The Mink-Lined Millionaire

If ever a horse earned the right to a luxurious retirement, it was Kelso. Last November, following a spectacular six-year career in which the gelding was five times voted Horse of the Year, won 36 races and $1,893,362--more money than any other thoroughbred in history--"Kelly" quit racing. Owner Allaire du Pont sent him to her Aiken, S.C., farm, gave him a stall with a view, a few hundred acres of pasture all to himself, and a personal groom to look after his every need. He had his own water supply (Vichy, imported from Arkansas), his own special sugar-cane mattress, even his own mailbox--an outsize affair that was designed to accommodate the 3,000 letters that arrive each week from sentimental fans.

This season Kelso's retirement seemed to Trainer Carl Hanford a little premature. After all, there has not been another horse worth snorting at. Gun Bow, Kelso's chief protagonist in 1964, has managed to win only three out of eight races. And the No. 1 handicap horse in the U.S. so far this year is a converted sprinter named Pia Star, who never won a race longer than seven furlongs until last month.

That was enough for Trainer Hanford. "Kelso," he announced, "is happier when active." Strictly for exercise, he entered the eight-year-old in a six-furlong allowance race at New Jersey's Monmouth Park. "He won't even know what six furlongs is." Maybe not, but Kelso still ran third, beaten less than a length for all the money after he stumbled coming out of the starting gate and nearly threw his jockey.

Next stop was Delaware Park and last week's Diamond State Handicap. The distance (1 1/16 miles) was more to Kelso's liking, and so was the purse: $20,000 added. Seventeen horses had been nominated in the stakes event at $50 a head. The price of a stall in the starting gate was an extra $250. And when 13 owners saw Kelso on the list, they figured that it was $250 down the drain, promptly withdrew their animals. It was a wise decision. When Kelso showed up at Delaware Park, he was so keyed up that Owner du Pont tied a silver mink "cribbing collar" around his muzzle--to keep him from biting anyone or anything in sight.

At post time, the odds were 3-10, and track officials canceled all show betting on the race. What race? Kelso galloped easily to a 31-length victory, missed the track record for 1 1/16 mi. by just 3/5 sec. The victory swelled his income by $14,202 and settled the question of his retirement once and for all. "Kelso will keep running as long as he can beat good horses," said Trainer Hanford. And how long would that be? "Oh, a couple of years or so."

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