Help needed: Conventional Wood Sulky

[pandy]

Hi all, I need help. If you know anyone who has any of the old conventional wood sulkies around please let me know who they are, I want to contact them. Also, any one who you think would know where they were manufactured, or anything at all along those lines, please let me know. You can email me at pandy@sharphorses.com.

[precisionk]

Is it possible to use an existing wooden sulky as a model and them made? Not sure what labor costs and what not would be.

[wilderness]

Is it possible to use an existing wooden sulky as a model and them made? Not sure what labor costs and what not would be.

Yes.

Sent Bob a link for Regal Sulky (http://www.rjwalsh.com.au/) (Jim Walsh) down-under who will build and ship custom bikes.

[pandy]

Is it possible to use an existing wooden sulky as a model and them made? Not sure what labor costs and what not would be.

I actually may be able to get the specs, I'm working on that. And yes, it can be manufactured from spec.

[badcompany]

Outside of the Racino in Saratoga, there's a harness hall of fame. You'd think whoever runs it might be able to help:


http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g48562-d278732-Reviews-Saratoga_Harness_Museum_and_Hall_of_Fame-Saratoga_Springs_New_York.html

[wilderness]

Outside of the Racino in Saratoga, there's a harness hall of fame. You'd think whoever runs it might be able to help:


Since the VLT's came to Saratoga that Hall is rarely open. Perhaps a month or two out of the year, however it's my understanding that special arrangements are possible.

Virginia O'Brien (RIP) and a few others put a lot of work into that place before VLT's hit the scene.

[badcompany]

What about an old school driver/trainer who's still active?

One that comes to mind is Mike Forte who's based in Monticello.

[thespaah]

Hi all, I need help. If you know anyone who has any of the old conventional wood sulkies around please let me know who they are, I want to contact them. Also, any one who you think would know where they were manufactured, or anything at all along those lines, please let me know. You can email me at pandy@sharphorses.com.
No Kidding here. The last horseman I knew of that used them was Joe O'Brien.
Joe passed many years ago. Perhaps you could google his name and do some digging to see if you can get somewhere with that angle...

[wilderness]

No Kidding here. The last horseman I knew of that used them was Joe O'Brien.
Joe passed many years ago. Perhaps you could google his name and do some digging to see if you can get somewhere with that angle...

Joe may be the last you saw, however there was some horsemen in the early 90's on WEG using some wood bikes on trotters.

BTW, some of Joe's stuff still exists under the care of his two step-sons.
Stan Bayless is one, and I don't recall the others name.

[thespaah]

Hi all, I need help. If you know anyone who has any of the old conventional wood sulkies around please let me know who they are, I want to contact them. Also, any one who you think would know where they were manufactured, or anything at all along those lines, please let me know. You can email me at pandy@sharphorses.com.
Just read your blog in the DRF...Are you planning on some type of experiment?
I think you are on to something in your article. Got to be honest. Typically half mile track racing is pretty boring. It's too chalky. There is little value in the fields so these places do not get any action from me.
When I was a Harness junky, I used to goto at least 50 programs at the Meadowlands. Then we migrated over to YR and RR when the Big M was closed.
I never noticed a huge speed/inside post bias back then. However, in the late 70's the modified bike was already in use. Of course that race bike was not even close to the ones seen today. Back in the late 70's and early 80's a two minute mile( 1/2 mile track) was still special.

[thespaah]

Joe may be the last you saw, however there was some horsemen in the early 90's on WEG using some wood bikes on trotters.

BTW, some of Joe's stuff still exists under the care of his two step-sons.
Stan Bayless is one, and I don't recall the others name.
no kidding. Wow! I thought by the late 80's the conventional was long gone.

[pandy]

Yes, there's a chance that some races will be run with the conventional wood sulkies as an experiment. They would be much more interesting and competitive and better for betting.

[thespaah]

Yes, there's a chance that some races will be run with the conventional wood sulkies as an experiment. They would be much more interesting and competitive and better for betting.
Interesting. I'd actually like to see how that works out.

[Oskar]

Here are the winners by post position at Yonkers in 1971:

(1) 261 (2) 212 (3) 203 (4) 222 (5) 195 (6) 120 (7) 122 (8) 60 (9) 4 (10) 1

[cecil127]

found this in your local cl listings....
not exactly whay you were looking for probably but you'd be amazed whats for sale out there:cool:

http://allentown.craigslist.org/atq/3024869413.html

[wilderness]

found this in your local cl listings....


In 1988 Del Miller used one these at the Meadowlands.

from Sept 1988 USTA Hoof Beats:
On Hambletonian Day last month, Delvin Miller hooked a horse to hundred-year-old, high-wheeled sulky and drove him a mile in 2:04, breaking Sunol's 1891 trotting record for a high-wheeled sulky.
(The brief text next to the photo reads; "Delvin Miller, the teenage boy in the body of a 75-year-old man, broke the world record for a high-wheeled sulky."
end of quote

If anybody is interested in the pic?
Contact me.

[badcompany]

Here are the winners by post position at Yonkers in 1971:

(1) 261 (2) 212 (3) 203 (4) 222 (5) 195 (6) 120 (7) 122 (8) 60 (9) 4 (10) 1

Are you sure about that 7 post number?

I don't go back that far, but, I don't remember a year, ever, when the 7 post won more races than the 6.

The rest of the numbers look right with the 3 being the worst inside post because of the tendency to be either first over, or 3rd on the rail coming into the stretch (pre-passing lane era).

The 4 post always did well, as it seemed to be the best angle for leaving and getting around the 1.

[wilderness]

These stats from the 1970 Tom Ainslie book.

He doesn't provide any exact dates on which years, however in a preceding paragraph he discusses Northville Downs for 1967-68-69.

These are percentages

[Oskar]

Are you sure about that 7 post number?

I don't go back that far, but, I don't remember a year, ever, when the 7 post won more races than the 6.

The rest of the numbers look right with the 3 being the worst inside post because of the tendency to be either first over, or 3rd on the rail coming into the stretch (pre-passing lane era).

The 4 post always did well, as it seemed to be the best angle for leaving and getting around the 1.



That number for the winners out of the seven post at YR in 1971 is correct—something of an anomaly. Favorites won 36% of the time that year.


Compare that with 1973 when 33% of the favorites won:


(1) 246 (2) 222 (3) 203 (4) 228 (5) 218 (6) 148 (7) 103 (8) 69 (9) 2 (11) 1





Remember that this was a period of tremendous upheaval at Yonkers and Roosevelt. OTB started in April, 1971 and virtually every superfecta race at Yonkers, Roosevelt and Monticello was fixed during this period. (They pulled the plug on the super two years later in April, 1973.)





The handles were large and the numerous OTB shops provided great cover for the fixers. The bet was $3 at that time meaning a full box cost $5,040, but eliminating two horses dropped it to $1,080. The handle on many of those races exceeded $350,000 so the syndicate could invest between 25 and $50,000 a race. They’d wind up with anywhere from 25 to 50 winning tickets worth from $3,500 to $110,000.





With all that going on, as well as whatever was happening in other gimmick races, it’s no wonder that the post position numbers would be somewhat askew.

[Oskar]

As far as the relationship between the super and post position goes, you can just imagine how much value there was in being able to eliminate a contender from an inside post.

[badcompany]

Yeah, the 7 hole was often the pp of choice to beef up a triple. The 7 leaves and tucks 3rd.

In my earliest recollections of Yonkers, the track would do 1 million on-track plus another million off. Inflation adjusted, that's pretty big for a harness track.