54 Facts About Dan Patch

Dan Patch was a noted American Standardbred pacer.

At a time when harness racing was one of the largest sports in the nation, Dan Patch was a major celebrity.

Dan Patch was undefeated in open competition, and was so dominant on the racetrack that other owners eventually refused to enter their horses against him.

Dan Patch broke world speed records at least 14 times in the early 1900s.

Unofficially, Dan Patch broke this record in 1906 with a clocking of 1:55.

Dan Patch was a mahogany bay Standardbred stallion bred by Daniel Messner Jr.

Dan Patch's legs were so crooked that he could not at first stand on his own, leading many of the locals to call him "Messner's Folly".

Dan Patch had a short body and long legs, a combination that would have been problematic for a trotter, as the hind legs would have risked striking the front leg in full stride.

Dan Patch made his first offer for Dan Patch in the summer of 1901, and was finally successful in February 1902.

Dan Patch made his first start as a four-year-old in 1900.

In that heat, Dan Patch was last at the beginning of the homestretch and despite closing rapidly, lost by a nose.

Dan Patch was jostled and trapped at the back of the field until Wattles finally found racing room as they entered the homestretch.

Regardless, Dan Patch proved his superiority by winning the next three heats, the fastest of which was completed in 2:16.

Dan Patch ended the year with four wins and earnings of $625.

McHenry had the toe of Dan Patch's feet trimmed short while using a shoe that was raised in the back, a combination that some observers said made the horse look like he was wearing high heels.

Always a natural pacer who required no hobbles or special equipment to keep him on stride, Dan Patch soon attracted interest from observers of the training sessions.

The Grand Circuit continued in Cleveland, Columbus, and Buffalo with Dan Patch continuing to build his reputation with one win after the other.

Dan Patch responded with a final quarter mile in 30 seconds, a noteworthy fraction at a time when only one pacer had ever broken the two-minute barrier for the mile.

Dan Patch followed up with routine wins in Hartford, Cincinnati, Lexington, and Memphis.

Dan Patch was supposed to finish the season at the Terre Haute meet, but no one would enter against him.

Dan Patch started 1902 in Indiana with his backers speculating just how fast he could go, as he had thus far only paced as hard as needed to win.

Sturges's only alternative was to have Dan Patch compete against the clock in exhibition races.

Dan Patch rounded out the year with exhibitions before enormous crowds at Cincinnati, Terre Haute, Davenport and Memphis.

In most of his exhibition races, Dan Patch started behind galloping horses who were hooked up to a sulky, which gave Dan Patch a target to beat and acted as a wind breaker.

Not long after buying Dan Patch, Savage entered him in the Minneapolis Riding and Driving Club's winter horse show held on January 29,1903.

Dan Patch made his first major appearance of 1903 in a time trial at Columbus on July 17.

The effort was nearly derailed when Dan Patch came close to clipping the rail when moving into the first turn, while his running mates swept wide and were left behind.

Dan Patch next tackled the record for one mile on a half-mile track.

Dan Patch responded to the challenge by setting a flurry of records.

Dan Patch was shipped in a custom built rail-car, with half of the space reserved for Dan Patch and the other half for his grooms and the horses used as prompters.

Savage estimated that Dan Patch traveled roughly 10,000 miles in 1904 alone.

Dan Patch did not make his seasonal debut for 1904 until August 11 in Indianapolis and his first performances were considered disappointing, well off his personal best.

Dan Patch made a brief appearance before the crowd in Topeka before being shipped home to Minnesota.

Dan Patch's next scheduled appearance was in Memphis, Tennessee, where little was expected of him due to the recent illness.

Just two days later though, Dan Patch returned in much better condition.

Dan Patch was greeted with an ovation and Hersey was carried from the sulky on the way back to the stands.

Dan Patch finished the year with appearances in St Louis, Oklahoma City and Dallas.

Dan Patch celebrated his ninth birthday in 1905, an age at which racehorses are considered past their prime.

Dan Patch then shipped to Lexington, where he tied his own world record of 1:56 while surrounded by a cloud of dust, leading the New York Times to call him the "Black Whirlwind".

The 1:55 mark was equaled in following years but was not broken until 1960,54 years after Dan Patch's run, when Adios Butler paced the first sub-1:55 mile in 1:54:3.

Dan Patch's achievements made him a sports celebrity, possibly the most famous athlete in America until Babe Ruth.

Dan Patch retired undefeated in 1909 as the holder of nine world records, and spent much of his later life attending exhibitions.

Dan Patch had a moderately successful stud career but never sired a horse close to his ability.

Dan Patch sired 38 trotters who met the 2m:30s standard with 1 breaking 2:10.

Dan Patch sired 138 pacers who met the standard, 5 of whom broke the 2:05 barrier.

Dazzle Dan Patch was his most successful son but died young and left only a few foals behind.

Savage was notified and indicated that he wished to have Dan Patch stuffed and mounted.

In 2019, Dan Patch was named into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

The brass era automobile maker Dan Patch was founded in Minneapolis in 1911.

Dan Patch was owned by Savage and was one of 16 manufacturers in Minnesota at the time.

Passenger service on the Dan Patch line began the summer of 1910, with travel from Bloomington, Minnesota to Minneapolis.

Dan Patch was the subject of the 1949 motion picture The Great Dan Patch starring Dennis O'Keefe and Gail Russell.

The Disney movie So Dear to My Heart begins with Dan Patch's train pulling into a small town.

Dan Patch was from the first crop of Joe Patchen, one of the fastest pacers of his time.