Written by Bill Orzell
The Saratoga racetrack season of 1917 saw a two-year-old bay colt named Sun Briar establish himself by winning the Albany Stakes, Grand Union Hotel Stakes, the Saratoga Special and the Hopeful Stakes, becoming the top money-winning juvenile in the country, and the Kentucky Derby favorite. The 1917 season at Saratoga, however, was marred by the condition of the track, and the President of the Saratoga Association, Richard T. Wilson, realized that major rework was required, despite the high prices and manpower shortages due to World War I.
Mr. Wilson had been instrumental in organizing an investment group that included William C. Whitney, which purchased the operations in Saratoga Springs at the turn of the century, and rebuilt the track for the 1902 season, based on the dimensions and layout of their favorite club-grounds at Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Messrs. Wilson and Whitney were a part of the coterie that made the pilgrimage from the Long Island pleasure grounds to the Spa each summer season and were committed to the track’s long-term success.
Before the 1917 racing season ended, the Saratoga Association committed toward major alterations to their track and sought an experienced track supervisor to replace the aging Reed Landers, who had been the caretaker since the 1902 rebuild. A prospective superintendent, Billy Myer, visited Saratoga in mid-September, inspected the track and conceptualized what treatment would best rehabilitate the old track.
Richard T. Wilson and Andrew Miller interviewed Billy Myer, originally a pugilist and pool sharp, who had developed a racetrack management reputation which made him widely trusted by horsemen, and hired him as the superintendent of Saratoga racetrack.
By autumn the efforts of the new track superintendent were noted. Horsemen would find a new Saratoga when they returned to the Spa for August racing. The Saratogian reported that Billy Myer had traveled to New York to report progress to Andrew Miller, secretary of the Saratoga Association,
“The track over which the Thoroughbreds will contest will be practically new. The chief need of the track was new soil for the horses to run over, and this has been supplied already, for thousands of square yards and thousands of tons of dirt and sand have been dug up out of the infield and hauled out upon the track to replace the hard, clay substance that was ploughed up and taken away. And where this dirt and sand was dug away there is a basin, where an artificial lake will greet the eyes of visitors next year.”
Revising drainage and using soil removed from inside the oval to improve the banking, Mr. Myer performed his magic. These modifications, which also created the attractive infield lake, made the surface play much faster than in past seasons. By the spring of 1918 the Daily Racing Form quoted Billy Myer describing the track as "a safe and sane course, one that will protect the horses, dry out quickly, and give general satisfaction." The same article also quoted Hall of Fame trainer John Madden’s description of the course as being a wonderful achievement, and a great credit to Billy Myer.
Saratoga Association
President Richard T. Wilson.
From: The National Turf Digest,
February 1930.
Saratoga Association Secretary Andrew Miller. From: The American Turf 1898.
On opening day, Andrew Miller’s Roamer set a new track record. The Saratogian reported that Billy Myer was widely congratulated on conditioning the fastest track in America. On August 3, 1918 the New York Times reported,
“Further evidence that the rebuilt track of the Saratoga Racing Association is lightning fast was supplied this afternoon, when on the second day of the meeting two track records where smashed.”
The horsemen where very pleased with the track condition, and presented Myer a $1,500 gift of appreciation. Considering a 1918 Ford Model T Runabout cost $500, this present was substantial.
Ten new track records were established during the 1918 Spa season, with Sun Briar establishing a new American record for a mile, going 1:36 1/5. This new measure of performance broke the record set in 1914 by Richard T. Wilson’s Amalfi at the Syracuse State Fairgrounds.
In a blatant display of one-upmanship, the Saratoga Association staged a trial against time to be run by Roamer on August 21, 1918, a clear and calm Wednesday, which attracted what was thought to be the largest ever mid-week crowd. Every effort was made to ensure a mile record with Billy Myer floating the surface, providing a smooth, soft cushion. The popular seven-year-old bay gelding Roamer was ridden by Andy Schuttinger, and wore the blinkers which made him a consistent performer. In company with his stablemate Snap Dragon, Roamer started from the chute just beyond the Clubhouse, and set a new record, covering the mile course in 1:34 4/5. The New York Herald reported of the event,
“When the official time was posted and spectators realized that turf history had been made, there was a riot of enthusiasm. Phlegmatic as well as temperamental men shouted, swung arms, danced and threw hats in the air, while women vented their feelings in emotional screams.”
Saratoga Association track superintendent Billy Myer. From: Daily Racing Form, November 26, 1922.
A special cup was presented to Andrew Miller, Roamer’s owner, to commemorate the exploit over the very fast Saratoga track.
