Thank you very much Graham for telling us about Bing's racehorse "Miss Hua" and her 4-length victory in November 1941 at Sydney's Victoria Park racecourse..

There is a press article of the time on the Web reporting:

"BING CROSBY WILL RACE HORSE HERE"

Bing Crosby, famous American crooner, who runs a string of racehorses and is one of the leading figures in racing on the Pacific coast, will soon have his colours carried in Australia. He has leased from Mr. W. J. Smith the filly Miss Hua, daughter of the Victoria Derby winner Hua.

Miss Hua was unplaced when racing in the nomination of Mr. W. J. Smith at Ascot on Wednesday. She is engaged in the Debutante Stakes at the Caulfield Cup meeting, but, according to advice from Sydney, is not likely to run in that event.
 
Another famous film figure who will soon race horses in Australia is Louis B. Mayer. A few months ago he purchased several yearlings from Mr. Smith's St. Aubin's Stud. They have been named Dinkum Aussie, Bardia, Yarrawonga, Corroboree, and Hughette.
 
“The Argus” - Saturday 4th October 1941
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I looked up "Miss Hua" in the Pedigree Query Web records and see that she was the daugther of "Hua" (Aus) and "La Rasade" (Aus).  "Miss Hua" was the great great great grand-daughter of the amazing and undefeated racehorse "St Simon" (born in 1881) on both her father and mother's sides and similarly for "Carbine" (NZ born in 1885 the great grandson of "West Australian" and the winner of 33 races with 9 placings) also on her mother's side.

Back nine generations from "St. Simon" is the famous unbeatable "Eclipse" (born in 1764) winner of all of his 18 races and about whom the saying goes "Eclipse first, the rest nowhere!".

Last edited by VictorM (12/12/2022 11:47 pm)

BING CROSBY STAKES

The "Bing Crosby Stakes" is a yearly horseracing event held at the Del Mar racecourse in California, USA for three year-old horses and older run over a distance of ¾ mile (6 furlongs). Bing was a founding partner in the racecourse property.

The "Bing Crosby Stakes" were first run in 1946 when the dead-heat winners were "War Allies" and "Indian Watch". The most recent 2019 winner was "Cistron".  

Amongst the other 73 past winners of the "Bing Crosby Stakes" were "Olympic Prospect" and "Christmas Boy" horses co-owned by Frank Sinatra!
  
"Where the Turf meets the Surf"

  

Bing Crosby greets Del Mar’s first patron, Mrs W.R. Richardson, on the venue’s opening day on 3rd July 1937.
(Photograph: Del Mar Thoroughbred Club)

Bing Crosby sings "Where The Turf Meets The Surf" to promote the Del Mar Turf Club, near San Diego. Bing was a part-owner of Del Mar. The song was written by Johnny Burke, James Vincent Monaco and Bing and it was recorded in Los Angeles with John Scott Trotter & his Orchestra on 5th July 1941.



"Pataha Prince" the winner of the "Bing Crosby Stakes" in 1973 was trained by Robert Julian Frankel who is described as "one of the most successful and respected trainers in the history of thoroughbred racing" winning several trainer awards.  Robert Julian Frankel won several "Eclipse Awards", the year-end thoroughbreds racing awards for best trainer and he set earnings records, Grade 1 stakes victory records and others, also winning the Pacific Classic Stakes for a record 6 times.   

In 2008, a horse from Juddmonte Stud was named "Frankel" in honour of the famous trainer. The colt, son of the great racehorse "Galileo" and "Kind", was trained in Newmarket by the late Sir Henry Cecil, and was victorious in every one of his 14 races receiving the highest rating ever awarded by the British publication "Timeform". However, it should be noted that unlike "Sea Bird", "Ribot", "Nijinsky", "Mill Reef", "Secretariat" and other great racehorse winners, "Frankel" did not tackle any of the longer races like The Derby, etc.

Via the link below, there is a full history of Del Mar on film including Bing Crosby speaking entitled "WHERE THE TURF MEETS THE SURF" and produced in 1990:



Below is a photo taken at another racecourse supported by Hollywood stars "Hollywood Park" (Bing's idol, Al Jolson, was a Director). The three persons on the right-hand side in the first photo below are moviestars Don Ameche, Hedy Lamarr & James Stewart. 


