Ralph Bullock (jockey) 1861 Derby, which he won on Kettledrum for owner Charles Townley. The Epsom course itself had been badly neglected and was strewn with rubbish on the day of the race. In the event, Kettledrum was a luck winner. The favourite, Dundee, ridden by Henry Custance looked like he would win easily at Tattenham Corner, but eighty yards from the winning post, the horse broke down badly on both forelegs and Kettledrum won by a neck. Bullock would also finish second in the Oaks on Lady Ripon. Riding Kettledrum in the Doncaster Cup later that year, he scored a memorable dead
Saratoga Race Course meet today lasts a total of 40 racing days, with races held six days per week, and traditionally ends on Labor Day. Saratoga Race Course has been in use almost every year since 1864, with only a handful of exceptions. The course was closed in 1896 due to increasing competition among thoroughbred tracks, making the meet at Saratoga not viable that season. Anti-gambling legislation, which had passed in New York, resulted in a cessation in all thoroughbred racing in that state during 1911 and 1912. The track's first parimutuel betting machines were installed in 1940. From 1943 to 1945, racing