Racehorses and Jockeys

It has been nearly thirteen years since Calvin H. Borel won the spectacular Kentucky Derby finish! He was often called Bo Rail for his tendency to hug the rail, which doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out it is the shortest path to the winner’s circle. On May 1, 2010, the Catahoula native won the 136th Kentucky Derby while riding 8-1 Super Saver, making this Calvin’s third win in the last four Kentucky Derbies. It was a tremendous achievement that has never been accomplished before! At the time, he was 43 years of age, and his dream has always been winning the elusive Triple Crown.
Louisiana has a long history of producing excellent racehorses and jockeys. In 1927, one of those jockeys was Dunice “Pechon” Dubois of Vermilion Parish, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Humbert Dubois of Kaplan. Pechon rode horses owned and trained by Zan Rasberry and Alcide “Boy” Simar both of Iota, LA. According to published reports of 1927, Pechon got his start in Vermilion Parish, “where he quickly gained fame for his cool-headedness and ability to get the most out of a mount.” Zan Rasberry owned several great racehorses. One horse in particular was Della Moore, named after a West Texas prostitute of the 1890s. Della Moore, the prostitute, was best known as being the girlfriend of outlaw Kid Curry, who rode with the Wild Bunch gang. Zan purchased the horse after she defeated another great Louisiana horse named Bal de Eunice. Some say Bal de Eunice “was the greatest horse here at the time.”
According to an excellent book titled “Cajun-Bred Running Horses” written by Francis S. LeBlanc, published in 1978 reported that in the early 1800s, races were held on a one-mile circular track. These races were a grueling four miles. That is not all, the winner was the best two out of three races. Sacré tonnerre! Before the spring action gates, in the many bush tracks that followed there was a wooden barrier that separated the riders. Back then it was straight track and one of the riders would shout, “ready!” and the other would reply with, “Go!” Il sont parti!
The author reported that our Cajun Country supplied “both men and horses to the Confederacy. Alcibiades De Blanc of St. Martinville organized Company C of the 8th Louisiana Infantry Regiment. Colonel William Vincent of the 2nd Louisiana Infantry had many of the very best horses, while others were given to the Texas Confederate Rangers who fought in Louisiana. Towards the end of the war, a great many horses were taken by Union forces and the ones they couldn’t take were usually shot. After the not so civil war, in 1869 Numa Bienvenu also of St. Martinville established the first one mile racetrack. It wasn’t very successful mainly due to his two best horses won all the races. A few years later in 1873, the New Orleans Fair Grounds racetrack was opened. It not only created enjoyment for spectators, it was employment for trainers and jockeys. It also added frustration to some and financial ruin for others.
A little closer to home was Ellis Richard’s place known as Tee Maurice. It was a place of entertainment and according to LeBlanc, horse racing there went back to the early 19th century, and it catered to “saddle and harness races.”
There was a one-half-mile racetrack along with a ten-arpent straight-away. There was also a dancehall, bar, and the stomping grounds for anyone aspiring to seek political office. Allons Chez Tee Maurice! The author said some of the largest horseracing crowds could be found at Tee Maurice. Crowds of 5,000 were commonplace. Ellis Richard was from Bosco and nearby was the infamous area of Marais Bouleur known to be clannish and didn’t cater to outsiders very well. Fights were frequent at the dancehall and sometimes it was à bataille au mouchoir where “two knife-carrying men, each gripping opposite ends of a handkerchief by their teeth, would engage in a bloody and frequently deadly contest.” LeBlanc mentioned an altercation that took place on a Sunday afternoon in the early 1900s between the Duplechiens and the Higginbothams. “The result was that five persons were killed tragically by musket fire.”
In the Bosco area of Acadia Parish during Ellis Richard’s era, there was a palomino racehorse named Baille, which means blonde or golden colored. The horse won a great deal of races. For years and even today Cajuns speak of Baille. They would often say Baille à partir à la course, which met Baille has entered the race and will probably win. Ellis Richard was the proud owner of several good racehorses, one favorite was Green Flash, a two year old horse of about 750 pounds. The Cajuns knew the horse as Hitler, which “was bred by John Clay of Sunset and sired by Green Wave, a thoroughbred owned by Brook and Delcambre Farms of New Iberia. The dam was also a thoroughbred named Hot Flash. Ellis Richard convinced Clay to sell him Green Flash. The horse loved racing and was well known at the New Orleans Fair Grounds. Green Flash was apparently known for his ability to overtake his competitors by eight lengths in a six-furlong race. The trait was passed on to his off springs in the horseracing world.
There was also the Chinaball Grove Racetrack in Scott where probably the first girl jockey was from. That girl was Mercedes, the daughter of Gabriel “Gobb” Strauss. She was known as Papillote because of her pig tails. If not the first female jockey, she was surely the youngest since she began riding at the age of five. She cared for Moonlight, which was described as a light sorrel that stood 15.2 hands high. LeBlanc reported that the “22 month old filly weighed 1,000 pounds and had long slender muscles, a very attractive blaze-face and the picture of a fine racehorse.” The horse spent two years at the Chinaball Racetrack in Scott. LeBlanc stated that since the time of her first race, she “was never passed by another horse.” What a legendary reputation!
Although not from Cajun country, I would be negligent if I didn’t mention Lecomte owned by Thomas D. Wells, who owned a plantation south of Alexandria, LA. which many considered the colt to be the fastest in the world. Lecomte was a rich chestnut brown with one white stockinged hind leg. His maiden victory was in 1853 at the most popular racetrack in the South—the Metairie Racecourse. According to the author, Lecomte was named after Ambrose Lecomte of the Magnolia Plantation of Natchitoches, a close friend of the Wells brothers.”
In April 1854, the racetrack was packed to capacity with people from nearly every state in the union. The horses ran a grueling four-mile race. Lecomte, also known as the Red River Colt, ran a record-breaking time of 7.26 (seven minutes and twenty-six seconds), a world record. The colt had just handed the world famous Lexington its first career defeat! Everyone knew that it was a fast heat and could scarcely believe their ears when the time was officially announced. The New Orleans Democrat reported it would be remembered as the greatest four-mile race on record, and certainly the most brilliant event in the sporting annals of the American turf world. The two horses were actually brothers, both sired by the world-renowned white face stallion, Boston. The Louisiana town, south of Alexandria, was named after this horse. Each year at the New Orleans Fair Grounds there is the Lecomte Stakes, a $100,000 one-mile race named in honor of Lecomte. During the days of Lecompte High School, the yearbook was named the Lecomte with a picture of the racehorse on the cover. Sometime later when the railroad painted a sign on the depot a “P” was mistakenly added to the name, and it has been Lecompte ever since.