The Terror
by Lisa Harkema
In the case of Nevele Pride, it is not only the horse that is legendary, but also his temperament. For every great race-related story, there is an even greater story about his temper. But whereas he might very well have been one of the meanest and most aggressive horses, he was also a fierce competitor who rarely lost and broke almost all the records – except against the mare who looked him in the eye.
The story starts with Thankful’s Major, which was Nevele Pride’s original name. He was bred by Edward C Quin at his Sunshine Farms near Blue Bell, Pennylvania. He also bred Thankful, a mare with a terrible temper known as “Little Evil”, who herself earned $31,104 and set a record of T2:03.2 (1.16,7). In what has become a well-known purchase, Stanley Dancer bought Thankful’s Major for $20,000 as a yearling. A fair amount, but Stanley Dancer was no stranger to expensive youngsters, having bought the first six-figure yearling back in 1958 when he shelled out $105 000 for Dancer Hanover. Despite common belief, Stanley Dancer did not have a owner lined up at that time. Later Dancer said that “I bought him with no owners in mind. I liked him, though, and figured I could get some owner to take him.” It did not take long for Dancer to find the vicious yearling some owners in the Nevele Acres Stable owned by Jules Slutsky and his brother Ben, though they insisted on renaming the colt Nevele Pride. The name “nevele” is of course 11 spelled backwards, and traces its name back to a waterfall on the Slutsky property named by 11 school teachers who formed the Nevele Fall School House.
In a Sun Sentinel article Pride Endures Time Passes, But Trotter’s Record Lives On, published August 4, 1988, Slutsky reveals a surprising fact. There were thoughts of laying Nevele Pride up as a 2-year-old. “He had some shin problems and we thought about it,” Slutsky said. “But after we began racing him, that’s when we all went to town.” And went to town they did. In his first race he broke and finished fourth, but then really got into gear and finished the year 26-2-0 in 29 starts. He also set a new world record when trotting the second heat of the Castleton Farm Stake, at DuQuoin, in 1:58.4 (1.13,8). The winningest 2-year-old trotter by then, Nevele Pride was voted 1967 Horse of the Year as the first 2-year-old ever.
“He said this colt wasn’t worth $5,000”
Not everybody had spotted the talent in the colt as a youngster, though. After Nevele Pride won the Hambletonian, breeder Edward Quin’s wife said: “People keep asking, why did we sell? My husband’s health has been bad for seven years and it reached the place where we couldn’t go to the races with our horses. My husband never did believe in racing horses as 2-year-olds, so we decided to send Thankful’s Major to the Harrisburg sales.
The colt was the first we ever bred which we didn’t go on with. We wanted $20,000 for him, but Harold Dancer, after coming out to see him, said we couldn’t get more than $15,000 for him. Billy Haughton, who had bought Thankful’s first cold by Star Pride (which turned out to be a pacer), said this colt wasn’t worth $5,000.
Then we got a call that Stanley Dancer wanted to see him. He came out to the farm and saw in the pasture and watched how he went. He said there were two or three things about the colt he didn’t care too much about but he would give us $20,000. So we sold him, for the most we ever got for a horse.”
That’s the only time he’s hard to drive”
As Nevele Pride’s reputation grew, so did the public’s awareness of his rather nasty disposition. But surprisingly enough, Andy Murphy, his third groom, did not feel he was that bad. “He’s not mean,” Murphy said in an interview with Sports Illustrated. “When he knows he’s going to race – and he knows – he stays up, getting, well, maybe just a little mean. But if you think he looks mean now, just wait until after the race. He looks like he wants to kill somebody. Which he does. But that only lasts for 10 or 15 minutes and then he settles right down.” Stanley Dancer chipped in that “that’s the only time he’s hard to drive, going into the winner’s circle. You had better get that sulky unhooked in a hurry before he starts kicking. Then you have to keep an eye on him to see he doesn’t bite or kick the people around him. He’s a terror in that winner’s circle.”