Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Colts trained by Billy Haughton—Rum Customer and Bye and Large—were favored. Haughton chose to drive Rum Customer, leaving his stablemate to George Sholty.

Early in his 2-year-old season Rum Customer appeared the better but then he lost his form, and Owner Lloyd Lloyds, a manufacturer of women's coats for J. C. Penney and Sears, Roebuck, decided to sell half of him.

Actually, Lloyds swapped 50% of the 2-year-old for a 2-year-old airplane, a twin-engine Skymaster, that was worth about $40,000. Louis Mancuso, Haughton's pilot for many years, was looking for a racehorse, and Lloyds, at the time, was looking for an airplane. So the deal was struck.

Horsepower for horsepower, Lloyds appeared to have the better of the bargain, but by Jug time one had to wonder. In five months Rum Customer had won 10 races and $121,997, been in the money in 17 of his 18 starts and raced faster than any pacer this year, going the mile in 1:56 at Indianapolis. However, the colt caught a virus ten days before the Jug and had only one testing workout in preparation.

On Thursday—Jug Day—47,500 people crowded the fairgrounds. Through the morning the clay track dried, and by the fourth race harrows were kicking up dust. Two races later, in the Old Oaken Bucket, a world record was set by a 3-year-old trotter.

Watching Bye and Large go to the post in the first division of the Brown Jug, Billy Haughton was confident. The track was in good condition, and although his colt had a poor starting spot—in the second tier—there was little competition in this division. Nevele Romeo was the second choice at 7 to 1.

At the start, however, for no apparent reason, Bye and Large went off stride. A quick Ohio-bred named Adios Waverly shot to the front. When Sholty got Bye and Large back on stride, it was too late. He finished a dismal last, beaten more than 15 lengths. No one caught Adios Waverly, who won by 2� lengths and paid $25.20.

An 11-to-1 shot finished second and a 60-to-1 shot driven by the young French Canadian, Herve Filion, was third.

With Bye and Large eliminated, Haughton was careful as he reined Rum Customer onto the track for the second division. Like Bye and Large, the colt had a bad post position, No. 7. And as things turned out, Haughton was unable to get his horse to the rail until the race was three-quarters over.

In the first quarter the colt nearly put a foot through Miller's sulky wheel when Meadow Brick broke and veered to the outside. Down the back side and around the turn, Haughton was parked three wide as two long shots burned themselves out going the half mile in 59.1/5 seconds. Rum Customer seemed to lack his usual burst of brilliant speed, but as the leaders dropped back approaching the three-quarters, he surged to the front. He won comfortably by more than three lengths. Isolator Hanover, an 84-to-l shot, was second, and Batman was fourth.

"My colt is not sharp, not keen today," Haughton said, returning to the paddock. "He was gutty to have won that."

In the raceoff the crowd was more confident than Haughton about Rum Customer. As the pacers warmed up, the tote board showed Haughtons colt was 1 to 9, Adios Waverly 6 to 1 and everything else in the field 20 to 1 or better.

At the start Adios Waverly burst into the lead, Driver Wendell Kirk again hoping to steal away, but Batman went with him and they sped to the half in 58.4. Rum Customer was tucked along the rail fourth. After Batman had softened up Adios Waverly, Rum Customer went to him, and on the final turn Haughton's colt pulled away. He won by three lengths, in 1:59.3, and the Brown Jug purse put Haughton over the million-dollar mark in earnings that season.

On October 12 of that year, Rum Customer won the Cane Futurity at Yonkers Raceway, earning the second jewel on his way to the pacing Triple Crown. Just a few weeks later he captured the Messenger Stakes at Roosevelt Raceway, sewing up Triple Crown honors and Horse of the Year honors for 1968. He retired after that season with $1,001,548 in earnings and a career mark of p,3, 1:56.M.