Photo: NATIONAL MUSEUM OF RACING AND HALL OF FAME BILL MOCHON COLLECTION
Since its inaugural running in 1928, the Whitney Stakes has been one of Saratoga Race Course’s signature events. The race has been won by 21 Hall of Fame horses, including Ancient Title, a talented California-bred gelding whose victory in the 1975 edition still resonates as one of the greatest Whitney performances 50 years later.
“I was privileged to ride a lot of really good horses in my career,” Hall of Fame jockey Sandy Hawley said in a recent interview. “Ancient Title was right up there with the best of them.”
The 1975 Whitney was the 48th running of the race and the first to be contested under handicap conditions. With a top reputation from winning 13 stakes races in California, Ancient Title was assigned the high weight of 128 pounds. Trained by Keith Stucki—who galloped the legendary Seabiscuit at Saratoga in 1937—Ancient Title shot to the Whitney lead heading into the backstretch but was soon tested as the Allen Jerkens–trained Group Plan, carrying only 115 pounds, threatened
as the finish line neared.
Jockey Jorge Velasquez moved Group Plan to the rail and made a furious rush in the stretch, but Ancient Title wouldn’t relinquish the lead and won by a neck in a thriller. The gritty effort in the stretch was characteristic of Ancient Title’s style. “He was a horse who knew where the wire was and he’d fight you for it,” Hawley said. “He wasn’t the type to back down from a challenge. If he had a lead near the finish, he wasn’t going to let anyone go by him.”
Ancient Title went on to finish third in a pair of races at Belmont Park before returning to California, where he won six more stakes races before being retired in 1978. After seven years on the track, Ancient Title’s career earnings totaled $1,252,791—a record for a horse bred in California. He won or placed in 44 of his 57 races and registered 20 stakes victories. Ancient Title was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2008.
“He won a lot of big races, but I think getting the Whitney and proving he could win outside of California showed a lot of people that he deserved that reputation as a top horse,” said Hawley. “It’s a special race that can really make a horse’s career. Ancient Title earned a lot of respect that day.”
title wave “He was a special talent— very powerful, a lot of natural speed,” jockey Sandy Hawley says of 1975 Whitney Stakes winner Ancient Title, seen here in the Santa Anita paddock. “He could be tough to ride because he was so strong, but you knew he’d give you a heck of an effort. He moved with such force that it felt like he could pull you right over his neck at any second if he wanted to. He was a darn good one for sure.”
Handicap
/ˈhandēˌkap/ noun
A race in which horses are assigned differing weights to carry based on past performances in an effort to level the playing field and create a more competitive race.
