On DVD or VHS: (Picture above is of NASHUA and trainer, "Sunny" Jim Fitzsimmons)

 

Winner take all - the 1955 Thoroughbred racing championship - SWAPS vs. NASHUA is the theme of this episode of, "The Way it Was", as hosted by Curt Gowdy and veteran race announcer, Win Elliott. With NATIVE DANCER retired, NASHUA and SWAPS moved into the spotlight as three-year-olds in 1955. To help us re-live the unforgettable racing moments between the rivalry of NASHUA and SWAPS are special guests, EDDIE ARCARO, NASHUA's pilot and the regular rider of SWAPS, WILLIE SHOEMAKER who was once considered the greatest young rider in racing.

To re-create the 1955 Triple Crown and to take us down the path of glory the scene is first set on the first meeting between NASHUA and SWAPS in a ten-horse field of the Kentucky Derby - billed as a battle between the best in the East and the best of the West, neither colt had been defeated as a three-year-old coming into this race. SWAPS would go on to win the first round between them in the Derby, winning with apparent ease over NASHUA's second place finish as EDDIE ARCARO admits that he "underestimated" the California invader.

SWAPS would not contest the last two jewels of the Triple Crown: the Preakness and Belmont, and returned to California while NASHUA went on to win the Preakness by a narrow margin over second place finisher, SARATOGA, in a stretch duel and blew the field away in the Belmont in a 9-length romp!

See all three 1955 Triple Crown races from start to finish - a rare treat for any horse racing historian!

SWAPS wasn't resting on his laurels upon his return to California - he wasted no time winning and breaking records, but before long, talk of a match race between "SUNNY" JIM FITZSIMMON's NASRULLAH colt, NASHUA, and owner/cowboy REX ELLSWORTH's California sensation, SWAPS, began to emerge and on August 31,1955, in Chicago's Washington Park the two would ultimately meet again for the much heralded, "Race of the Century."

Witness one of the most famous races in history IN ITS ENTIRETY from the post parade as both horses approach the starting gate, the sound of the gates crashing open and then the legendary match race itself - forever etched in the annals of racing history. Both jockeys offer fascinating insight and talk about their strategies going into this race. NASHUA would ultimately go on to become 1955's Horse-of-the-Year and in 1956 both horses would come back to win a number of major stakes though they would never again meet on the track - this time SWAPS would be honored with the Horse-of-the-Year title.

And so it was that NASHUA was the better horse that day in Chicago...but which horse was really the greatest? The controversy still rages on.

A terrific little piece of racing history - add this one to your collection!
 

 

AS AN ADDED BONUS...three priceless segments are added after the original feature:

1) NASHUA, the 1955 Woodward Stakes winner, with vintage film footage of him when he ruled supreme in addition...NASHUA is shown in 1982 at 30-years-old retired at Spendthrift Farm with his long-time groom, Clem Brooks

2) A TVG mini-segment on the history of the Swaps Stakes in addition to statistics and records that SWAPS broke during his illustrious career

3) A look back at the mind-boggling career of SWAPS - the greatest California-bred who dominated in both sprint and marathon distances making him one of the most versatile racers in history

 

30 Minutes.

Thanks for looking. Winning bidder pays $6 shipping and handling.