Did You Know...

Tweet - That 81 years ago today (October 13, 1927) Arlington Park opened, built by H.D. Brown and that it had a steeplechase course and polo field? What's more interesting that it led the way in a number of firsts:

* First first electric starting gate (1940)
* Largest closed circuit TV system (1967)
* Introduction of trifecta wagering (1971)
* First million dollar thoroughbred horse race (1981, Arlington Million won by John Henry)

- That 52 years ago today (10/13/56) 1955 Horse of the Year and 4yo Nashua won his last race, the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes at Belmont Park?

- That 28 years later (10/13/84) the aforementioned John Henry would also run his last race at age nine, setting the then earnings mark with more than $6.5M in winnings? He won the Ballantine's Scotch Classic at The Meadowlands, to earn the richest purse of his career, $740,000, which included a $500,000 bonus for winning both the Turf Classic at Belmont Park and the Meadowlands' race.

- That at the most recent Keeneland sale, the median (midpoint) price for 34 New York-breds sold -$45,000, was 21.6 percent higher than that auction's overall median price of $37,000?

- That NY-bred/based Read the Footnotes cracked the top-10 for U.S./North American-based 1st-crop sires through the first weekend of October? Boosted by unbeaten recent stakes winner Forty Thieves ($144,000) and graded-placed New York-bred winners Cribnote (multiple Grade 1-placed earner of $126,200) and Rereadthefootnotes, he is standing at Becky Thomas' Sequel Stallions New York in Hudson, the 7yo multiple Grade 2-winning son of Smoke Glacken - Baydon Belle, by Al Nasr. He has nine juvenile winners in 2008 from his first crop. His 2008 fee, $8,500, live foal, was the lowest among all of the North American-based top-10 first-crop sires of 2008 through October's first weekend.

- In 1492, Columbus allegedly discovered America? Thanks for the holiday. Wait, why am I working?