The Fourth Communion

Bill Hartack obviously gets along with horses lots better than with people. He has no use for sportswriters ("They're always misquoting me"), racing officials ("They have too much power"), or even his fellow jockeys ("None of them are my friends"). But with horses, Jockey Hartack, 31, shares a mystical communion. Nobody has ever won so many stakes (43) or so much money ($3,000,000) in a single season. And when it comes to the biggest race of all, the Kentucky Derby, Hartack is in a class by himself: going into last week's 90th Derby, he had three victories and one second in five tries.

Second Choice. So it was somewhat embarrassing to discover that he was only second choice for the horse he wanted to ride. Willie Shoemaker, a gentler genius, was supposed to ride Northern Dancer, a speedy bay colt owned by Canadian Millionaire E. P. Taylor. But Shoemaker changed his mind and switched to Hill Rise, the California champion (TIME, April 24). That left Hartack with Northern Dancer, and a chance to do a little embarrassing of his own.

In the paddock, Hartack got his orders from Trainer Horatio Luro, a transplanted Argentine, whose own Derby record (a first and a third in two tries) was nothing to scoff at. Luro kept it crisp: Northern Dancer was inclined to sulk when he was whipped. "I told Hartack that I do not care for any punishment," he said later, "none whatsoever. Beyond that, I did not tell him anything. He knew the horse. And he had won three Derbies, hadn't he?" Odds at post time: 7 to 5 on Hill Rise; 3 to 1 on Northern Dancer.

The field of twelve horses broke from the gate and swept around the first turn. Hartack kept the Dancer under a tight rein. Mr. Brick, a 16 to 1 long shot, set the pace through the backstretch; Hill Rise was sixth, the Dancer seventh. Then Hartack glanced to his right, saw Shoemaker flick his reins to urge Hill Rise forward. That was the signal. Hartack clucked to Northern Dancer, and in one wonderful burst of speed, the little colt bolted past Hill Rise, past Mr. Brick, past everybody, and into the clear. Turning for home, the Dancer had a two-length lead.

No More Time. Down Churchill Downs' long (1,2341 ft.) stretch the horses pounded. On the outside, Hill Rise was ranging up fast. At the furlong pole, just 1/8 mi. from the wire, the Dancer still led by two lengths. Whipping furiously, Shoemaker closed the gap. With 50 ft. to go, Hill Rise's nose was even with the Dancer's tail. Two more strides, and he was 1 length behind. Another stride--but there was no more time. The two horses swept past the wire, with Northern Dancer in front by a neck. Track stewards called for a photograph to make sure. Shoemaker knew that he had lost. "I tried," he sighed. "Lord, how I tried."

In the winner's circle, the garland of roses from his fourth Derby victory around his horse's neck, Bill Hartack heard the time: 2 min. flat, and a new record, 1/8 sec. better than the old mark set by Decidedly in 1962--with Bill Hartack aboard.

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