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Camarero's record of 56 consecutive wins turns 50

Posted: Friday, August 05, 2005

Fans in Puerto Rico loved to celebrate victories by their champion

by Carlos Pe-a-Rivera and Amy Owens

ON AUGUST 7, 1955, a Thoroughbred in Puerto Rico named Camarero made history when he won his 55th consecutive race to break the mark held by the 19th-century Hungarian mare Kincsem. Today, when people in Puerto Rico talk about the sport in their country, they refer to racing before Camarero and after Camarero. The Camarero Awards are given annually to Puerto Rico's champion racehorses.

"For me, Camarero means horse racing," said Racing Hall of Fame jockey and Puerto Rico native Angel Cordero Jr., who as a boy saw Camarero. "In the United States, they wouldn't have heard about horse racing in Puerto Rico if it wasn't for Camarero."

Racing in Puerto Rico dates from the 16th century when Spaniards ruled the island. In 1882, the first racetrack was established, and the first imported racehorses arrived in 1911. In 1917, a pick seven, or pool, wager debuted and immediately became popular with racing fans. By 1931, races began to be broadcast on the radio, increasing the sport's popularity. However, at the beginning of the 1950s, Puerto Rico's economy had declined and many lived in poverty. By 1953, when Camarero began his career, only two tracks were operating.

Classic bloodlines

In 1948, prominent breeder Antonio Matos imported Camarero's sire, Thirteen, a six-year-old son of '38 Travers Stakes winner Thanksgiving and Go Seek, a daughter of '36 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Bold Venture. Camarero's dam, Flint Maid, was a granddaughter of 1927 Belmont Stakes winner Chance Shot who in '46 was exported to Puerto Rico at four and sold to Jose "Pepe" Coll-Vidal. A self-made millionaire who owned the most important newspaper in Puerto Rico, Coll-Vidal raced Thoroughbreds in the name of Establo Lares (Lares Racing Stable), which still owns the record for most wins (more than 4,000) and most stakes victories (196) in Puerto Rico.

Coll-Vidal changed Flint Maid's name to Camarera and raced her until she was claimed by Matos. He bred her to Thirteen, mating two horses with American classic winners in their pedigrees, which no breeder in Puerto Rico had been able to do before. Matos also was involved in a partnership with Coll-Vidal that enabled the latter to regain ownership of the mare.

On July 19, 1951, Camarera foaled a black colt with four white pasterns who was named Sabrosito. Through Coll-Vidal's foal-sharing agreement with breeder Luis Rechani-Agrait, the colt was bred in Rechani-Agrait's name and foaled on his farm.

A year later, Coll-Vidal and trainer Pablo Suarez first saw Sabrosito, whom Coll-Vidal said looked like a small donkey. However, Suarez insisted that Coll-Vidal take the well-bred yearling. He did and renamed the colt Camarero in honor of his dam.

Camarero made his first start on April 14, 1953, at two furlongs at Quintana racetrack and won by three lengths. On May 17, he won his second race; seven days later, he won his first stakes race in front-running fashion by four lengths. On July 17, he won his fifth race when he took the six-furlong Luis Mu-oz Rivera Stakes by seven lengths. From August 23 to October 23, Camarero won eight more races, including another stakes. His jockey in his first 13 victories was Juan Diaz-Andino.

Coll-Vidal had come close to Kincsem's record with two other horses, Cofres' and Condado, who won 49 and 44 consecutive races, respectively. He believed that for Camarero to break the record, he would have to replace the colt's jockey with leading rider Mateo Matos.

In 1952, Matos exercised horses at Aqueduct for Horatio Luro but returned to Puerto Rico. When he was first asked to ride the undefeated Camarero, Matos declined. "He wanted to sleep in peace," wrote Jorge Col-n-Delgado in his book about Camarero. Assured that Coll-Vidal would not replace him if he lost aboard Camarero, Matos agreed to ride the colt.

Wins Triple Crown

Camarero recorded five more victories to finish his two-year-old campaign in 1953 with 18 wins. On New Year's Day in 1954, he won the 61Ú2-furlong Governor's Cup while carrying 120 pounds, eight more than the second-highest-weighted horse in the race. The Governor's Cup was the first leg of Puerto Rico's Triple Crown, which was established in 1951 and had not yet been won.

The next two legs were the 11/16-mile Jose de Diego Stakes and the 11/8-mile Primavera Stakes. Camarero could carry high weight, but it was unknown if he could race successfully at longer distances. On January 11, 1954, he won his 20th race by ten lengths while going 11/16 miles, eliminating any doubts of his ability.

On April 17, Camarero won the Jose de Diego Stakes for his 28th win. On May 9, carrying 15 pounds more than any other rival, he won the Primavera Stakes to become Puerto Rico's first Triple Crown winner. On his actual third birthday, Camarero won his 32nd race and set a 61/2-furlong track record. After winning another race ten days later, he earned a well-deserved rest.

