Cecil Devine
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Cecil Devine
Cecil Charles Devine (23 March 1915 – 4 July 1990) was a driver of standardbred racehorses in New Zealand. He drove many winners of major races in New Zealand. His greatest achievement was winning the New Zealand Trotting Cup, New Zealand's premier racing event, three times in a row in 1958, 1959 and 1960 with False Step. He also drove False Step in the US International Paces at Yonkers and Roosevelt. Throughout his career, Devine was one of the "old school" who referred to the sport as "trotting" rather than the more fashionable name of "harness racing". He first got into the sport in the depression years, saying that he otherwise might have ended up a lawyer.Obituary - C.C. Devine
He was associated with many top horses. He won the

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Standardbred
The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace its bloodlines to 18th-century England. They are solid, well-built horses with good dispositions. In addition to harness racing, the Standardbred is used for a variety of equestrian activities, including horse shows and pleasure riding, particularly in the Midwestern and Eastern United States and in Southern Ontario. History In the 17th century, the first trotting races were held in the Americas, usually in fields on horses under saddle. However, by the mid-18th century, trotting races were held on official courses, with the horses in harness. Breeds that have contributed foundation stock to the Standardbred breed included the Narragansett Pacer, Canadian Pacer, Thoroughbred, Norfolk Trotter, Hackney, and Morgan. The foundation blo ...
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Racehorses
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic premise – to identify which of two or more horses is the fastest over a set course or distance – has been mostly unchanged since at least classical antiquity. Horse races vary widely in format, and many countries have developed their own particular traditions around the sport. Variations include restricting races to particular breeds, running over obstacles, running over different distances, running on different track surfaces, and running in different gaits. In some races, horses are assigned different weights to carry to reflect differences in ability, a process known as handicapping. While horses are sometimes raced purely for sport, a major part of horse racing's interest and economic importance is in the gambling associated with i ...
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New Zealand Trotting Cup
The New Zealand Cup for standardbred horses, also known as either the New Zealand Trotting Cup or the New Zealand Pacing Cup is a Group One (G1) harness race held annually by the New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club at Addington Raceway in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is generally considered the country's most prestigious harness racing event. The race is held during Show Week on the second Tuesday in November, three days before the Show Day public holiday. The New Zealand Free For All is held on Show Day. The public holiday in Christchurch is the observance of the Canterbury Anniversary Holiday (16 December in reality). The race meeting, along with the New Zealand Cup for thoroughbreds and greyhounds, forms part of Canterbury's carnival week, along with the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Show. Until 1999, the A&P show was held at showgrounds adjacent to Addington Raceway. The New Zealand Trotting cup is considered as Canterbury's biggest day on its social calendar. ...
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False Step
False Step was a New Zealand Standardbred racehorse. He is notable in that he won three New Zealand Trotting Cup races, the richest harness race, and sometimes the richest horse race in New Zealand. False Step is one of three horses to win the NZ Trotting Cup three times, the others being Indianapolis and Terror to Love. False Step was also taken to the United States in 1960 by his trainer and reinsman Cecil Devine, who had driven him to victory three times in the New Zealand Cup. The horse scored success in the International Series at Yonkers Raceway, and also defeated the acknowledged American champion of the time, Adios Butler. Major races He won the following major races: * 1955 New Zealand Trotting Derby * 1958 New Zealand Trotting Cup * 1959 New Zealand Trotting Cup (handicapped 24 yards) * 1960 New Zealand Trotting Cup (handicapped 48 yards) See also * Harness racing in New Zealand Harness racing in New Zealand is primarily a professional sport which involves pacing ...
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Lord Module
Lord Module (9 November 1974 – 8 April 1997) was a champion New Zealand-bred Standardbred racehorse who raced during the 1970s. He is notable in that he won the New Zealand Trotting Cup, the richest harness race, and sometimes the richest horse race in New Zealand. A gifted Standardbred racehorse who certainly could have won many more races but for being troubled throughout his career by bad feet and unruly behaviour, which led to his subsequent retirement. He won the New Zealand cup in 1979 but was banned the following year because of his unruly barrier behaviour. However, in the final race of the carnival and against one of the best fields ever assembled he finished his career in the best possible way, coming from a hopeless position and storming to victory. This completed a treble of races that had only ever been won previously by Cardigan Bay. The race call by Reon Murtha was remembered word for word by many harness fans such was the emotion generated by the performance. ...
