Zippy Chippy Drops 88th Straight Horse Race

N O R T H A M P T ON, Mass., Sept. 17, 2000 -- Not even starting the race as thebetting favorite could get Zippy Chippy his first win in a careerof futility.

The 9-year-old gelding finished third Saturday in the eighthrace at the Three-County Fair, extending Zippy Chippy’s record asthe losingest horse in American thoroughbred history to 88 races.

It wasn’t for a lack of trying. Zippy Chippy, who has a habit ofstalling at the start of races, led out of the gate and wasneck-and-neck with second-place Miner’s Claim for much of the race.

But the winner, Sadler’s Claim, overtook both horses down thestretch.

That produced groans from the crowd of about 100people in the rickety wooden grandstand. Zippy Chippy had startedthe race as a 2-1 betting favorite.

Tired Down the Stretch

“He ran good and he got tired toward the end,” jockey JuanRohena said of Zippy Chippy. “He was real sharp and he tried realhard.”

Owner and trainer Felix Monserrate, who has remained optimisticdespite his horse’s career-long losing streak, said he would bringZippy Chippy back to the Three-County Fair next year.

The fair, where Zippy Chippy set the record for losingest horselast year, is the only track that hasn’t banned him from racing.Years of losing, bad behavior and his habit of stopping at thestarting gate have soured tracks on him.

Before the race, Monserrate was optimistic, despite the fact hishorse was starting on the outside—a position he doesn’t like. Hesaid Zippy Chippy was “relaxed and happy.”

‘A Lot of Fun’

“I don’t care if he doesn’t win. It’s just a lot of fun,”Monserrate said of training a horse that has never won. “If youhave a bunch of kids and most are successful but one isn’t, youdon’t kick him out of the house.”

The race was a “maiden special,” an event for horses who havenever won a race.

A week ago, Zippy Chippy, running against a field with acombined record of 0-132, finished second by a neck. It was thebest result in the career of a horse which, earlier this summer,lost a 40-yard dash to a minor league outfielder in Rochester, N.Y.

Zippy Chippy was apparently a betting favorite due to hisrecord, not in spite of it. At one point, the odds on him winningwere listed as even money.

“He’s never won. He’s got to win sooner or later,” said PaulLucchesi, 37, of South Hadley.

Added Ed Laplante of Holyoke, “He’s the best horse in thisrace. He has the most experience.”

Fans and trainers had opposite views, however, of whether ZippyChippy is good for thoroughbred racing, a sport that has seen asteady decline in interest over the years.

“I think he’s great for the sport,” said Scott Burns ofMiddletown, Conn. “He’s brought a lot of publicity. I think thatit’s great he’s out there. They should give him a chance and lethim keep running.”

Trainer Roger Cahoon of West Yarmouth didn’t agree.

“It’s bad press, and if you run 87 races without winning, it’stime to pack it in,” he said.