Eclipse First - The Rest Nowhere!

Eclipse mania has hit North America and on Monday, April 8, depending on where you live, you may be in a position to view (with special eyewear of course!) a total solar eclipse, the first in Canada in almost 50 years.

In Etobicoke, where Woodbine racetrack is, as long as there is no cloud cover spectators will see a partial eclipse at about 3:18 p.m. The place to be to see the solar eclipse in its totality is Niagara Falls, which has already declared a state of emergency, predicting some 1 million visitors beginning this weekend.

This eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse to be visible in the provinces of Canada since February 26, 1979, the first in Mexico since July 11, 1991, and the first in the United States since August 21, 2017. It will be the only total solar eclipse in the 21st century where totality will be visible in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. It will also be the last total solar eclipse visible in the contiguous United States until August 23, 2044.

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Undoubtedly, Thoroughbreds have been foaled during an eclipse, whether it be solar, lunar, partial, or the like. I did some early morning research and found at least one horse (since the 1990s) born during an eclipse, TOTAL ECLIPSE (Chi), a maiden who was foaled on July 2, 2019 in Chile during a total eclipse. A daughter of American sire Practical Joke, Total Eclipse is a multiple winner still racing in Chile.

The most famous of all, of course, is ECLIPSE, foaled on April 1, 1764 and reportedly during a total eclipse of the sun seen in England. A chestnut horse and great, great grandson of the Darley Arabian (90 percent or more of racehorses today trace back to the Darley Arabian), Eclipse won all of his 18 races.

From Thoroughbred Heritage, “He did not start until he was fully mature at the age of five, after some frightening “secret” works, on May 3, 1769, winning a plate valued at 50 pounds at Epsom in straight four-mile heats. Supposedly, prior to the second heat, a betting man named Dennis O’Kelly attempted to predict the finish of the race, announcing his bet “Eclipse first, the rest nowhere.” Eclipse distanced all his competitors, and O’Kelly bought half of Eclipse for 650 guineas.”

Perhaps the word ‘nowhere’ when we talk about when a horse is well-beaten in a race came from 255 years ago?

Eclipse carried on the great line of the Darley Arabian. Go back far enough in Northern Dancer’s male line and you will find Eclipse.

There are races named after the great horse and a bronze statue of Eclipse at Newmarket.