Jockey Leon Haas - Gave Seabiscuit 1st Place!

Set of six captioned news photographs measuring 8 x 10 each of jockey Leon Haas. He jockeyed Kayak II against Seasbscuit which gave Seabiscuit first place to his second at the Santa Anita Handicap in 1940. While some allege that Kayak II jockey Leon Haas held off for second place, Laura Hillenbrand (author of 'Seabiscuit: An American Legend') said, 'Seabiscuit was the best horse, delivering an astounding performance. He forced a suicidal pace--the six-furlong split was equal to, or faster than, the winning time for seven of the 10 previous runnings of the nation's premier sprint, the Toboggan. He should have been staggering, but he kept rolling, overcoming traffic problems and blistering his final quarter to clock the second fastest 10 furlongs in American racing history. He did it at age seven, carrying high weight of 130 pounds, returning from serious injury. Nothing Kayak II did that day, or any other, compared to that.' Images include captions, news agency backstamp. Circa 1944.

$175  No. 1728  Questions?