By Dave Johnson
When I was Fred Capossela's assistant announcer for NYRA in 1971, Cappy used to tell stories about the Widener chute at Belmont Park, named in honor of Joseph E. Widener, President of the Westchester Racing Association.
Wednesday's Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot reminded me of the of stories, because it was a straight mile with a field of 30 entered. There was one scratch, a field of 29 contested the Wednesday event jumping out of three starting gates spread from inner rail to outer rail.
The Widener chute was a straight wide course that started where the Belmont training track is now. It crossed where the clubhouse turn met the backstretch, and continued on straight through the infield, right to left.
Used mostly for six-furlong 2-year-old races, it crossed a small part of a turf course, and finished at a separate finish line near the eighth pole.
A sound system was installed at Belmont in 1936 in part to help the fans sort out what was happening in the early part of those baffling diagonal dashes. With large fields running directly at the announcer's booth at Belmont, I asked Cappy how he was able to call such races. With the biggest grin I had ever seen on his face he said, “Who the hell knew what was really happening in those races? There was no television, and very few in the stands had binoculars. Nobody knew if I was right or wrong.”
Now, Caposella was an excellent identifier of horses and margins, but he said he was delighted when the Widener chute was abandoned in 1958.
The television coverage and race commentary here at Ascot racecourse is excellent and up to the technical minute. So, when those 29 runners left the gate Wednesday the live crowd here saw three runners bear left, 10 stayed in the middle and 16 hugged the inside rail.
The one-mile event actually starts on a downward slope. After two furlongs the course levels off, then at the three-furlong marker it takes a dip downhill for a quarter mile, and then a gradual uphill climb to the finish line. Right to left.
On this longest day of the year, it was Zhui Feng at 25-1 from post 26 leading all the way. Quite a sight to see that herd of Thoroughbred talent with 29 jockeys in colorful silks running at you. Something I am sure Cappy would have loved to have seen and called.
Editor's note: Dave Johnson is a racecaller and sportscaster (famous for his signature `and down the stretch they come!') who is attending his 23rd consecutive Royal Ascot meeting this year. He will be writing a daily Ascot report for the TDN.
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