Horse Racing Songs

 

The photo, above, is of the famous Seabiscuit, with his jockey, Red Pollard who was a very famous race horse that made the nation forget the Depression for a while and bring hope to the masses. This week, over at Monday Music Moves Me, is all about Horse racing or horses. I almost went with, “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” but I was intrigued about the horse racing side. It’s the fancy side of sports where men dress up in their finery and women wear fancy clothes and very silly hats. My dad went to the Woodbine Horse Racetrack in the 1930s, gambled on the horses and lost all his money! This was a big blow since it was at the height of the Great Depression. He walked home…from Toronto to Welland, Ontario. It takes over an hour by car( without traffic), so this was one long walk. He never went back and learned a rough lesson. 

Here are my 3 songs about Race Horses and Racing…

1. THE SEABISCUIT SONG SUNG BY FRANK LOVATO JR-2009

This is a song written by Frank Lovato who is not famous, but wrote this wonderful song about the legendary Seabiscuit, a horse that griped the nation back in the 1930s. An excellent film, that I just rewatched, excels at telling the story about 4 broken males…the horse, the jockey, the trainer and the owner. It’s a must-see film.

2. MOLLY AND TENBROOKS SUNG BY BILL MONROE & THE BLUE GRASS BOYS-1947

This song depicts the rivalry of these 2 famous horses from the 1880s. It became a hit when Bill Monroe sang it in 1947 although it wasn’t released until 1949.

3. WHERE THE TURF MEETS THE SURF SUNG BY BING CROSBY-1937

The Del Mar Racetrack was created by William A. Quigley who was a great friend of Bing Crosby. Bing is the reason Del Mar exists and invested in building this racetrack by the sea. It became a big place to go and see all the famous stars of the day dressed up waiting to see the races. In fact, there were quite a few actors who owned racehorses and were avid goers to the Racetrack. Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Elizabeth Taylor and Rita Hayworth all owned thoroughbreds  and went to the races. This song was written by Crosby, Johnny Burke and James Monaco.

Which song do you think of when you think of horse racing?