Memories of a Greyhound Race that Never Ran

Back in the year 1978, at the now defunct Plainfield Greyhound Park in Plainfield, Connecticut, a wonderful greyhound race almost took place. This race, which would have been the second Connecticut Derby, would have been held over the 680 yard Yankee Course, and was perhaps the finest field ever assembled for a race in New England over the route distance. What many people know that follow the Sport of Queens is that a mutual teller's strike wiped out the Connecticut Derby that year, forever leaving in doubt who would have won. What few people remember is that the dogs that were to be in that race, those that did not have to leave to go to other venues and commitments, did get together a week later, with a result that would be a surprise to many.

These were the days of the great Blazing Red at Plainfield, as the ill-fated All-American distance star would go on to capture a derby crown in West Virginia and two of the most prestigious races in the industry at the time, the American and Wonderland Derbies, both held in Massachusetts. But Blazing Red would not even have been the second betting choice in the Connecticut Derby that was never run, scheduled for Saturday night, May 20th after three elimination heats determined the eight finalists. That's because another All-American-to-be, the fabulous Derek's Cadillac, was in the one hole, with the equally impressive Ivory Coast in the eight. Derek had been a perfect twelve for twelve in his Plainfield career up to that point, and had smoothly made the transition from the 1,650 foot sprint to the 2,040 foot Yankee Course, winning all three of his qualifying heats, including a memorable one over Ivory Coast in Round Two.

Major Role, who had gone undefeated in his three races and was also a standout from the Sunshine State, was in this field that never got the chance to go to post, a huge closer who would fly late in the race. Converted sprinter Wonder Mist was also present, a dog that would go on to give Blazing Red all he could handle in the coming months. Fan favorite Mike's Moss, a sixty-four pound fawn male that had pulled the greatest upset ever at Plainfield Greyhound Park when he caught the seemingly unbeatable Carry Billy in the 1977 Juvenile in the sprint, was a formidable foe as well. Moss had been the first dog to ever break the thirty-nine second barrier over the Yankee Course in Round One, a record that didn't even stand until the end of the night, as both Derek and then Ivory Coast eclipsed it, with Coast running a 38.80 in his tilt. Rounding out the field would have been Derek's sister, Dot's Cadillac, just coming into her own after a rough first round, and Jennie's Rouge, who had been great over the routes in 1977, but had been inconsistent and injured in '78 before putting it together to make the finals of the Connecticut Derby.

The mutual clerk's walk-out had made moot the entire Derby, as it could not just simply be run when they came back to work. Derek's Cadillac, Ivory Coast, and Major Role needed to be in Florida for the start of other stakes events; indeed, Derek would go on to win the Flagler International not once but twice in his fine but injury-shortened career. When track president and owner Edward J. Keelan came on to the in-house monitors to announce the card was cancelled, it was with tears in his eyes, and more than a few disgruntled patrons gave it to the picketing tellers as they reluctantly left the grounds, I among them.

Many recall these events, and argue to this day who would have won. Derek would have come out of the one box, and I personally believe he could never have been beaten from there. Ivory Coast hadn't managed to do it from the eight in their classic battle two races back, and in this one he would have had far superior dogs to contend with in between him and Derek. Blazing Red had not quite become the absolute machine he would soon be, but he was close. However, he was saddled with a four hole, the same blanket that the statue erected to him later would wear outside the doors of Plainfield. As great a fan of Mike's Moss as I was, I have to admit he would have needed to beat the box to win this affair, and Major Role was not going to be able to spot these dogs the number of lengths he had spotted others in the prelims. Wonder Mist would have been caught by someone for sure if she had gotten to the lead, and Dot's Cadillac and Jennie's Rouge would have been along for the ride. No, I couldn't see anybody beating Derek from that post then, and I still don't now.

But a funny thing happened on my way down memory lane. I was able to procure the first six years worth of programs from Plainfield, and looking back at them I saw that a week later, on May 27th, a stakes field was sent to post, minus four of the key participants granted but still a great race. It was not the Connecticut Derby, but an attempt by the track management to somehow make up for the awful cancellation of the most looked-forward-to race in the facility's history. Wonder Mist was absent, but Mike's Moss was in the three, Blazing Red in the four, Dot's Cadillac in the seven, and Jennie's Rouge in the eight. Flying River was in the one, but injuries and a long layoff had rendered the national wins leader of 1977 a shell of her former self; she actually never won another Plainfield race after 1977. Count Eddie, not the most honest greyhound to tour the Connecticut oval, was in the two, in the best form of his life, showing three route wins. Lincoln's Diamond Eyes was in the five, a diminutive 53 pound bitch owned by Anthony Tutalo, who still is in the business today at the Rhode Island track. Eyes had done well in the Derby trials and then won a grade A Yankee Course contest on May 22nd. JF Celtic Pride was in the seven, a steady threat of Tim-Tom Kennel and the colorful Ed Gauvin, a dog that had famously caught the superb fast-closing sprinter Great Big in Big's one and only distance race at Plainfield back in April.

If you were to put this program from almost thirty years back in front of me now and ask me to pick the winner of this race, I would have quickly told you Blazing Red or Mike's Moss, and no one else would have had a chance. However, I would have been wrong, as most of the over five thousand patrons that packed Plainfield that night were. The dog track was the only show in town back then, as the casinos that eventually put it under weren't even a dream yet and the lottery was in its infancy. They had pounded Blazing Red down to dimes on the dollar, with Moss at 7-2; all the rest were sent off at double-digit odds. I don't know where I was; perhaps disgusted by the Derby never being run I had decided to boycott the place for a bit. I missed an upset of some proportion, as this race did not go according to form. Jennie's Rouge, who was the greyhound equivalent of "A boy named Sue" since he was actually a 73 pound male, went to the front and never looked back. He turned the clock back to the time when he couldn't be beaten at Plainfield, rushing around everyone and establishing a small lead over Dot's Cadillac, who cleared second. Mike's Moss made it around third and caught Dot's Cadillac in the backstretch, but could not make a run at Jennie's Rouge. Blazing Red had made it to the first call in fifth, by far his worst start of the year. The greyhound that had beaten both Bones Printer and Shining Printer in a great three way match race a few weeks earlier had too much ground to make up. Try as he might, and as great as he was and would be, Blazing Red came up a length short, losing to Jennie's Rouge, who ran a 39.35 clocking. So respected was Blazing Red that track management invoked their right to have no show wagering on the race, afraid that it would have created a minus pool. Jennie's Rouge paid over $40 to win!

This was Jennie's Rouge last great hurrah. Blazing Red would go on to his great triumphs and then awful tragedy, as he broke a leg at New Hampshire's Seabrook Greyhound Park in December and succumbed on the operating table during corrective surgery a short time later. Mike's Moss would run hot and cold after that, and actually compete in the 1979 Connecticut Derby eliminations , which for one year was turned into a Plainfield-only event. All of these racers are long gone now, as is Plainfield Greyhound Park as I knew it, but as long as I live it will never truly fade, as it remains vivid in my mind's eye as I see these star greyhounds pounding down the stretch.