Decathlon (KY)

Biography

In the sport of track and field, the decathlon is a multi-discipline test for male athletes that combines four running events, three jumping events, and three throwing events. A diverse set of athletic talents are required for success. In the 1950s, a racehorse named Decathlon came along and thrived at thoroughbred racing’s highest levels, but the equine Decathlon only had one plus attribute — pure speed.  

It was all he needed.  

Bred in Kentucky by the Nuckols Brothers and foaled at their Hurstland Farm, Decathlon (Olympia—Dog Blessed, by Bull Dog) raced from 1955 through 1957, compiling a record of 25-8-1 from 42 starts and earnings of $269,530. Purchased at Keeneland in 1954 for $15,500 by Robert J. Dienst (the president of Ohio’s Beulah Park) and campaigned under his River Divide Farm banner, Decathlon’s blazing speed at short distances — he never competed beyond seven furlongs — resulted in consecutive honors as America’s champion sprinter in 1956 and 1957.  

Trained by Rollie Shepp, the bay Decathlon won 18 stakes in his three years of racing. He set track records at Monmouth Park, Suffolk Downs, and Tropical Park, equaled two track standards at Tropical, and matched the world record for 5½ furlongs (1:03⅕) at Tropical in the first division of the Inaugural Handicap in 1956.  

Pedigree suggested Decathlon would be a good one. Olympia was a multiple stakes winner each year from 1948 through 1950, and sired standouts such as champion Pucker Up and stakes winners Air Pilot, Alhambra, Editorialist, My Portrait, Talent Show, and Winonly. He also sired champion steeplechaser Top Bid. On the dam side, Decathlon was out of Dog Blessed, a daughter of Bull Dog, America’s leading sire in 1943, and later a three-time leading broodmare sire.  

Decathlon was known for his unusual gait, which was the result of having stepped on a nail with his right forefront as a yearling. While his running style was visually awkward, Decathlon’s speed was the stuff of legend. He regularly opened races with a first quarter-mile in 21 and change, breaking the will of many opponents not long after the gate opened. Although not imposing physically at 15.3 hands and 950 pounds, Decathlon was a well-balanced colt. While his blazing early speed was his ultimate weapon, Decathlon also demonstrated he was capable of winning from off the pace on occasion and proved he could find the wire first if tested in the stretch. He also won in the mud and even won once on grass.   

As a 2-year-old in 1955, Decathlon won his first five races and finished the year with a record of 8-2-1 in 16 starts and earnings of $54,220. His wins as a juvenile included the Bay State Kindergarten Stakes (Suffolk Downs track record of 58 seconds flat for five furlongs), Dade County Handicap, De Soto Handicap, Narragansett Nursery Stakes, and Tyro Stakes (Monmouth Park track record of 1:04 for 5½ furlongs).  

As a sophomore in 1956, Decathlon won the Coral Gables Handicap (equaling the Tropical Park track record of 1:09⅖ for six furlongs), Hibiscus Stakes, Hutcheson Stakes, Inaugural Handicap (equaling the world record), Oceanport Handicap, and Select Handicap. With a record of 10-5-0 from 17 starts and earnings of $119,137, Decathlon was voted Champion Sprint Horse.  

Returning at age 4, Decathlon won the Oceanport Handicap for the second consecutive year (setting the Monmouth Park track record of 1:08⅖ for six furlongs) and added wins in the Hialeah Inaugural Handicap, New Year’s Handicap (equaling the Tropical Park track record of 1:09⅖ for six furlongs), John Alden Handicap, Longport Handicap, Princeton Handicap, and Rumson Handicap. He started nine times in 1957 with a ledger of 7-1-0 and earnings of $96,173, and was again voted Champion Sprint Horse.  

Decathlon had win streaks of both six and five races during his career. During the six-race win streak that stretched from 1956 into 1957, Decathlon carried as much as 135 pounds to victory in the Hialeah Inaugural. He won seven races as a 4-year-old carrying 130 pounds or more. Overall, Decathlon won at nine tracks (Atlantic City, Garden State, Gulfstream, Hialeah, Monmouth, Narragansett, Rockingham, Suffolk, Tropical).  

Following his racing days, Decathlon stood at Darby Dan Farm in Kentucky, where he sired 165 winners from 253 foals, including 12 stakes winners. He died in 1972 at the age of 19. Decathlon’s most accomplished son was Western Warrior, winner of 22 races for Tartan Stable and Hall of Fame trainer John Nerud, including the United Nations Handicap and Bernard Baruch Handicap.