Hay Stack Racing

The sport of kings, horse racing is one of the ancient contests of horse and man that has persisted through the ages. Horse racing has come in many forms. Hay stack racing was but a short interlude in the sport as we know it today.

The years of the prohibition halted organized betting and caused the regular tracks to cease functioning. The poverty of the Great Depression and World War II was a set back for organized racing. Short track and small meets became the norm. Towns such as Butte and Anaconda, Montana, fostered such races in a network of "bullring" race tracks, fairs and carnivals. Most tracks were crude and about a half mile in length.

I remember tracks that were made by dragging a stonebolt and harrow around and around in a hay field to make a place to race. If a jockey fell too far behind he just cut across the field to catch up. Often jockeys were caught up in the starting net that was stretched across the track. When the starter jerked up the net the race started. Many times the net was not raised high enough and you would be thrown to the ground. This was a rough game, but as an aspiring jockey you had to start someplace. There were few regulations and no one to enforce them. The goal was to win any way you could.

The jockey had many ways to slow down the competition. A jerk or hanging on to the leader's saddle blanket was a favorite. Grabbing the tail of the lead horse was also a good trick. A vicious cut, with the riding crop, to a rider or his horse would break strides and cause injury. Pushing horses into the rail, bumping and intentional blocking was common in all races.

Some of these tactics went on in the 1940's. I was lucky, we played the game pretty straight, but, when you were behind and away from observers, things did happen.

As I read the book "Seabiscuit" by Laura Hillenbrand, I recalled those days and some of her descriptions made chills run up and down my spine. The sculpture, "Hay Stack Racing," depicts some of the antics of the unruly game of horse racing in the 30's and 40's.