The Exciting 1963 Kentucky Derby Season

NO ROBBERY

The erratic freak No Robbery was owned by Greentree Stable and undefeated in all of his starts. The son of Swaps burst onto the national scene when he ran the fastest mile by a three-year-old in New York racing history, annihilating a field of older horses in an overnight race at Aqueduct. No Robbery followed up this tour de force performance by winning the Wood Memorial a week later in a time just three ticks off Aqueduct’s track mark. These two dominating victories characterized him as a genuine Derby threat and his enthusiastic devotees were celebrating him as the second coming of Triple Crown winner Count Fleet.

No Robbery was not without unattractive habits, however. The Greentree speedster was highly inquisitive and had a propensity of gawking at anything and everything on the racetrack. In the colt’s races he was well known for drifting out when he ran and while that would usually spell disaster for a promising horse, No Robbery’s sheer class got him home every time.

The sheer dominance of No Robbery’s races combined with his undefeated record had convinced the racing world that the Louisville classic was no longer just a two horse battle, but while the big three were being hailed as the horses to beat in the big race, a very talented racehorse was steadily plugging along under the radar and making a case of his own for the first Saturday in May.

CHATEAUGAY

Darby Dan Farms’ handsome and talented Chateaugay was a full brother to Champion Handicap mare Primonetta and the son of Swaps. A temperamental colt, Chateaugay frequently pulled himself up in his workouts. He proved similarly headstrong in his races, often taking the lead and immediately pulling himself up. This behavior made him very difficult to train, but the talent he possessed made it well worth the headaches.

The first signal that Chateaugay was something special came in April of his three year old year when he won an allowance race at Keeneland in a time just two-fifths of a second off the track mark. He followed up this performance by winning the Blue Grass Stakes in courageous fashion, losing his lead in the stretch and battling back to win by a head. It was a gutsy effort that suggested to some that Chateaugay was a legitimate Derby horse.

Privately, Chateaugay’s connections weren’t so sure he could bring down the three favorites in Kentucky. Unbeknownst to the general public, Darby Dan was only entering the horse in the Derby with the hopes that he would be competitive enough to gain a piece of the purse. However, trainer Jimmy Conway had the colt in peak condition and went on record before the race saying that Chateaugay would be ready to run his best race yet in the Kentucky Derby.