Iroquois Steeplechase May 9 by Nancy Brannon May is horse racing month to a lot of people, beginning with the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. The second Saturday in May brings horse people from across Tennessee to Percy Warner Park in Nashville for the Iroquois Steeplechase. This year’s 68th running on May 9 featured 2-time Iroquois winner and favorite, Harold Via’s Good Night Shirt, with expectations that the chestnut gelding might become the “triple-crown” winner of the Iroquois Steeplechase, a 3-mile race over National Fences. But the “two-timer” was upset by Calvin Hougland’s 5-year-old Kentucky-bred War Chant gelding, Pierrot Lunaire, piloted by jockey Chip Miller. Pierrot Lunaire was shipped to the U.S. from England May 1, so had only a little over a week to acclimate to the states. Steeplechasing includes all the thrills and speed of flat racing, mixed with precision jumping over brush or timber hurdles. Thoroughbred horses, many of them former flat racers, can compete at any of the 41 sanctioned steeplechase races around the country. The National Steeplechase Association, formed in 1895, governs all steeplechase racing in the U.S. and staff offices are located in Fair Hill, Maryland. The Iroquois Steeplechase event actually consists of seven races, the seventh of which is the “Iroquois.” The first race, The Guilford Dudley, Jr Memorial, was a flat race, while the others were over brush fences, and one over timber fences. Distances and categories for horses varied from one mile for three-year olds and up, to three-mile races over brush and one three-mile race over timber. The Fifth race was dedicated to the Sloan family, famous for steeplechase horses and riders in the Franklin area: George Sloan and John Sloan, Sr. Sport of Kings Maiden Hurdle. George Sloan was a four-time winner of the Iroquois Steeplechase and founder of International Steeplechase Group. Like the Kentucky Derby, elaborate hats are the focus of attendees’ attire and the races provide a scenic setting for picnicing. People come early and stay late, setting up elaborate campsites throughout the infield. Food and drink are as varied as the people coming to watch and enjoy the racing. Just prior to this year’s races, pouring rain and thunderstorms pummeled the park. But by post times, most of the rain had ended, leaving the track soft and saturated and the grounds soaking wet and muddy. That didn’t dampen the party spirits of fans, who simply doffed their shoes and sludged through the mud. The Nashville tradition began in 1936 when Marcellus Frost, John Sloan, Sr., Mason Houghland, and members of the Hillsboro Hounds built a steeplechase racecourse at Percy Warner Park. The first running of the Iroquois Steeplechase was held in 1941 and has run continuously since, except for 1945. The race was named for Pierre Lorillard’s Iroquois, the first American-bred horse to win the English Derby. The Volunteer State Horsemen’s Foundation organized the Iroquois Steeplechase and proceeds benefitted the Monroe Carell, Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. More about the Iroquois Steeplechase can be found at: http://www.iroquoissteeplechase.org/ The National Steeplechase Schedule is available at www.nationalsteeplechase.com. Spring 2009 racing dates run from March21 to May 23. Fall racing dates begin September 12 at Kentucky Downs in Franklin, KY and run through November 28.