What are the odds?!
On the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the first three winners at Belmont on Sunday were horses wearing the numbers 9, 1 and 1.
The fact that it happened at a local track that served as one of the staging areas for workers and emergency vehicles in the days following the destruction of the World Trade Center made the outcome even more stunning.
“The odds were probably about a million to one,” said David Jacobson, the trainer at Drawing Away Stable, which owns Say Toba Sandy and Wishful Tomcat, the day’s first two winners.
“It’s unimaginable,” he said. “We were amazed.”
The pick-three result was actually less than a million to one — it paid $18.60 for a $2 bet.
Say Toba Sandy, who took the first race, “likes to play close to the pace,” said Jacobson.
The 6-year-old mare hung near the top of the pack, and closed in the end for the win.
In the second race, Wishful Tomcat, described by Jacobson as a “speed horse,” took the lead early and held it most of the way, gaining it back at the end when it mattered most.
Both winners were ridden by jockey David Cohen.
It was his eighth ride on Say Toba Sandy and his first on Wishful Tomcat.
Jacobson said that when it became clear that the pick three could turn out to be the same numbers as the iconic date, Belmont started buzzing.
“It was an unreal possibility,” he said.
And then Simon P. Husbands rode the 1-horse, Haya’s Boy, to victory in the third race, clinching the bizarre outcome.
“He got in a little trouble in the race,” said Jacobson. “He fell behind.”
And then the thoroughbred came from behind to snatch the victory.
“No one even thought about the 9-1-1 angle until we won the second race,” said Jacobson.
“I’m sure that a lot of fans and bettors took 9-1-1 as a pick three because of the day, but my concern is to win one race at a time — and when this happened it just seemed very special.”
Robert Hachemeister Jr., the owner of Drawing Away, was one of the lucky bettors who won the pick three.
Additional reporting by Debbie Little