Dr. Fager's Historic World Record Mile - 1968 (1:32 1/5)
The legendary Dr. Fager, carrying a sensational 134 lbs, absolutely ROMPS under a hand ride to the world record mile on dirt that still stands.
The great Phil Georgeff with the call.
Comments
Another amazing fact about Dr. Fager and this race; The quarter mile was run in 22.4/5 sec.(Dr. Fager wasn't in the lead). He took the lead at the half mile pole at 44 flat which means he ran the second quarter in 20. 3/5 sec, the fastest quarter mile ever seen on any racetrack. What a horse!
At the time of Dr. Fager's retirement, he was the closest thing to being an unbeatable horse as I've seen before or since. His '68 Vosburgh which trainer John Nerud always said was his best race will never be shown since NYRA somehow supposedly lost the video. It boggles the mind to imagine what he would've done as a 5yo. After a pre-lim like the Carter with 140? he would've been asked to carry 141-143 in the Met Mile. Even with those wts. no one was going to touch him at his 2 favorite and unbeatable distances. Then it would've been 140+ for the 1 1/4 mile Suburban. With no Damascus around, nobody else would've had a prayer either. With those 3 races alone in the bag, he would've gotten the heroic fanfare and acclaim he most certainly deserved leaving little doubt of his incredible raw talent and ability to go with his now monumental accomplishments.
How did he DO that? Chase away at the end with most of the energy spent already?! Beast!
RIP DR CHARLES FAGER
I love it on this video when after Dr. Fager crosses the wire in a cakewalk in 1:32 1/5 under 134 pounds and someone on the PA system says "WOW...that is a race horse". Enough said!!! One of the greatest horses EVER!!!
amazing feat considering he was carrying 134lbs... that was back when horses were horses!
One of the most underrated horses in the history of racing...on dirt or grass, Dr. Fager was a brilliant race horse.
Not even a great trip .He was at least 2to3 deep on the turn .
Actually, Hull's 2009 Derby Trial run in 1:30.21 was run over 7.5F and not 8F. If Hull had continued at the same speed that he had covered 7.5F for another 1/2 furlong, he would have finished the mile in 1:36.22 which is 4 seconds slower than Dr Fager's dirt mile WR.
Too bad Sec didn't stick around. He'd have had a freshly gelded Forego to deal with.
It is a tragedy that the focus on producing fast developing quick horses has damaged the thoroughbred. Horses back could run every seven days, run 2 miles and as this video shows, set a time that has never been broken in 45 years, all while carrying an impost that is probably illegal today. No more horses like Exterminator, Kelso, Forego, Dr Fager, Secretariat. I completely share your sentiment.
The record was tied in 2003 by Najran at Belmont, but he was carrying 113lb...21lb less than fager. Should that count? By the way, watch the end of the race closely. Not only was Baeza hand riding the horse but he eased him up at the very end. Makes you wonder how fast he could have run it. Can't blame Baeza. He had the race won and that's all that mattered at the time.
I just watched Hull in the 2009 derby trial run the mile in 1:30.21. Is that the current WR?
Dr. Fager; no question!
Too many of today's top horses cannot make ten starts in their career. The breed is in decline. the really great, tough horses ran in the 50s, 60s and 70s. The breed has beome too big, too fragile and too drugged.
Citation and Count Fleet are both Triple Crown winners. Count Fleet-1943 and Citation-1948. Man O' War because he did contribute to what the US horseracing is today. Not only that, but MOW beat Sir Barton, who was the first Triple Crown winner in 1919. This is just my guess though. :)
This race is probably the best mile run race of all time. I'd be shocked if any horse(of any era) could have beat Dr. Fager on this day. Overall, he was a powerhouse of a horse,..and every race he ran,...he ran like a monster.
Sec will always be my Fav, but I LOVE Dr Fager & Mr. Nerud! Dr Fager was exceptional - some say he'd take Secretariat at a mile. Maybe true?
You must remember that Dr. Fager was 4YO in this race. Sec & MOW ran at 3YO. Dr. Fager was great at 3YO and legendary at 4YO but that does not mean he would beat Sec or MOW had they raced at 4YO.
Crazy Sick performance. He ran very regally with the high action and long strides. I think Sec was the greatest but this horse was an amazing runner. The only knock I have is that he proved to be vulnerable when trying to be rated in the defeats against Damascus where as Sec could run any kind of race, going 1:09 1/5 for 6 furlongs in the Belmont and finishing at 2:24 but this was truly a great horse no doubt...