acknowledgements

Never in this world did I imagine that someday I would try to write a book, but after some twenty years of talking about horses on Horse Tales, the two-hour radio show that I do every Saturday morning, friends began to ask if I would. Jackie, my wife of many years, began to, dare I say, nag me about it until out of self-defense I told her I would give it a shot. Little did she know what she was getting into. Thank you, Jackie. Special thanks to my friend and confidant Dr. Bob Copelan for his advice and encouragement and friend Murray D. West, MD, who patiently helped with proofreading. I am going to tell you up front that I did precious little research but depended on a somewhat faulty memory and the small library that I have put together over the years. I write about horses that I grew up with, many you may have never heard of, but I remember them because they were part of my past, which is approaching nine decades. I wanted to write about past champions that had been largely forgotten, horses such as Dark Mirage, El Chico, Blue Peter, By Jimminy, champions all that should be remembered. I have barely scratched the surface there. Thanks also to the lovely people at the Keeneland Library and to the many friends acquired through the years, especially those who have stuck with me as sponsors of the radio show. You know who you are, and I am afraid of leaving someone out if I began a list. Finally, thanks to my dad for introducing me to Man o War and teaching me to love the Thoroughbred, and to my mother for reading to me as a child and for hauling my little behind to the public library in Lexington as soon as I was old enough to have a library card. Without her, I might never have read the Blood-Horse or discovered the writings of John Taintor Foote, Joe Palmer, Joe Estes, Abe Hewitt, Kent Hollingsworth, Ed Bowen or the many others who have written about the Thoroughbred with authority and grace. I must admit that writing this brought back pleasant memories of the many horses that have touched my life or fired my imagination through the years. I hope you enjoy reading about them.

Introduction

By Michael Blowen, Old Friends Inc.

The voice seems to come up through the same limestone and blue grass that made Man o War the greatest horse of all time. Its a voice that has been invited into homes throughout Kentucky for many decadeswhether it was relaying the days race results long before the internet or telling stories on his long-running radio show, Horse Tales. All of us who love racing owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my friend, Ercel Ellis.

Just as we might have thought that Ercel has given us enough, he gives us more. You are very fortunate to be holding this remarkable memoir in your hands. And, as you might have predicted, the stories in this book are more about the sport than Ercel. Im sure thats the way he wants it.

Personally, Ercel was the first person of influence in racing to help publicize aftercare when it was in its infancy. When others scoffed and ridiculed the idea, he embraced it. At the core, he realized that what was good for the athletes was good for the sport.

Whether recounting the ups and downs of his career as a trainer or as a writer and editor for various publications such as the Daily Racing Form and the Blood-Horse, Ercel never resorts to self-aggrandizement because its rarely about himits about the horses and personalities. And every Thoroughbred or human athlete fortunate enough to fall under Ercels literary spell owes him a deep debt of gratitude. We are all fortunate that Ercel spent many hours recalling stories that are unique to him. For without him, the horse tales wouldve disappeared, and that would be a tremendous loss to the Sport of Kings and serfs. We can never repay that debt, but we can indulge in the great pleasure of reading the unmistakable voice that has done for racing as much as his idol, Joe Palmer. I cant wait to read the sequel.

My Dad and Man o War

My dad, Ercel Ellis Sr., was born in 1892 in Peaks Mill, Kentucky, which is in Franklin County, also home to Frankfort, the state capital. He used to tease his mother, who lived with us the last few years of her life, that he came out of Peaks Mill on a grapevine. First time I saw a train, over in Frankfort, it scared me so bad I ran up under the station platform and they had to feed me on a plank for three days. Dad never let the truth stand in the way of a good story, a character flaw passed on to me.

At some stage in his life, his family moved to Lexington, where his father had obtained a job as county jailer. He attended the old Morton High School in Lexington, which was on the southeast corner of what is now Martin Luther King Boulevard and Short Street. He was an all-state fullback on a team that lost but one game, that to the state university team, 160. A few years later, in 1916, the state university team evolved into what is now the University of Kentucky Wildcats. Dont know if they called themselves the Wildcats when they played Morton High. Dad always described them as those dirty bastards.

Dads first job with horses was with August Belmonts Nursery Stud, which was a couple of miles north of Lexington on the Georgetown Pike. On March 29, 1917, he went to work and put the first halter on a chestnut colt by Fair Play out of Mahubah, by Rock Sand, that was later named Man o War. I was to grow up with tales of Man o War, some of which may have even been true. But they were all fun and let me admit up front that I was in awe of the horseto me, he is still the greatest ever to step on a racetrack.

Dad went into the army a few months after his first meeting with Man o War. Because he was a horseman, he was assigned to the cavalry, then later transferred to the field artillery. They still used horses in the field artillery. Dad then shipped from here to France. He talked about his trip over. For the first half of the trip I was so seasick I thought I was going to die. For the second half, I was afraid I wasnt. He arrived in France just in time for the Armistice, turned around and came home, bringing his saddle and his helmet. That helmet was useless. Later on, I put a hole in it with a 22 short that you could put your thumb through. The saddle was the most uncomfortable I ever sat in. I wouldve deserted.