Munro was the first of the trio to drop out of the bidding, and although Denham went to 6100 guineas, it was Galea’s trump bid of 6,200 guineas that won the prize. The three principals that were most interested in acquiring the yearling were Perce Galea, Darby Munro and Jack Denham. The yearling, reared at Baramul Stud, was being sold on account of Sir Gordon McArthur of historic Meningoort, at Camperdown, one of the earliest established homesteads in Victoria. The first of Todman’s progeny were always going to excite interest, but it was late on the final day of those sales that a real frisson exhilarated the Newmarket crowd when the black colt from the former champion race mare, Chicquita, was paraded. In fact, all of these ingredients were at play in the spring of 1963 when there emerged racing’s quintessential glamour horse of the ‘sixties in the shape of a sleek and dapper black colt from Todman’s first crop. Truth be told, the aura of romance began on a crisp autumn day in April earlier that same year, when the colt went under the auctioneer’s hammer at the William Inglis Easter Sales. It might be the horse’s flashy looks or style of racing that grabs the public, or sometimes it might be the flashy looks and style of racing of the horse’s rich and famous owners.

There need to be other qualities at work as well. But many horses win more than their share of prestigious races yet never attain that charismatic aura with the crowds. The reasons for the fascination may vary, although in all such instances the ability to gallop is paramount. That year, however, the show went on.Every so often there comes along a racehorse that happens to capture the public imagination. Once again the weather didn’t cooperate, and rain poured on them during Extreme Day II. But the event was fun enough for Calder to do it again in 2007. Only about 7,000 people showed up that Saturday (7,195 was the reported attendance).

In the end, the X Games fans didn’t flock to the track. Likewise the King George’s Wrong Way was initially set to run on dirt, but the jockeys protested and said they’d prefer to run it on the turf course. He made a mess of it, naturally, but said that was part of the fun. The track announcer, Bobby Neuman, had to call two races at the same time in the World’s Fastest Daily Double. Plus, a 70-yard foot race between the jockeysĮxtreme Day presented some extreme challenges.The World’s Fastest Daily Double – two races run simultaneously on the dirt and turf courses.The Gray Pride Stakes – a $45,000 starter stakes restricted to horses that are gray or roan in color.King George’s Wrong Way Starter Stakes – 1 ¼ miles on turf going the opposite direction (clockwise).The Methusela Starter Stakes – a race for 5 year olds and older.The Fast N’ Furious Stakes – two furlongs on dirt.The “extreme” races on that Saturday’s card: 25, 2006, and when the day arrived the weather cooperated. They rescheduled their promotion for Nov. Disappointed but not discouraged, Calder tried again later in the year. The weather also kept away the fans, which was the entire point of the gimmick to begin with. The rain and humidity made conditions on the track unsafe, so they canceled some of the Extreme Day card. When the day arrived, however, the only thing extreme was the weather. “But it has generated talk, and that's good.” “We may get some people in the industry laughing at us, thinking it's silly,” Calder President Ken Dunn told the Sun Sentinel at the time. Long races, short races, backward races, foot races.Ĭalder had planned out a bizarre card of racing that was going to bend nearly every rule. The event promised to be a racing day like nothing anyone had ever seen before. In July 2006, Calder gave it a shot and announced the first-ever “Extreme Day” at the races. took notice and wondered if they couldn’t make their own sport a little more extreme.

The management at Calder Race Course in Miami Gardens, Fla. The extreme sports showcase on ESPN was pulling in viewers on television and tens of thousands of spectators were turning out to events to watch daredevils on skateboards, bicycles, or snowboards. Back in 2006, the X Games were all the rage in America.

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