Tall Tales of the Track: Pink Star Springs a Surprise

In the storied history of the Kentucky Derby, some winners are etched into memory for their sheer dominance, while others are remembered for defying the odds. Among the latter is Pink Star, the somewhat unlikely victor of the 1907 Kentucky Derby. This dark bay colt, bred and owned by J. Hal Woodford, was a grandson of another Derby winner, yet he almost did not contest the big race. His improbable win, characterized by a powerful late surge, remains a testament to the unpredictable nature of horse racing and the spirit of a true underdog.

Against the Odds

The son of Pink Coat started his three-year-old season in New Orleans, starting with a 1 1/16-mile handicap in early March, where he finished third, and then an allowance race and the Crescent City Derby, both at nine furlongs and both yielding only fourth-place finishes. Despite the lack of success, Fizer sent the colt to Louisville to prepare for the Kentucky Derby, where he was to face Arcite, George Long’s candidate for the big race.

Arcite was a stakes winner at Sheepshead Bay at age two and had yet to start at three in 1907. Long’s Bashford Manor Stable had already scored Derby glory with Azra (1892), Manuel (1899), and Sir Huon (1906), so it was no surprise that this colt was the likely favorite for the big race. But the colt’s pre-race workouts left doubts in the minds of observers that the son of English sire Alvescot could get the ten furlongs. But Pink Star’s lackluster beginning to his three-year-old season left him out of the conversation for the most part. But trainer Fizer knew better. Woodford had been reluctant to enter his colt in the race, assuming that Pink Star would not fare well on the anticipated off track, yet the conditioner prevailed. Pink Star would be a Derby starter.

Derby Day dawned with a heavy track greeting the competitors, but the weather was warm, and the crowd turned out in force for the big race. Among the 20,000 in the crowd were celebrities like Alice Roosevelt Longworth, President Teddy Roosevelt’s oldest daughter, and her husband Nicholas, an Ohio congressman. The crowd had a short field of six to bet on, with Red Gauntlet going off as the 3-2 favorite while Pink Star went to the line as the 15-1 longest shot on the board. 

With jockey Andy Minder in the saddle, Pink Star trailed the field for a chunk of the ten furlongs, waiting for the three-eighths pole to make their move. With a furlong to go, he had only Ovelando and Zal in front of him, so Minder gave his colt permission to go, and off he went, making up ground and passing the pair with a sixteenth to go. Pink Star surprised them all with his two-length win, vindicating Fizer’s thinking and notching the only stakes win of his career.

The flashy bay colt with the massive white blaze came back to cheers from the crowd and laments from those who did not lay bets on the longshot. His owner was happy with both the colt’s and jockey Andy Minder’s performances, rewarding the human half of the entry with a $500 bonus. Pink Star followed up with a poor performance in the Latonia Derby. Later in his three-year-old season, Fizer sent him home for a layup and had Pink Star gelded, hoping it would improve his disposition and performance. He stayed in training through 1910, but by 1914, Pink Star was gone, his death noted but not explained. 

Despite being a longshot, Pink Star's decisive victory in the 1907 Kentucky Derby cemented his place in racing history as a testament to unexpected triumphs on the track. His trainer's faith in his horse, as well as his recognition of that ideal opportunity, were key to adding this unique story to the long list of winners of America's signature race. 

Questionable Quality

William H. Fizer looked at the 1907 Kentucky Derby field and saw an opportunity. This was the era before Donerail and Regret, when Colonel Matt Winn was still working on the magic to make the Derby a destination. The field looked like it would be small, with fewer than ten horses, and the clouds hung heavily over the Twin Spires, rain imminent. Fizer had a colt in his barn that he thought stood a chance against the short field, especially after watching four of them defeated in a one-mile race at Lexington. “So, these are the Derby horses,” Fizer said. “Well, if these are the Derby colts, then Pink Star will walk in.” The trouble was that Pink Star’s owner, Joseph Hallock Woodford, was not in agreement.

Woodford knew horseflesh. He had bred and owned Pink Star’s sire, Pink Coat, a son of Leonatus, 1883 Kentucky Derby winner who was also a descendant of Leamington, sire of the first Derby winner Aristides. Pink Star’s dam, Mary Malloy, was a granddaughter of legendary sire Lexington, meaning that Pink Star had stellar genes on both sides of his pedigree. Yet the bay colt had yet to show Woodford that he merited a chance to try the Derby himself.

Pink Star logged eight starts in his two-year-old season, winning twice and placing second once that year. He won a 4 1/2-furlong allowance at Latonia over a crowded field of 12 others in June and then a seven-furlong test at the Fair Grounds later that fall. His lone second also came at seven furlongs back at Latonia, where Fizer kept the colt for most of the 1906 season. Unlike his sire, Pink Star was not able to score a stakes win in his first season on the racetrack, which likely contributed to Woodford’s reluctance the following May. However, the colt’s trainer felt differently about his charge, his confidence through the roof as he considered the 1907 Kentucky Derby for Pink Star.