American Horse Racing’s Most Magical Places: The White Pine

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The White Pine (photo by Tom Ferry).

Of all the great landmarks in American horse racing, perhaps only one is truly alive — and it resides at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

It has been there to witness 13 horses achieve the greatest moment of their lives when they captured the sport’s most elusive honor, the U.S. Thoroughbred Triple Crown. And it watched from afar as Go For Wand, Prairie Bayou, Timely Writer and the great Ruffian left the paddock to head out to the track — only to never return.

It has seen its share of both horses and people across many, many years. Some say more than three centuries, but the New York Racing Association approximates the age at between 175-190 years old.

It is a tree.

Not just any tree, however, but a huge Japanese white pine, specifically known as Pinus Parviflora. The shade it casts across the Belmont Park paddock predates the track itself, which was constructed in 1903.

Before there was Belmont Park, the land the tree resides on was part of the Manice estate. A 19th century Tudor-Gothic mansion stood on the estate and, until it was torn down in 1956, it served as the headquarters of Belmont’s Turf and Field Club. It was said that the mansion “stood in a setting of ancient trees” (from New York Racing Association’s Belmont Park: 1905-1968). 

Trees surely dominated the Manice property. And it’s no small feat the White Pine has survived so long, considering a sawmill reportedly stood on the Belmont land to “handle the vast amount of lumber needed for construction of the stands, barns and other buildings.”

The paddock area at Belmont Park on major racing days can be electric. There is little mistaking you are in New York when surrounded by passionate, knowledgeable fans who never hesitate to let jockeys, connections and even horses know how they are performing, favorably or otherwise.

A focal point of the paddock is an incredible statue of Secretariat, portraying the legendary champion stretched out in full flight. The sculpture commemorates his 31-length triumph in the 1973 Belmont Stakes to win the Triple Crown.  The paddock area also serves as a festive picnic area during the track’s racing meets.

The Secretariat statue resides adjacent to the White Pine in Belmont's paddockJPG

The Secretariat statue resides adjacent to the White Pine in Belmont’s paddock (photo by Tom Ferry).

However, much like the combination of the Twin Spires and Churchill Downs, take away the White Pine from the paddock area and Belmont Park just isn’t the same. While it may not be a singular focus of photographs taken during a day at the races, it is always present. Take a look at old snapshots of Belmont Park from the early portion of the 20th Century, and there is the tree — in the background, casting its shade with sweeping, expansive limbs in faded sepia and black and white.

It has been part of the track’s official logo since 1968. And, perhaps, the current version illustrates the White Pine’s magnitude and significance throughout Belmont Park and the history of Thoroughbred horse racing best. The logo simply displays a man, a horse, a couple of bystanders… and a tree.

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American Horse Racing’s Most Magical Places: Man O’War’s Barn

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The barn that the great Man o’War called home (photo by Tom Ferry).

I entered the lobby of the main office at Mt. Brilliant Farm and checked in at the front desk.  The receptionist directed me to drive back out through the farm’s main entrance, turn right on Huffman Mill Pike, head up the road a ways and turn right again, through a gate marked Faraway Division.

As I drove through the Faraway gates, I imagined what it must have been like for more than one million tourists who passed this way during the 1930s and ‘40s.  They came from every state in the United States — and multiple continents, for that matter — and journeyed down this same driveway.  When I arrived at the bottom of the hill, I caught sight of a stone pillar with an imbedded brick plaque proclaiming, “Man-O-War’s Barn.”

Mares and stallions in the distant Mt. Brilliant paddocks watched me closely, but otherwise I was alone.  I got out of my car and slowly walked down a hedge-lined path toward the solitary green and white barn.  When I reached the side-by-side barn doors, I grabbed both handles, paused, took a breath, and pulled the doors apart.

Rays of sunlight illuminated the interior through a variety of windows.  As I walked inside, brown-paneled stalls in each of four corners surrounded me.  Each had brass nameplates centered on the stall doors.

The first read American Flag.  I turned the corner and saw the name Crusader on another.  The door across the aisle said Golden Broom. 

Then, I approached the remaining stall.

The world of horse racing has brought me many thrills across the years, from Secretariat’s incredible 31-length victory in the 1973 Belmont Stakes, to singing My Old Kentucky Home in unison with more than 150,000 others at my first Kentucky Derby.  But gazing upon the stall once occupied by Man O’War brought a type of excitement different from any before.

Nearly 70 years have passed since he walked the earth at Faraway Farm… all those people, all those miles — to see one horse.  I knew I was walking on sacred ground.

I peered through the stall’s parallel slats at the bare stall floor and tried to hear the resonant echoes of the great horse’s groom, the late Will Harbut, as he had once enthralled thousands of tour groups so many years ago.

“Yes sir, we turns him out every day. … No ma’am, he ain’t no trotter. …Stand still Red. …He wuz de mostest hoss.” (From The Blood Horse, November 8, 1947.)

It was magic.

I guess standing there alone with my thoughts made it all the more special.   And as I drove away from Faraway that afternoon, I knew I wanted to capture that feeling again.

Man o'War's stall (photo by Tom Ferry).

Man o’War’s stall (photo by Tom Ferry).

That desire has taken me to 20 different states during the past 15 years in search of American horseracing’s most magical places.  Not just Thoroughbred venues mind you, but also Standardbred, steeplechase and Quarter Horse racing landmarks as well.

In this continuing series, I will share with you many of these iconic places. I carefully refrain from calling any of them the most magical.  What is special to one, may be nondescript to another.  The series will capture the special places in the world of horse racing in the form of farms, barns, racetracks, cemeteries, a trophy room, a statue, a tree and two wooden octagonal spires.

While most of these landmarks are readily accessible to the general public, a few are not.  In these cases, I am most grateful to the management of the venues for their graciousness and shared passion.

I hope you enjoy this journey across the landscape of American horse racing.  The faces, places and memories evoked along the way are timeless.