Bad Day for Max

Trigger-tempered Max Hirsch, 68, a horse trainer by trade, said he wasn't interested in the $50,000 prize money. He just wanted to beat "that horse." He felt so strongly about Armed, 1947's horse of the year, that he couldn't even mention his name. Max had been maneuvered into running his Assault against Armed one day last September when Assault had "only three legs."

After that Max and Assault retired to the peace & quiet of a training track at Columbia, S.C., to lick Max's wounds and heal Assault's gimpy leg. Two weeks ago, Max and his horse turned up at Florida's Hialeah Park. Max had blood in his eye: this time he would beat "that horse." The Widener Handicap was billed as the horse-race-of-the-year: a contest between the second biggest money-winner of all time (Armed) and the third biggest (Assault).

As the field thundered by the clubhouse turn, Assault was being snugged along in eighth place by Jockey Eddie Arcaro. Armed, under wraps too, was several lengths ahead of him, in sixth place. Nobody paid much attention to the other seven horses in the race. When Assault made his move, Armed began to move also--and the biggest crowd that had ever squeezed into Hialeah Park (34,394 people) let out a roar. Max's binoculars trembled as he watched five horses (Armed and Assault among them) charge into the stretch fighting for the lead. A few moments later a startled hush settled down over 34,394 people.

"That horse" had beaten Assault again. But neither had won--or even finished in the money. It was a bad day for Armed and Assault (it was the last race Assault would ever run). But it was a worse one for Max Hirsch. The 16-to-1 shot that won the race was a handsome chestnut colt named El Mono, which Max had trained and lost in a claiming race a few months ago for a mere $10,000.

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