It was in July of '70 that I first saw Judge run. Judge was a lightly raced 3 year old from Jim Crane's stable who had run a mile in 1:58 4/5 at Lexington the year before unusually fast for a 2 year old in those days. In this race, only his second start of the year, he broke stride immediately and fell twenty lengths behind the field. Midway through the race he had caught the pack, showing blistering speed, and at the finish he was only 7 lengths behind the winner. I collected a nice payoff on him the next time I saw him race, and I continued to bet on him through the years, although he proved to be an unruly and unpredictable horse. 

 

I last saw Judge run late in the '74 season, when he was 7 years old and still going strong. He was the second choice in the betting that night, but I felt confident he was best. He raced fourth until the top of the stretch. Accompanied by track announcer Roy Shudt's call of, "Here come the Judge", he roared home to win by 3 lengths, and I cashed 11 exacta tickets worth $17 a piece. In Roy Shudt, Brandywine had one of the smoothest and most colorful track announcers in the business. His trademark came just before the start of the race when he softly whispered, "Heeeere they come", as the horses approached the starting gate, followed swiftly by, "There they goooo....!" as the horses flashed across the starting line. There will never be another one like him.

 

In the mid 70's my interest in harness racing began to wane. I had seen a few too many suspicious races for my comfort, and the sport's superstars had retired to stud.

But in 1977, a new track in New Jersey called THE MEADOWLANDS, and a wonder horse RAMBLING WILLIE, revived my interest in the sport.