A match race between that season’s record breakers Roamer and Sun Briar was proposed, which the owners favored. The perfect weather they both stipulated did not materialize, and a post-meet date was suggested over the swift Saratoga track after the Spa season concluded. However, with war-time constraints, Jockey Club participation was denied.
Having a record holder in his breeding shed would go a long way in promoting Mr. Kilmer’s new stud operation. Certainly, Exterminator’s victory in the 1918 Kentucky Derby had vaulted the Kilmer operations into the upper echelon of Thoroughbred racing.
Following Sun Briar’s record-setting Travers victory, Mr. Kilmer was reluctant to race him further, as mares purchased in Europe for his star sire’s first breeding season were arriving. Many owners avoided competition to preserve a stallion’s record; Mr. Kilmer was harshly criticized in print for passing up the Saratoga Cup on the final day of the meet, and the Lawrence Realization, contested in early September at Belmont Park.
Always the consummate salesman, Mr. Kilmer devised a plan to impress the racing industry, which would take place following the Lawrence Realization. He had Sun Briar race the clock, over the new velvet fast Saratoga track, which had just closed for the season.
Thoroughbred owner/breeder Willis Sharpe Kilmer. From: Binghamton and Broome County,
New York, 1924.
Overseen by track superintendent Myer, with 102-pound lightweight jockey Al Claver in the saddle, in the company of the speedy mare Josefina Zarate for the first half and Exterminator for the second half, Sun Briar set a new one-mile record of 1:34 flat in the private trial over the pasteboard surface.
Mr. Kilmer, in his trademark unconventional way, continued at his initiative and expense. Imagine how well the reporters, and the staff responsible for the surface, were treated by Mr. Kilmer in creating his sought-after headlines announcing Sun Briar had become the fastest Thoroughbred in America. Although the new record was unofficial and considered illegitimate, it made the desired impact on the racing community about Sun Briar’s abilities, and removed the risk caused by a non-winning effort.
Mr. Kilmer, anticipating doubt, had all those witnessing the event, swear out affidavits executed before Clarence H. Knapp, Notary Public, later the Mayor of Saratoga Springs and curator of the National Museum of Racing.
A complicating factor was the national reemergence of the Spanish Flu; the non-competitive time trial occurred on September 11, 1918, and coincided with the final game of the World Series which saw the Red Sox prevail over the Chicago Cubs in a more than half-empty Fenway Park due to the pandemic.
The Saratoga Association, specifically President Richard T. Wilson and Secretary Andrew Miller, were also Thoroughbred owners. Mr. Miller’s gelding Roamer carried his cardinal with white sash and black cap colors to the then one-mile record, which Mr. Kilmer sought to eclipse. These two Saratoga Association executives were incensed by Billy Myer’s complicity with Mr. Kilmer’s scheme. They both spoke with the Daily Racing Form the day after the trial, President Wilson was quoted,
“that so far as he knew the Saratoga track was officially closed until next year.”
The same article continues,
“Anyone can work a horse” said Andrew Miller owner of Roamer, “but I hardly think a record made privately will be recognized."
Sun Briar
From: The National Museum of Racing &
Hall of Fame Collection
Andrew Miller, a publishing professional, recognized the power of the press; he was a founder and executive at Life magazine. He was a Jockey Club Steward and deeply resented the headlines Willis Sharpe Kilmer created around Sun Briar being the fastest Thoroughbred in the country. It was decided that the man with the keys to the Saratoga Race Course, Billy Myer, the toast of so much success and certainly complicit in Mr. Kilmer’s spectacle, would be dismissed.
Mr. Myer’s employment future was in doubt, few details reached the press and rumors abounded during the winter of 1919. Announcement was made in February that Billy Myer was out as superintendent. This news quickly reached the Spa. The Saratogian headline screamed; “MYER DISMISSED AT OFFICIALS’ DEMAND,” despite the splendid rebuilt track.
With no reason stated, one must speculate about the Saratoga Association’s dismissal of Billy Myer. Yet it’s difficult not to assume that Sun Briar’s time trial at the Spa, minimizing Roamer’s similar effort, was not a factor.
Despite ill health, Reed Landers was recalled as Saratoga track superintendent but suffered a fatal stroke that August.
On his stud farm in Binghamton, which Mr. Kilmer prepared for the equine marketplace, he stood the Thoroughbred who ran the fastest mile ever, Sun Briar. He named his new operation Sun Briar Court. As legendary horseman John Madden always said, “opinions die, records live.”
Local report of Sun Briar setting a new mile record of 1:34 flat over the Saratoga Race Course.
From: The Saratogian September 11, 1918.