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On the Trot I 1 By MORRIE KURLANSKY HomerWalton IsVenerable Figure Rates as All-Time Great Trainer 1 Association With Jackson Notable SPORTSMANS PARK, Cicero, 111., Aug. 17. During the present Sportsmans Park meeting a free-for-all pacer Armstrong Abbe, made headlines on several occasions and, while Wilbur Beattie and Billy Rouse were in the sulky in two of the horses victories here, the man responsible for Armstrong .Abbes success remained virtually unknown to harness fans. For veteran harness racing followers, Homer Walton, Armstrong Abbes trainer, is a most venerable figure and whenever someone speaks . of the great trainers in harness racing like Tom : Murphy, Bud Doble, Ben White, Sep Palin, , Fred Egan and Bi Shively, you can be sure i Walton is included. The 63-year-old horse-; man opened a public stable in 1910 and i since then has had more than his shares of success, as well as heartbreaking disappointments, and about a dozen years ago, an accident which nearly killed him and left him with a badly crippled left arm, hand and shoulder. While Walton grained the most coveted honors in harness racing:, in one or the other of the unavoidable spills he broke legs and arms and collarbones and hardly one part of his body remained unscathed. This is the reason why Homer had to give up driving about 10 years ago, but despite his handicap he is still an able reins-man and works his horses out the same as any other trainer. The last time Homer raced in Chicago was in 1932 when the old Cook County Fair race track, where Maywood Park now has its modern plant, was opened, but some horses developed by Homer gained stardom at the Windy City tracks, best known of them all being the outstanding Jimmy Creed, who stormed to a world record for 1 1-16 miles at Maywood Park in 1948. Walton has Jimmy Creed as a two and three-year-old and guided that pacer to many stakes victories and gave him a record of .2:00 as a two-year-old. The" Tennessee-born trainer, who has made his home in Indianapolis for the past two decades, during his long career had no less than seven 2:00 performers and among them were Her Ladyship, greatest female pacer of all time, whose world record of 1:56, made in 1938 at Lexington, Ky., has never been in danger in the 15 years since then; His Majesty, who had the two-year-old pacing record before Jimmy Creed reduced the mark, and Frisco Dale, grandsire of Jimmy Creed and the only horse to defeat the world champion, Billy Direct 1:55, a three-heat race. This .memorable event took place at the sandy running track of Agawam, Mass., in 1938 and the then four-year-old Frisco Dale came from behind to beat Billy Direct in the first dash in 2:02M with the last quarter officially timed in :27M. In the next heat Frisco Dale won in two minutes flat and clinched the race with a 2:01 effort. Frisco Dale is also the grandsire of the new world champion over half-mile tracks, Hi-Los Forbes 1:58. While Walton is not a man given to bragging, being conditioned in a hard school of a" lifelong career distinguished by glory and despair, recognition and near-oblivion, he is nevertheless proud of the fact that he has driven besides the aforementioned world beaters, more than one hundred trotters and pacers that entered the 2 : 10 list, which is a unique accomplishment, indeed. For over 20 years now, Walton has raced the horses of the same patron, .Charles S. Jackson of Chicago, the man who once owned Her Ladyship and Her Majesty, two of the more excellent pacers ever to race and now equally successful as broodmare and sire, respectively. The fact that Walton and Jackson formed one of the strongest teams in harness racing such a long time ago and that they are still together characterizes the material these two men are made of. Jackson, seven years Waltons senior, is a wealthy Chicago undertaker and insurance man, with a great love for harness horses and inobstrusive manners, and while nobody could enjoy the victories of their horses more than Jackson, he never was one to seek publicity, however well-earned. His trust in Waltons capabilities as a trainer is unbounded. When Jerry Baier, director of racing, recently called Jackson to ask him if he would enter Armstrong Abbe for the 0,000 Invitational Pace, Jackson said: "Dont ask me; Im an undertaker, not a horseman. Go to Homer; if he wants to enter the horse, its all right with me." To illustrate the relationship between owner and trainer further, heres another true story.: Before Armstrong Abbe came to Chicago he was raced at Fairgrounds Speedway in Louisville, where hed just won an early-closing event, the monetary value of which was but 00 to the winner, whose owner however, was to receive a handsome trophy. When Walton presented Jackson the memorial of Armstrong Abbes victory, the latter was so delighted that he gave Homer an envelope a little later with the remark not to open it before he got home. When Walton opened it he found a check for ,000. In all his life, Homer has possessed three one-thousand dollar bills and all three were given to him by Jackson. Right now, Walton has only four horses in his barn, two of which belong to Jackson and the other two to Gen. J. Fred Miles, famous head of the Louisville Fairgrounds Speedway and also connected with the Fleischmann Distilling Corporation at Owensboro, Ky. The Kentucky patrons three-year-old Reggy Scott, by Logan Scott, the latter a stakes winning two-year-old for Walter Britenfield, father of Russell Britenf ield, especially shows great promise and was a winner here. Although Homer became famous through the feats of horses like Her Ladyship 1:56, His Majesty 1:59, Jimmy Creed 1:59, Frisco Dale 2:00, Green Valley 2:00 and Edna Brewer 2:00, all of them developed and trained by him, a hore named Contender occupies a special spot in his heart. Contender was the first two-year-old gelding to trot in 2:05 and as a veteran campaigner became a movie celebrity, for the late Will Rbgers drove him in the picture, State Fair. After Armstrong Abbes start in Saturdays big pace Walton ended his six-week stay in Chicago and moved to Springfield and later will go to Wolverine Raceway in Detroit, where he will close out the 1953 season.
