The International Specials of

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

were a series of three

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

s held in September and October at three different

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. They were called "International" because the race included the champion from

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, who had won there and in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The one-time series came about following the much hyped October 20, 1923

match race A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams consi ...

at Belmont Park in

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City. The population was 35,265 at the 2 ...

between that year's highly touted Epsom Derby winner,

Papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...

, and the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner, Zev. The race drew a huge crowd to see the first-ever English champion race in the U.S., and it proved a resounding financial success for its promoters. Interest in the event was such that it was broadcast on the

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

, a racing first, and a film of the race was distributed to movie theaters across the country. After the American

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

easily won, horseracing fans in the U.S. clamored for more and European fans wanted redemption for their humiliation. As such, much talk began about the revered French champion Epinard taking on America's best. Following negotiations with leading American horsemen

August Belmont, Jr. August Belmont Jr. (February 18, 1853 – December 10, 1924) was an American financier. He financed the construction of the early history of the IRT subway, original New York City subway (1900–1904) and for many years headed the Interborough R ...

, James Shevlin, and

Matt Winn Martin J. "Matt" Winn (June 30, 1861 – October 6, 1949) was a prominent personality in American thoroughbred horse racing history and president of Churchill Downs racetrack, home to the Kentucky Derby race that he made famous. In 2017, he was ...

, owner

Pierre Wertheimer Pierre Wertheimer (8 January 1888 – 24 April 1965) was a French businessman, who co-founded Chanel with Coco Chanel. Family business Wertheimer was born to a Jewish family,Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. Rather than a match race against a single horse, Epinard would be pitted against America's best in three separate races, each to be run on a dirt track and at an increasingly longer distance. Billed as an "International Special," the event was seen by fans at three different locales. The first race, on Long Island, New York, was attended by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

, the future

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

. International Special No. 1 Monday, September 1, Labor Day at Belmont Park in

: purse $25,000 added - 6

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hor ...

s *Post Positions: Epinard, Snob II, Ladkin, Wilderness, Baffling, Miss Star, Wise Counsellor, Zev, Goshawk. **Results: Wise Counsellor 3/4 len. Epinard 3 len. Ladkin. 1:11.80. Race No.1 was won by Wise Counsellor, the previous year's U.S. Champion 2-Year-Old owned by F. A. Burton and trained by J. S.Ward, came from sixth place as the slight 3-1 favorite. Running for the first time on a dirt track, Epinard finished second with Ladkin third. $29,000 to the winner. International Special No. 2 September 27 at Aqueduct Racetrack in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York : purse $25,000 added - 8 furlongs *Post Positions:

Ladkin {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Ladkin , image = , caption = , sire = Fair Play , grandsire = Hastings , dam = Lading , damsire = Negofol , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1921 , country = United States , color = Chestnut , breeder = ...

, Epinard, Wise Counsellor, Zev, Little Chief, My Own. **Results: Ladkin Nose Epinard 1 and 1/2 len. Wise Counsellor. 1:36.40. In the second race, Wise Cousellor and Ladkin reversed positions from the first race. Epinard's jockey Everett Haynes broke on top, but dropped back to third down the backstretch, but he fought back to finish second by a nose to

who came off the rail and followed the two leaders from the outside before engaging Wise Counsellor for the lead at the half-mile.

was the 2-1 slight favorite, his time was 2/5 off the track record, and was owned by August Belmont Jr. $28,750 to the winner. Wise Counsellor who broke second, took the lead and battled head and head early with Epinard on his inside, then

on his outside. International Special No. 3 October 11 at

Latonia Race Track Latonia Race Track on Winston Avenue in Latonia, Kentucky, Latonia (Covington, Kentucky, Covington) Kentucky, six miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio, was a Thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing facility opened in 1883. The track hosted ...

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licking ...

: purse $50,000 added - 10 furlongs *Post Positions : Epinard, Chilhowee,

Sarazen Sarazen (1921–1940) was an American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame Eclipse Award, Champion Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. Owned by Phil T. Chinn, Colonel Phil T. Chinn's Himyar Stud, Sarazen won his first three ...

, Little Chief, Altawood, My Play, Mad Play, Princess Doreen. **Results: Sarazen 1 and a 1/2 len. Epinard Nose Mad Play. 2:00.80 NTR. Everett Haynes LCCN2014717885

By then a crowd favorite, Epinard was the .95 favorite in the No.3 International Special. A great success, more than 60,000 showed up at Latonia Race Track for the race which drew perhaps the strongest field of all. In addition to the honored guest, Epinard, the race featured stars of the day such as Kentucky Derby runner-up Chilhowee, plus Belmont Stakes winner Mad Play and two future U.S. Hall of Famers,

Princess Doreen Princess Doreen (1921–1952) was a Thoroughbred racehorse best known for being the top American female money-winner. After showing promising form as a two-year-old she improved to be the best female racehorse of her generation for the next thre ...

and

owned by

Virginia Fair Vanderbilt Virginia Fair Vanderbilt (January 2, 1875 – July 7, 1935) was an American socialite, hotel builder/owner, philanthropist, owner of Fair Stable, a Thoroughbred racehorse operation, and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family by marriage. E ...

. Future Hall of Fame trainer

Max Hirsch Maximilian Justice "Max" Hirsch (July 12, 1880 - April 3, 1969) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born in Fredericksburg, Texas, and raised Roman Catholic, Hirsch became one of the most successful trainers in Thorou ...

said the 6-1 third choice Sarazen's win over Epinard, in which he set a Latonia track record, was his greatest thrill in racing. $55,500 to the winner. Although he finished second in all three of the International Specials, Epinard's 1924 performances earned him the U.S. Champion Older Male Horse honors.

References

International Special No. 1 as reported by TIME magazine on September 8, 1924
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20051109235838/http://www.tshof.org/Bios/tshof/hj/hirsch.htm Texas Sports Hall of Fame article on Max Hirsch and the International Special No.3 Horse races in Kentucky Discontinued horse races History of Kentucky Horse races in New York (state)