A Sentimental Look at the 1949 Kentucky Derby

I decided to take the opportunity, of my first official blog, to explain the pictures on the banner of my new blog page on Horse Racing Nation (HRN). The black and white picture on the left side of the banner was taken by mother when she attended the 1949 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. What makes it more special is the fact that she was a couple months pregnant with me at the time. So my first racing experience, so to speak, was the 1949 Kentucky Derby. My fate was sealed on that first Saturday in May.

The winner of the 1949 Kentucky Derby was Ponder, who was owned by Calumet Farm. What makes this event even more interesting is the fact that everyone thought that 1949 was supposed to be a down year for Calumet Farm. They owned the 1948 Triple Crown winner Citation, and they felt that their 1949 three-year-old stable of horses was not as strong as the previous year.

Ponder was foaled in 1946, and was sired by 1944 Kentucky Derby winner Pensive. He had a very slow two-year-old campaign in 1948 with no wins. Ponder broke his maiden in his first start of his three-year-old campaign. He went on to race six more times before his run in the Kentucky Derby. His first stakes win came in the Churchill Downs Derby which he won four days before the Kentucky Derby was run.  Ponder’s winning time in the 75th running of the Kentucky Derby was 2:04.20. He beat thirteen rivals coming from off  the pace to win that day. Ponder was ridden that day by jockey Steve Brooks, and he paid over $34.00 to win going off at odds of 16 to 1.

His trainer Ben Jones did not like the chances of Ponder winning the Kentucky Derby.  Mr. Jones stated that if he would of had to pay the $1,000 Kentucky Derby entry fee for Ponder he would not have paid it.  He also said that Ponder couldn’t beat a Shetland Pony at that time.  

Ponder went on to finish 5th in Preakness won by Capot, and he was also second to Capot in the Belmont Stakes. In the 1950 San Antonio Stakes, run at Santa Anita, Ponder beat 1948 Triple Crown winner Citation. Later, at age ten, Ponder sired 1956 Kentucky Derby winner Needles. Ponder passed away two years later at the young age of twelve.

I hope you enjoyed this travel down memory lane, and learned something new from my ramblings.

May the finish line always be your friend!

Big Daddy B

You can follow me on Twitter @BigDaddyBRW