 
Bing & friends at Del Mar

 
Bing Crosby with co-founder Pat O'Brien addressing the racegoers at Del Mar in 1937


Dorothy Lamour in the above photo with Bing Crosby at the opening day of Del Mar Racetrack 3rd July 1937.

Bing's horse "High Strike" won the first race on opening day at Del Mar.


Celebrities and filmstars attending Del Mar Racecourse during the 1937 - 1940s & in the 1950s include Dorothy Lamour (gracing the winner's enclosure in 1937), Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Robert Taylor, Betty Grable, Barbara Stanwyck,  Paulette Goddard, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, Jimmy Durante, Eddie Cantor, George Jessell, Hoagy Carmichael (composer of "Stardust" - recorded by Bing Crosby with the Victor Young Orchestra on Brunswick in 1931), Mickey Rooney, George Raft, Oliver Hardy, Gloria Swanson, W.C.Fields, Gregory Peck, Ann Miller, Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Edgar Bergen and Jayne Mansfield

Bing Crosby sold his interest in Del Mar Racecourse in 1946. The following year, Bing lent his name to a horse-racing board game called "Crosby Derby" (similar to "Monopoly") advertised as the "Closest thing to a real horse race!  Packed with hours of fun and excitement! Everybody plays!".

After Bing Crosby had sold his interest in Del Mar Racecourse and the Binglin Stables, he was largely absent from the racing scene throughout the 1950s. However, his role in the movie "Riding High" (1950 ) allowed Bing to shift from actual racehorse owner to cinematic racehorse trainer.

Bing's wife, Dixie Lee, died on 1st November 1952 of ovarian cancer, Dixie Lee had been a partner in many of Bing's business interests.  The inheritances taxes were so great that Bing was forced to sell off all of the horses he then owned to meet these taxes. 

Bing Crosby won the Irish Derby with "Meadow Court" in 1965 and the film of the race is elsewhere in this topic. The Irish Derby is run over a distance of 1½ miles at the Curragh in County Kildare, now on the last Sunday of June or the first Sunday of July.

The Irish Derby is much younger that its famous counterpart at Epsom, Surrey, as it was not staged until 1886, by which time the (English) Derby had already been established for 86 years. The Irish Derby is Ireland's most prestigious horserace and many of its winners have been of the highest class.  Bing Crosby had high hopes for a second Irish Derby winner in 1967 with a horse named "Dominion Day" he owned in partnership but a few days before the big race, his trainer Paddy Prendergast reported that the colt was unwell and he was withdrawn. Subsequently, "Dominion Day" won the Blandford Stakes at the Curragh in September 1967 and also won three stake races at Woodbine in Canada. "Dominion Day" would be the last of Bing Crosby's notable racehorses. A Grade 3 race named after "Dominion Day" is now run at Woodbine every July.

Just 2½ months before his own demise at the age of 73 after playing golf with three Spanish champions at La Moraleja Golfcourse just outside Madrid, Bing Crosby had made a nostalgic farewell visit to his former Del Mar Racecourse on 31st July 1977 to see the race that bears his name, the "Bing Crosby Handicap".  It was the first time that Bing had been back to his old racetrack in 30 years. Tragically, 16 days later after that final July visit, the young artist that Bing had once kindly praised years before, Elvis Presley, also died on 16th August 1977 aged only 42.

Columnist and foreign correspondent for the "Daily Racing Form" and American correspondent for the British "Sporting Life" daily paper, Alan Shuback, wrote in his book "Hollywood at the Races" that "Del Mar is a fitting tribute to Bing Crosby's enduring legacy as a sportsman and a showman".

In the sleeve notes to his book, Alan Schuback quotes Ed Sullivan saying in 1939 "Hollywood has gone nuts over horse racing, and by the same token racing has gone nuts over Hollywood.".  The author says "Horse Racing was so popular and influential between 1930 and 1960 that nearly 150 racing themed films were released in that thirty-year period" and in his book, he explores the relationship between the Hollywood film industry, the horse racing industry, and the extraordinary participation of producers, directors, and actors in the sport of kings and points out that the stars' presence at the track attracted the attention of eager photographers and gossip columnists, generating free publicity for their new films mentioning Louis B Mayer, Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Betty Grable and Don Ameche as all being major thoroughbred owners, while Mickey Rooney, Chico Marx and John Huston were notorious for their gambling losses.

Last edited by VictorM (10/11/2021 1:39 pm)