June 5, 1943: The Belmont Stakes is held at Belmont Park, just outside New York City in Elmont, Long Island. A horse named Count Fleet is going for the Triple Crown.
The son of Reigh Count, who won the Kentucky Derby and the Jockey Club Gold Cup in 1928, Count Fleet was foaled at Stoner Creek Stud Farm in Paris, Kentucky. He was owned by Fannie Hertz, whose husband, John D. Hertz, founded the rental car company that bears his name.
Count Fleet was not a particularly attractive horse, called "narrow, light-waisted, and flat-muscled" by one expert and too leggy and light boned by others. He also had an unruly temperament. John Hertz initially did not think much of Count Fleet, and thought of selling him, until jockey Johnny Longden talked him out of it. Don Cameron became the horse's trainer.
He started slowly as a 2-year-old, but began winning races as the year wound down. As a 3-year-old, he won the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct in Queens, but was cut in the process. On May 1, he won the Kentucky Derby by 3 lengths. On May 8, only 3 horses opposed him in the Preakness Stakes, and he was a 3-20 favorite. He won by 8 lengths. He was taken to Belmont Park, and squeezed in a win over 2 other horses to win the Withers Stakes on May 22.
On June 5, his performance in the Belmont Stakes would have been considerably more memorable had it happened on television. But with only radio, and with a big chunk of the listening audience in military service, the number of people who cared was a lot smaller than it would have been. Nevertheless, with only 2 other opponents, he won in 2 minutes, 28 and 1/5ths seconds, a record until Gallant Man broke it in 1957. And he won by 25 lengths, a record until Secretariat broke it in 1973.
But in this spectacular performance, he injured himself yet again, and it was his last race. In 1951, his son, Count Turf, won the Kentucky Derby, producing the 1st three-straight-generations winners of the Derby, ever. It's only been done once since: Pensive in 1944, his son Ponder in 1949, and Ponder's son Needles in 1956.
Count Fleet's son Counterpoint won the Belmont in 1951, and another son, One Count, won it in 1952. Other descendants include 5-time Horse of the Year Kelso, 1965 Kentucky Derby winner Lucky Debonair, 1971 Epsom Derby winner Mill Reef, and 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. Count Fleet died in 1973, at the age of 33, and remains the longest-lived Kentucky Derby winner.
Longden, born in 1907 in Yorkshire, England, grew up in Alberta, Canada, and went on to become the winningest jockey ever, with 6,032 wins, a record since broken. He became a trainer, and trained Majestic Prince, who won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness in 1969. But the horse was injured, and his owner overruled Longden, and had him run in the Belmont. The injury may have cost Longden the chance to become the only man to win the Triple Crown as a hockey and a trainer, as Majestic Prince finished 2nd, 5 1/2 lengths behind Arts and Letters. Longden lived until 2003.
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June 5, 1943 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees lost to the St. Louis Browns, 3-2 at Yankee Stadium. Chet Laabs singled Milt Byrnes home with the winning run in the top of the 10th inning. Johnny Niggeling outpitched Charles "Butch" Wensloff. Charlie Keller hit a home run.
* The New York Giants beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-1 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Mel Ott, now also the Giants' manager, went 2-for-4 with a walk.
* The Brooklyn Dodgers lost to the Chicago Cubs, 3-2 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-1 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Cleveland Indians, 6-5 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia.
* The Washington Senators beat the Detroit Tigers, 6-3 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.
* The Boston Braves beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-5 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati.
* And the Philadelphia Phillies played the St. Louis Cardinals at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. With the Cards leading, 1-0 in the bottom of the 8th, the Phils lodged a protest. The Cards hung on to win, but the Phils' protest was upheld. The game was resumed from the point of the protest on July 29, and Jimmy Wasdell hit a home run in the top of the 9th, and the Phillies won, 2-1.
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