Hollywood at the Races by Shuback Alan;

Author:Shuback, Alan;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
Published: 2019-02-14T16:00:00+00:00

NA: not available.

All the time, effort, and money Mayer put into the sport eventually began to pay off at the track. In each of the four years from 1941 through 1944, his horses earned more than $100,000 (equivalent to $1.5 million today). But he struck it rich in 1945, when he had thirty-seven winners and accumulated earnings of $533,150 ($7 million today), most of it courtesy of the great filly Busher.

And the Winner Is … Busher!

Given Mayer’s lifelong philosophy of seeking the best—be it a director, an actor, a screenplay, a stud prospect, a well-bred yearling, or a horse in training—he left no stone unturned in his never-ending search for excellence. In his purchase of Busher, he combined an ability to identify prospective talent with a nose for being in the right place at the right time with the right offer.

Bred and owned by Colonel Edward R. Bradley, Busher was born in 1942 at Idle Hour Farm, just outside of Lexington—the Kentucky equivalent of Buckingham Palace. By then, Idle Hour had produced four Kentucky Derby winners, two Preakness Stakes winners, and two Belmont Stakes winners, including Blue Larkspur, the 1929 Horse of the Year. The mares at Idle Hour included the outstanding French-bred producer La Troienne. Busher herself was the product of a mating between Triple Crown winner War Admiral and La Troienne’s daughter Baby League. As a two-year-old, she won five of seven races for Bradley, including the Adirondack Stakes and Matron Stakes at Belmont Park and the Selima Stakes at Laurel Park, earning the two-year-old filly championship in 1944.

When war forced the cancellation of racing throughout America from January 3 through mid-May 1945, the aging Colonel Bradley decided to sell much of his racing stock, and Louis B. Mayer was waiting with his checkbook. The asking price for Busher was $50,000, and Mayer did not demur. On March 15 Busher arrived at the Santa Anita stable of George Odom, the latest in the ever-changing cast of trainers hired by Mayer. He immediately put her into light training in anticipation of the war’s end and the resumption of racing.

Santa Anita reopened on May 15, and on May 26 Busher lined up for a six-furlong allowance event with new rider Johnny Longden in the saddle. The result was a handy five-length victory against opponents of her own age and sex. A week later, on June 2, she overpowered similar rivals by seven lengths, giving weight all around in the seven-furlong Santa Susana Handicap, a race that would eventually become the Santa Anita Oaks.

American racehorses were tougher animals in those days, and Busher had just another week off before making her first start against colts in the one-mile San Vicente Stakes. So impressive were her first two outings as a three-year-old that she was sent off as the 7–5 favorite and emerged victorious, despite being hampered by a riderless horse, Quick Reward.

Her next assignment came against colts her own age in the Santa Anita Derby on June 23. Designed to be

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