Flashback: Dr. Fager triumphs on turf in the United Nations

Ahead of Saturday’s renewal of the United Nations (G1), now run at Monmouth Park, a look back at a historic running of the turf feature…

As the summer racing season wound down in 1968, seemingly few challenges remained for leading Horse of the Year candidate Dr. Fager.

The 4-year-old colt had already compiled a sensational race record, culminating with a 10-length romp in the Washington Park Handicap, in which he clocked a mile on dirt in the still-standing world record time of 1:32 1/5. He had carried high weights, defeated top-class horses, set multiple track records, and had — at one time or another — beaten every horse he’d ever faced. What could he possibly do for an encore?

Well, there was always the challenge of winning one of the most prestigious turf races in North America. And that’s exactly the task Dr. Fager tackled on September 11, 1968, when he lined up in the starting gate at Atlantic City Race Course for the $100,000 United Nations Handicap going 1 3/16 miles on grass.

It was a bold idea. Although he had carried his speed as far as 1 ¼ miles, Dr. Fager was still a sprinter/miler at heart, and he had no experience whatsoever racing on grass. Nowadays, an approximate equivalent would be running a Metropolitan Handicap winner in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. It simply isn’t done.

But Dr. Fager tossed in a couple of easy workouts on grass during the 2 ½ weeks between the Washington Park Handicap from the United Nations, and because he seemed to handle the surface well enough, all systems were go. “Although he has never run on grass, Dr. Fager has worked impressively in workouts, and his trainer John Nerud is confident the horse can handle any type of racing strip,” noted an Associated Press story.

As if racing over an unfamiliar surface wasn’t challenging enough, Dr. Fager would be facing a formidable field in the United Nations. There was Fort Marcy, the champion grass horse of 1967 and the future 1970 Horse of the Year. There was Tobin Bronze, a sensational Australian runner with two victories in the prestigious Cox Plate under his belt. There was the 1967 United Nations winner Flit-To, and there was Advocator, runner-up in the 1966 Kentucky Derby.

Adding to the difficulty, Dr. Fager would have to carry top weight of 134 pounds, conceding from 16 to 23 pounds to his nine rivals. And then there was another factor which Elliot Burch — trainer of Fort Marcy — believed would be Dr. Fager’s undoing.

“As you know, [Dr. Fager[ is a speed horse, and they don’t make ideal turf horses,” Burch told Don Zamarelli for a story published in the September 9, 1968 edition of the Paterson, New Jersey The Morning Call. “I think the primary reason for that is the sharper turns they encounter in grass racing. They just don’t handle them as well.”

Racing over grass didn’t stop Dr. Fager from employing his usual front-running tactics in the United Nations, but it did sap some of his speed. Breaking from post six, Dr. Fager found himself engaged in a battle for the lead with Advocator, though the fractions — a half-mile in :48 4/5, six furlongs in 1:12 3/5 — were much slower than Dr. Fager was accustomed to setting. The grass course at Atlantic City didn’t seem as conducive to Dr. Fager’s blinding speed, and he was even headed by Advocator down the backstretch before regaining a slim lead around the far turn.

“It was like he was ice skating,” Dr. Fager’s jockey, Braulio Baeza, recounted in the book Dr. Fager: Racing’s Top Record-Setter, by Steve Haskin. “He was slipping and sliding the whole way around. I kept pulling on him to get him to stick his head up and get a grip on the ground, but he just couldn’t get hold of it. I was pretty worried, because he kept trying and trying and wasn’t going anywhere.”

Turning for home, Dr. Fager drifted wider than necessary, fulfilling Burch’s speculation about the tight turns. This allowed Advocator — saving ground along the rail — to reclaim the lead and briefly opened up on Dr. Fager, threatening to upset the heavy favorite at the stunning odds of 30-1.

An ordinary horse would have given up the chase, but Dr. Fager was far from ordinary. Despite the unfamiliar footing, despite the tight turns, despite carrying 22 pounds more than Advocator, Dr. Fager dug down deep in the homestretch and found something extra. In the final furlong, he lunged at Advocator, stuck his head in front, and battled across the finish line to win by a neck in 1:55 1/5, the third-fastest United Nations ever run.

It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t brilliant. It wasn’t a world-record time. But the determination Dr. Fager showed in winning the United Nations elevated his legacy to a different level.

With Fort Marcy and Tobin Bronze settling for third and fourth, Dr. Fager had fairly and squarely defeated perhaps the strongest field assembled for a North American turf race in 1968. For Dr. Fager to achieve this feat in his first start on grass was almost unprecedented, especially after losing the lead in the home stretch.

At the end of the year, Dr. Fager’s remarkable versatility earned him an unprecedented four championships: Horse of the Year, champion handicap horse, champion sprinter, and champion turf horse. It was a singular feat, unequaled before or since, and a testament to his extraordinary talent.