Fans grew eager for Camarero's return, and on October 24, he easily won his next start. He finished his three-year-old campaign with his 37th victory on December 19 and was selected Horse of the Year.

Racing's popularity in Puerto Rico increased with each of Camarero's victories. By the end of 1954, track attendance had jumped 25%. People who had never been interested in the sport paid attention to Camarero while he chased Kincsem's record.

"Some people would say that he was allowed to win, but that wasn't true," Cordero recalled. "He used to win because he was the best. The only thing was he never raced against horses [that were not bred] in Puerto Rico. But in my opinion, he could have competed against any horse at the time. ... But since he was chasing the world record, they kept racing him against Puerto Rican-bred horses."

At four in 1955, Camarero won nine more races from January 6 to April 22 and was just nine wins away from the record. During the first 32 racing days of the year, total handle increased a whopping 64% compared with the previous year. Everyone in Puerto Rico was talking about Camarero and chanting "Camarero en punta," or "Camarero up front," a phrase used by track announcer Pito Rivera-Monge when the colt headed to victory.

Camarero kept winning. On July 18, 1955, he won his 54th race to tie Kincsem's record. The entire country waited to see when he would race again, and the interest was covered in the New York Times. Finally, it was announced that Camarero would go for the world record on August 7 in the fourth race at Quintana.

Secures world record

At the start of the 61/2-furlong race, the eight horses broke alertly. Matos held Camarero back and looked for a good spot to place him. By the half-mile pole, Matos let Camarero go, and the colt responded to win by six lengths.

"With 600 meters to go, Camarero was already ahead and I could hear the people screaming," Matos recalled in Col-n-Delgado's book. "Coming down the stretch, I knew I had the race. Camarero started to pull away easily. The closer that we would get to the finish line, the louder the people would get in the stands. It was incredible. When I passed the finish line, I remember telling myself, 'We did it. We finally did it.' "

Fans shouted and hugged each other, while others cried. Elsewhere, the thousands of people who listened to the race on the radio began to rejoice, and many went out into the streets where drivers honked their horns. All of Puerto Rico celebrated.

"When Camarero established the world record, I was at the track that day," Cordero said. "I was too young to fully understand what was going on. All I knew was that Camarero was our champion and that every time he raced, he would win."

Camarero was scheduled to rest following his world-record victory, but for some reason returned ten days later and scored his 56th consecutive victory. However, Matos knew the horse was feeling the rigors of his career. He had started in 56 races in less than 21Ú2 years and had survived bad breaks, sloppy tracks, and inexplicable events such as broken stirrups. Camarero had many fans, but some people wanted him to lose. Many times Matos had to use all his skills to avoid accidents and being shut out.

Suffers first defeat

On August 26, 1955, Camarero lost for the first time. He lacked racing room inside the rail and never could get free. His streak had ended.

"I was at the racetrack when he lost," Cordero recalled. "For some reason, Camarero didn't get out of the gate like he used to. He was behind a wall of horses, and when Matos made his move at the three-eighths pole, he had no place to go. He even had to stand up on the irons, and he finished the race that way. I think if he may have had the chance to go around the horses, he would have won the race.

"When the horse lost, I cried and I also saw a lot of people crying. Since I was just a boy, I never thought that Camarero could have ever lost." Even in defeat, Camarero received no rest. On September 5, he won for the second time after his defeat in the first horse race to be broadcast on national television in Puerto Rico, proof of his popularity. He won six more races before losing for only the second time on November 30. He finished 1955 with two more wins and one more defeat and once again was selected Horse of the Year.

Loss of a hero

In his 77th career race on August 26, 1956, Camarero scored an eight-length victory, but after the race showed signs of discomfort and a fever. Veterinarians immediately started to treat him, but nothing helped. The next day at about 8:30 p.m., Camarero died, and news of his death quickly spread throughout the country. An autopsy later revealed the colt had a perforation on his stomach that had caused peritonitis.

Special arrangements were made for Camarero's funeral. He was buried at Quintana in a special grave that was topped with glass so people could see him. More than 10,000 people, including Cordero, paid their respects.

"Since I wanted to see him for the last time, I stayed in line for more than five hours," Cordero said. "The whole event was so painful. It was something very sad for Puerto Rico and a terrible blow for the horse racing industry."

Camarero, whose grave today is located in the infield at El Comandante racetrack in Canovanas, won 73 races, including 56 consecutive races and Puerto Rico's Triple Crown, and earned $43,553. He won seven stakes races, set three track records, and equaled another.

"Even today there are still many people who can't believe that a horse was capable of winning so many races in a row," Cordero said. "I don't think we would have been recognized in the United States, or in any part of the world, if it had not been for Camarero. He was a true champion."