How long did the American Standardbred Dan Patch live?
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Dan Patch (April 29, 1896 – July 11, 1916) was a noted American Standardbred pacer. At a time when harness racing was one of the largest sports in the nation, Dan Patch was a major celebrity. He was undefeated in open competition and was so dominant on the racetrack that other owners eventually refused to enter their horses against him. Instead, he ended his racing career performing time trials and traveled extensively on exhibition, earning millions of dollars in purses, attendance gate receipts and product endorsements. Dan Patch broke world speed records at least 14 times in the early 1900s. In 1905, he set a world's record for the fastest mile by a harness horse (1:55 – 1 minute, seconds) that stood unmatched for over 30 years. Unofficially, Dan Patch broke this record in 1906 with a clocking of 1:55. He died on July 11, 1916. His owner Marion Willis Savage died just one day later.
Dan Patch
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Standardbred horse Dan Patch is arguably the town's best-known native, and was foaled in an Oxford barn on April 29, 1896. The horse gained celebrity status for setting world speed records that remained unbroken until 1960. A 1949 film, "The Great Dan Patch", dramatized the horse's origins in Oxford and rise to fame. He continues to be honored at the town's annual Dan Patch Days festival.
Oxford, Indiana
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In 1879, the harness racing community established "The Standard", which stated that a Standardbred was a horse who either: (a) could trot a mile in 2:30, or (b) was the offspring of such a horse. Both Dan Patch's parents were Standardbreds but further back in his pedigree are a significant number of Morgan horses. Even further back can be found Thoroughbreds (most notably Messenger, the great-grandfather of Hambletonian) and a wide variety of harness horse breeds including the Narragansett Pacer, Canadian Pacer, Norfolk Trotter and Hackney.
Dan Patch
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Always B Miki (foaled 2011) is a Champion American Standardbred pacer. As a younger horse, he raced mainly at Hoosier Park in Indiana but came to national prominence in his three-year-old season. Favored to win the final of the Breeders Crown 3YO Colt & Gelding Pace, the colt fractured his leg before the race and needed to undergo surgery. After a long layoff, he returned to win the 2015 Breeders Crown Open Pace. At age five, he won several major races and set multiple speed records including a world record of 1:46 at The Red Mile. He received the 2016 Dan Patch Award for Harness Horse of the Year.
Always B Miki
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Dan Patch was a mahogany bay Standardbred stallion who was bred by Daniel (Dan) Messner, Jr., a prosperous dry goods merchant from Oxford, Indiana. In late 1894, Messner purchased a three-year-old filly named Zelica for $255, planning to use her as a buggy horse. Zelica had gone lame in her only start and was later estimated to be worth under $100 at the time. In 1895, Messner paid a $150 stud fee to breed her to Joe Patchen, a top quality racehorse but an untried stallion. The resulting colt was foaled on April 29, 1896 at the livery stable in Oxford. His legs were so crooked that he could not at first stand on his own, leading many of the locals to call him "Messner's Folly". Some even suggested he be put down. Instead, Messner and his friends held the colt so he could ingest the colostrum (first milk) from Zelica. The foal's legs gradually grew straighter, although he still had crooked hocks, especially on his left hind leg. The colt developed an alert, cheerful personality and was noted for his intelligence.
Dan Patch
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Joe Patchen (May 5, 1889 – February 18, 1917) was a Standardbred racehorse foaled in Peabody, Kansas, United States. His sire was Patchen Wilkes and his dam was Josephine Young. Though best remembered for siring the famous Dan Patch, Joe Patchen enjoyed a successful racing career of his own.
Joe Patchen
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Not long after buying Dan Patch, Savage entered him in the Minneapolis Riding and Driving Club's winter horse show held on January 29, 1903. The "champion harness horse of the world" was given the chance to show his paces on a snowy Park avenue. Savage scheduled other special appearances for Dan Patch throughout the spring before finally handing him over to McHenry for serious training in June. Dan Patch made his first major appearance of 1903 in a time trial at Columbus on July 17. Despite being short of conditioning and pacing into a headwind, Dan Patch tied Prince Alert's world record for the half mile of 57 seconds. Although far less famous, Prince Alert was the only other active horse to have broken the two minute barrier for the mile and might have given Dan Patch a serious battle had the two ever met head to head. Instead, the two tried to outdo each other racing against the clock.
Dan Patch
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Dan Patch was from the first crop of Joe Patchen, one of the fastest pacers of his time. Joe Patchen's main rival was Star Pointer, the first Standardbred to break the two minute barrier. Joe Patchen was a great-grandson of Standardbred foundation sire Hambletonian (known more fully as Hambletonian 10 or Rysdyk`s Hambletonian to distinguish him from the Thoroughbred of the same name). Hambletonian sired 40 trotters who met the standard, with several going on to be influential sires. His son George Wilkes raced for twelve years, winning 29 of 67 races. Known for his ill temper, he was initially greeted with indifference at stud but soon became one of the greatest sires of his age. One of George Wilkes's less distinguished sons was Patchen Wilkes, who barely met the standard with a best time of 2:29. Patchen Wilkes's only important offspring was a colt produced by the Morgan mare Josephine and named Joe Patchen after his parents. Though his breeding was suspect, Joe Patchen was a great pacer with a career best of 2:01. Other than Dan Patch, he was not a great success at stud.
Dan Patch
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Dan Patch did not make his seasonal debut for 1904 until August 11 in Indianapolis and his first performances were considered disappointing, well off his personal best. Despite this, the crowds though continued to grow, reaching 40,000 in Des Moines and 50,000 in Milwaukee. He was then scheduled to make an appearance in Topeka on the September 14 and arrived in town a few days early. After a workout on the 12th, he cooled out normally but later started to show signs of distress. The condition quickly deteriorated and a respected veterinarian diagnosed a strangulated hernia, which had a very high fatality rate at the time since abdominal surgery on horses was not then an option. Hersey sent two telegraphs on hearing the news: one to Savage and the other to the "Minneapolis Journal". While Savage rushed to Dan Patch's side, news went out across America that the horse was dying.
Dan Patch
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Over the summer and fall, interest in Dan Patch continued to grow, with racetracks negotiating with McHenry to have the horse appear. Dan Patch paced a mile in 2:00 at Brighton Beach despite high winds, then lowered his personal best to 2:00 at Readville. On August 29, Dan Patch just missed the world record with a time of 1:59 at Providence. After strong attempts in Philadelphia, Syracuse and Empire City, Dan Patch finally tied Star Pointer's world record on September 29 at Readville. He rounded out the year with exhibitions before enormous crowds at Cincinnati, Terre Haute, Davenport and Memphis.
Dan Patch