Race Had a Memorable Finish Four Decades Ago

Choosing the most memorable race in the history of Santa Anita would seem a daunting task.

It isn’t, though. The eighth on March 12, 1966, stands alone and almost certainly will forever.

The 27th San Juan Capistrano remains the highlight of highlights.

Although it has lost much of its luster recently, the San Juan, which will be run again today, had everything on the second Saturday of March 40 years ago:

A crowd of 60,792, an extremely close finish, and most significant, a storybook ending for jockey John Longden.

In the final ride of a brilliant career, Longden, 59 and troubled by a pinched nerve and arthritis, coaxed George Royal, a Canadian-bred, to get his nose in front of Plaque on the wire after about 1 3/4 miles on turf.

Longden, who rode his first winner Oct. 4, 1927, was the world’s winningest jockey when, less than a week before the ’66 Capistrano, he announced that the grass marathon would be his final race.

Privately, Longden had made the decision much earlier, according to Don Richardson, George Royal’s trainer.

“We were in the kitchen at Santa Anita one morning in October [1965] and John said to me, ‘I want George Royal to be my last ride in the San Juan Capistrano,’ ” Richardson said. “He told me not to tell anyone.”

Everything done over the next several months, Richardson said, was to have George Royal primed for the San Juan Capistrano.

George Royal had been busy early in 1966 but not productive. He finished fifth in a division of the San Luis Rey Stakes on Feb. 19, then was eighth in the Santa Anita Handicap a week later.

So, given those subpar efforts, which left him with four consecutive losses, George Royal was considered an outsider.

That he went off at only 6-1 was primarily because sentimental bettors wished to see Longden win for a second time on his last day in the saddle.

Earlier in the day, Longden and Chiclero, the 7-10 favorite, had won by a head in a classified allowance at six furlongs.

Despite George Royal’s recent form, Richardson was confident that the stretch-running son of Royal Hawk was ready for a big effort.

“He came up to the race very well,” he said. “The Big ‘Cap was a steppingstone. John had worked him the Monday before the San Juan. George Royal wasn’t a great work horse, but it was good enough to set him up for the race.”

Rallying on the outside, George Royal and Longden collared Plaque, the pacesetter ridden by Bobby Ussery, early in the stretch.

The two 5-year-olds were inseparable the rest of the way, reaching the finish line together. After what seemed like forever to some, including Longden’s daughter Andrea, the photo sign came down. The on-track throng erupted. By the slimmest of noses, George Royal was the winner and so was Longden, for the 6,032nd time.

Because of the large crowd, Richardson had feared he wouldn’t be able to see the race, so he had gone to the jockey’s room to watch.

“I thought he had won,” Richardson said. “I started running to the winner’s circle and I had a hell of a time getting in there. There were so many people and a security guard wouldn’t let me in. He didn’t believe I was the trainer.”

Ussery, who, like Longden is a member of the sport’s Hall of Fame, thought he had an opportunity to lead throughout on Plaque.

“I thought that I had a good chance to win if I was able to slow the pace down,” said Ussery, 71, who retired in 1974 and now divides his time between homes in Florida and Kentucky.

“It really was a day of days and I was thrilled just to be in the race. Things went as I hoped they would. Plaque responded when I asked him to move away and I felt l was going to win.

“Then, here came George Royal on the outside. I still thought we had won it. I knew the other horse had gotten to me, but I didn’t believe he had gotten by me.

” ... Naturally, I was very disappointed I didn’t win, but the more I thought about it later, I was happy for John. It was a good way for him to go out. He was a legend and I was glad I got a chance to ride with him.”

An 18-year-old high school senior at the time, Andrea Longden had mixed feelings about her father’s decision.

“There was happiness and sadness,” she said. “He felt it was time to retire, even though he wanted to keep riding, because his reflexes had slowed and he didn’t want to hurt himself or somebody else....

“The winner’s circle was packed with people. I was bawling and the crowd was astonishing. Dad said everything he learned during 40 years of riding went into that one race.”

A mutuel clerk locally for 27 years and a grandmother of nine, Andrea Longden said she couldn’t fathom how quickly time had passed.

“I can’t believe it’s been 40 years since then and I can’t believe it’s been three years since Dad passed away,” she said. “I still miss him.”

Longden, who died on his 96th birthday, Feb. 14, 2003, trained successfully for many years after he retired. He remains the only person to have both ridden and trained a Kentucky Derby winner.

As a jockey, he won the 1943 Derby and the rest of the Triple Crown with Count Fleet. Training for owner Frank McMahon, he won the 1969 Derby and Preakness with Majestic Prince.