Davy Johnson scores with Roseben
 

Tuesday, October 16th 1906.

Roseben, The first legendary older sprinter in American racing history, entered an allowance going 7 furlongs at Belmont Park and was assigned just 126lbs.

A field of 14 scratched down to a field of 2.

Roseben blazed 7 furlongs in 1:22 flat. A track record that would stand for 51 years at Belmont Park until Bold Ruler broke it in 1957 when he won the Vosburgh by 9 lengths in 1:21.40

Here are some cuts of the interesting details from a recap about that race. Most notably, that Roseben's owner, the famous bettor and bookmaker Davy Johnson, scored a massive bet on him to beat the time record.

Here's what the headline in the DRF looked like: