1928
– Crystal Pennant wins the richest race in the world.
Crystal Pennant
Crystal Pennant was a
horse that won the richest race in the world in 1928. He was owned by Walter and Edith Hoffman, who operated a ranch about
eight miles southwest of the city of Ojai “as the bird flies,” where the
Casitas Dam is now located. The Hoffmans only a few years before, had started to breed
horses on their Rancho Casitas; and Crystal Pennant’s win suddenly
catapulted the ranch to fame.
Walter
Hoffman purchased Crystal Pennant in 1927, for something of a bargain
price, since the horse didn’t seem to be faring well. With proper attention, it was discovered that the horse was suffering
from a tooth ailment. The problem
was fixed, and the horse renewed its stamina. Crystal Pennant’s sire was Pennant, and
his mare was Crystal Isles, which explains how he got his two-part
name. He was born in 1924.
Major racetracks, such as Santa Anita, Del Mar and Hollywood Park, did not
operate in California in 1928. Racetrack
betting, at the time, was forbidden by law in the state. So, Crystal Pennant was taken to Tijuana to race. This was at the old Tijuana racetrack that preceded Aqua Caliente. Early guesses about Crystal Pennant’s chances of winning the
Coffroth Handicap (the richest race in the world) were modest. He was predicted to come in third against the favored horse, Calaris.
Prior to the running of the Coffroth Handicap, Crystal Pennant was
entered in several preliminary races. He
raced against Calaris on February 26 and finished second. This trial race between the two horses didn’t show very well for Crystal
Pennant, until it was noted that the two horses were carrying different
weights. Crystal Pennant had
been carrying more weight in the race.
The closer the big race approached, the closer was the call between the two
horses. There were mixed
predictions in the air just before the running of the Handicap on March 18,
1928. Win? Place?
Show? Crystal Pennant WON! The total purse was $110,000, with the owners netting $92,700 after
deductions were made for the jockey, the club, fees, etc. While the dollar amount may not seem especially large to us today, the
change in value of the dollar over the years would make the purse equal to the
richest races run in the United States today.
Bing Crosby and Jack Dempsey were in the stands at the Tijuana racetrack that day. Undoubtedly, they congratulated Walter and Edith Hoffman on their horse’s great win. Jack Dempsey would later train at Soper’s Camp, a few miles north of Rancho Casitas, and the Hoffmans would name one of their horses Jack Dempsey. News of the win arrived at Ventura at an unfortunate moment. The St. Francis Dam had collapsed on March 12, and funerals for the many victims of the great disaster started in Ventura on March 18.
After his victory at Tijuana, Crystal Pennant was shipped across the
nation to Chicago to run at the Arlington Racetrack. He ran successfully there, along with the Hoffman’s other horse Sankari. Early in March 1929, however, Crystal Pennant suffered an ankle
injury, and a decision was made to retire him from the track. He was returned to Rancho Casitas, where he remained in stud until his
death in 1938.
Walter and Edith Hoffman also purchased the horse Crusader (who had been
sired by Man O’ War). Crusader was in retirement from the track at this time, but he had been the biggest
money-winner of any horse in the United States in 1926. His name appears on lists of the nation’s big money-winning horses
along with Man O’ War and Seabiscuit. Crusader remained in stud at the ranch, siring six stakes winners,
until his death in 1940. Crusader and Crystal Pennant were buried beneath two great stones outside the main
house on Rancho Casitas (a location now beneath Lake Casitas).
Walter and Edith Hoffman maintained Rancho Casitas as a horse-breeding ranch for
more than thirty years until 1956, when construction was started on the Casitas
Dam, and the central portion of the ranch had to be abandoned.
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by Richard Hoye
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