Before the great horse Citation, who was trained by Ben Jones and ridden by jockey Eddie Arcaro to the 1948 triple crown victory, there was another horse who had the distinction of also taking triple crown glory, one of the wildest horses in all of racing history. His name, Whirlaway.
There’s no question about it, Whirlaway was a psycho when it came to horses. He was quite prone to some wild and adventurous trips around a racetrack. Actually, he was considered a mentally ill horse, but that is really determined. He was a danger to himself and to those around him. But there was no question in Ben Jones’s mind that this horse was worth training. In his 3- and 4-year-old seasons he ran 42 races, winning 25 of them and finishing second 13 times. Truly amazing for such an old horse. Whirlaway became the first of 8 Kentucky Derby winners and the first of 2 triple crown winners for Calumet Farm.
Whirlaway was the son of Blenheim II. In his 2-year-old season he showed some signs of brilliance. He won seven starts that included four stakes races. His starting record was actually much better than any previous triple crown winner. All of them combined only won six races at the age of two. But Whirlaway also lost 9 times that year and began to show signs of very erratic behavior. He many times would run a race and take his jockey to the outside rail before going back inside and moving in for the kill. He was a very difficult horse to control because of his mental problems.
At the start of his second year of racing, Whirlaway was still showing signs of extremely erratic behavior and it was feared that he would never be ready for the really big races. He lost his first two races that year and fans wondered if he would ever be the great horse Calumet Farm said he would be.
Well, fans and the rest of the racing world didn’t have to wait long. On May 3, 1941, Whirlaway entered the Kentucky Derby. Jones had made some modifications to Whirlaway’s blinker so he could see a little better on the left side but not the right. He also put Eddie Arcaro at Whirlaway, replacing his old jockey Wendall Eads. Arcaro had ridden a previous Kentucky Derby winner of Jones. As the race began, Whirlaway did his usual part of staying at the back of the pack. But with only a quarter of a mile remaining, Whirlaway took off and left the others in the dust, winning by 8 lengths.
The Preakness was no different. At one point Whirlaway trailed by 9 lengths and looked like he was out of the race. But again, he was late and ended up winning the Preakness by 5 1/2 lengths.
Finally, a month later in the Belmont Stakes, Whirlaway earned his place in racing history. This time he came out strong, building a 7 length lead. Even though he started firing late, he still held on for a 2 1/2 length win.
Sadly, after he was retired and sold for breeding, he died just 10 minutes after being brought to a mare.
