Though this page is not related directly to herbal medicine or even the health of the racehorse, it is related to the great training traditions of the race horse. One of the influences in my life as a Thoroughbred trainer was the Jones legacy of training horses. For those of you unfamiliar with the history of American Thoroughbred racing, Ben A. Jones and his son, Horace A. (Jimmy) Jones were a dominating force in U.S. racing from 1940 to Ben's death in 1961 and Jimmy's retirement from Calumet farms in 1964. This training team under the auspices of Calumet Farms, Lexington, Kentucky broke records and produced many champions-probably never to be equaled again. Six Kentucky Derby winners were credited to this team. The Jones were wizards at prepping and keeping a Thoroughbred in winning race form. What I admire about the Jones training philosophy was their excellence in producing race animals that had a solid foundation and, accordingly, could benefit from racing as close as only 2 days between races. This type of racing schedule would bring nightmares to most modern Thoroughbred trainers, who feel that a month may be a more desired interval between the Derby and their horse's last race. For example, the Jones consistently used the Derby Trial Stakes as a prep race for the Kentucky Derby which was originally scheduled four days prior to the Derby. An example of how closely the Jones raced a Handicap horse can be seen by studying the past performance lines of Armed. Out of 81 lifetime starts, 27% of Armed's races were scheduled 7 days or less between races. Another example of how the Jones would race a mare that was prone to soreness most of her life can be seen in Two Lea. Out of 26 lifetime races of this hall-of-fame mare, 23% of those starts were raced 7 days or closer. Of course, to do this, their horses had to have a solid foundation of miles unlike today's pampered lot. Their training/racing tactics will probably never be seen again, nor their results. They were Missouri born and raised country folk that grew up with working horses and knew what was needed to keep them fit and winning. Jimmy Jones died in the latter part of 2001 from complications of pneumonia during a hospital stay. He will be missed.

     I had hoped to collaborate with Jimmy in writing his father's and his training methods in book form, detailing the training regimes of such famous horses as Whirlaway and Citation. I lived very near his boyhood and summer home of Parnell, Missouri, but it was not to be. Death has a way of circumventing the best laid plans. Four museums had their pick of the cream of Jimmy's belongings and, accordingly, few personal horse items and photos remained. The National Museum of Racing in Saratoga, the Churchill Downs Derby museum in Louisville, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, and the Nodaway County Museum, all had their hands open for his personal items. Likewise, during the Calumet Farm dispersal of a few years ago, other related racing items were auctioned off, but probably not of the quality which could be found in Jimmy's estate. There was one estate sale session in 2001 with three more estate sale sessions held in Missouri in 2002. I would like to offer to you a few items, I managed to obtain from those sale sessions. These are all one-of-a-kind items never to be offered again to the general public. I would personally like to keep them all, but I need to sell some items in order to keep others. What I am offering are the below:

15)  Original cartoon from The Boston Post depicting Coaltown







These items when sold will be sent with a Certificate of Authenticity by me as the purchaser, along with the sale bill and any further documents which may be pertinent. If interested in further information or purchase,  contact me at dahart@centurytel.

Three of my boyhood heros of racing sitting together in a rare photo at Hialeah, left to right: Ben Jones, Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons, Jimmy Jones.   Naturally, when Jimmy died and they held three estate auctions near my home, I had to attend! This was one of the photos, I purchased.