Real Dr. Fager dies

[upthecreek]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/14/us/dr-charles-fager-dies-at-90-lent-name-to-a-champion.html

[lsosa54]

Interesting - also just read this in the NYT daily headlines email I get. A frat bro of mine lives a short walk from John Nerud's house and we've walked by it a few times after some holiday meals made it a necessity. Had no idea Dr, Fager was named after a real person.

[PressThePace]

Never knew this...interesting read. Thanks for posting!

[WATT Wizard]

The horse, Dr. Fager, was the fastest horse I've ever seen and probably ever will. Rarely did that horse ever see the backside of another animal at any call point in any race - including, of course, the finish line.

I saw him run 7f in 1:21.3 in late '67 at Aqueduct. Biggest mistake I ever made was cashing that win ticket. It would be worth FAR more today than it did at that time.

[Cratos]

Interesting - also just read this in the NYT daily headlines email I get. A frat bro of mine lives a short walk from John Nerud's house and we've walked by it a few times after some holiday meals made it a necessity. Had no idea Dr, Fager was named after a real person.

Dr. Fager, the racehorse (and my all-time favorite racehorse) was named by John Nerud to honor Charles Fager, a Boston neurosurgeon who operated on John Nerud who took a tumble from his pony in 1965 and cracked his head, protected as it was by only his trademark driving cap.

[thaskalos]

Dr. Fager, the racehorse (and my all-time favorite racehorse) was named by John Nerud to honor Charles Fager, a Boston neurosurgeon who operated on John Nerud who took a tumble from his pony in 1965 and cracked his head, protected as it was by only his trademark driving cap.

You knew this already...or did you just find it out by reading the enclosed article?

[iceknight]

You knew this already...or did you just find it out by reading the enclosed article?
"protected as it was by only his trademark driving cap." this wasnt in the article. So it's 1/5 Cratos probably knew it before.

[devilsbag]

Often forgotten is Tammy Weston, a dancer at the famed Hempstead Cabaret on Long Island. One time John Nerud came in after a successful day at Belmont Park. Over the course of a long evening, he tried to open a beer bottle with his teeth and failed miserably. With blood dripping from his mouth, Weston gave Nerud three cocktail napkins in an effort to help stop the bleeding.

Tammy Weston was best known by her stage name, Ta Wee.

[thaskalos]

"protected as it was by only his trademark driving cap." this wasnt in the article. So it's 1/5 Cratos probably knew it before.

:D OK...

[dannyhill]

"protected as it was by only his trademark driving cap." this wasnt in the article. So it's 1/5 Cratos probably knew it before.
As opposed to the football helmets others wear.:)

[Cratos]

You knew this already...or did you just find it out by reading the enclosed article?

No, I knew that as far back as the late 1960's because seeing Dr. Fager run is how I became very interested in thoroughbred racing.

As a young man in 1967 I was taken out to Aqueduct to see the Woodward Stakes which included Dr. Fager, Damascus, and Buckpasser. I had no idea about Dr. Fager, but the people with me was raving about the “electric switch”; the name affectionately given to Dr. Fager at the time because of his incredible speed and after seeing his Woodward performance (although he lost) I became a fan and never missed another Dr. Fager race on the NYRA circuit.

Today, I am the proud owner of a Dr. Fager painting.

[iceknight]

As opposed to the football helmets others wear.:) I think some people present their shiny white hair or bald head..