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Adios Butler
The horse Adios Butler, also known as "The Butler" (1956–1983), was a North American harness racing champion. Background Sired by the great Standardbred Adios and out of an obscure broodmare named Debby Hanover, Adios Butler was trained by Paige West and driven by Clint Hodgins in 1959. Racing career In 1959, Adios Butler won the Cane Pace, then the Little Brown Jug, where he was the first horse to win with a sub-two-minute mile, and finally the Messenger Stakes, doing it in track and stake record time to become the first pacer to capture the Triple Crown of Harness Racing for Pacers. In 1960 Adios Butler was sold in part to Ohio interests and while he remained in the care of Paige West he was driven throughout the rest of his career by Eddie Cobb. He stood at stud at Fair Chance Farms in Washington Court House, Ohio. The following year, he lost only one race on a muddy track and later recorded a 1:54.3 mile, the then-fastest time in harness racing history. Adios Butler w ...
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New Zealand Free For All
The New Zealand Pacing Free For All is a major New Zealand harness race. It is notable as it is a Group One championship sprint race and has been won by nearly every champion pacer in New Zealand. History of the race Horses which have won the Free-for-all include hall of famers and champions who later shone in the United States and Canada like Cardigan Bay and Caduceus. The latter who won the Free For All three times. The race has also been won three times by Robalan, Harold Logan, Lordship and Author Dillon.New Zealand Free for All
Between 1942 and 1948 the race was renamed the New Zealand Pacing Sprint Championship. The race is contested at on th ...
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New Zealand Trotting Derby
The New Zealand Derby is a classic event in New Zealand for 3 year old harness horses, run at Addington Raceway. History Formerly called the New Brighton Derby Stakes from 1914 to 1925, the race was conducted by the New Brighton Trotting Cub and decided in the Autumn. In 1925, it was taken over by the Metropolitan Trotting Club and decided in the Spring. In 1982 it was switched to the Summer. In 1968–1969, the race was 1 miles and in 1970–1972, 1m 5f. In 1973-83 it was a standing start race over 2600 metres. From 1984, it became a 2600 Metres Mobile race. Records Most wins by a driver: * 12 - M F Holmes (1928, 1930, 1931, 1938, 1939, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1954, 1957, 1960, 1972) * 11 - Mark Purdon (1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2013, 2016, 2017) * 4 - J D Litten (1951, 1953, 1955, 1964) Most wins by an owner: * 4 - H F Nicoll (1921, 1928, 1930, 1931) Race results The past winners of the race are as follows: Other major races * Great Northern Derby ...
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Harness Racing In New Zealand
Harness racing in New Zealand is primarily a professional sport which involves pacing and trotting competitions for Standardbred racehorses. The difference is the horse's gait or running style: * pacing is where the two legs on the same side of the horse move forward at the same time, and * trotting is where the horse moves its two diagonally opposite legs forward at the same time. In New Zealand the majority of standardbred races are for pacers and the most lucrative races are in that gait. Pacers are generally faster than trotters. However, harness racing is still often called trotting as that was the sport's traditional name. History Trotting races were held as part of the programme of some of the galloping meetings in the Otago Southland area as early as 1864. The first totalisators were introduced about this time. They faced opposition from a curious alliance of bookmakers and anti-gambling factions but were approved by the Clubs and licensed by the Colonial Secretary. ...
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1915 Births
Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ** WWI: British Royal Navy battleship HMS ''Formidable'' is sunk off Lyme Regis, Dorset, England, by an Imperial German Navy U-boat, with the loss of 547 crew. ** Battle of Broken Hill: A train ambush near Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia, is carried out by two men (claiming to be in support of the Ottoman Empire) who are killed, together with 4 civilians. * January 5 – Joseph E. Carberry sets an altitude record of , carrying Capt. Benjamin Delahauf Foulois as a passenger, in a fixed-wing aircraft. * January 12 ** The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to give women the right to vote. ** '' A Fool There Was'' premières in the United States, starring Theda Bara as a '' femme fatale''; she quickly become ...
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1990 Deaths
Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Mesopotamia is partitioned into two Roman provinces divided by the Euphrates, Mesopotamia and Osroene. * Emperor Septimius Severus lays siege to the city-state Hatra in Central-Mesopotamia, but fails to capture the city despite breaching the walls. * Two new legions, I Parthica and III Parthica, are formed as a permanent garrison. China * Battle of Yijing: Chinese warlord Yuan Shao defeats Gongsun Zan. Korea * Geodeung succeeds Suro of Geumgwan Gaya, as king of the Korean kingdom of Gaya (traditional date). By topic Religion * Pope Zephyrinus succeeds Pope Victor I, as ...
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