Hall of Fame

 



savoir

Year of Birth: 
1968
Immortal: 
Yes
Elected as Immortal: 
2002
Year of Death: 
1996
Gait: 
Trotter
Record: 
2,2:00.2; 3,1:58.1
Earnings: 
$1,365,145
Sire: 
Star's Pride
Dam: 
Spicy Song
Sire of Dam: 
Victory Song
Biography: 

The 1975 Harness Horse of the Year and a two-time divisional champion (1974 and 1975), Savoir retired from racing in 1978 as the richest trotter of all time with $1,365,145 in earnings. A holder of numerous world records, he took his mark of 1:58.1 while capturing the first heat of the 1971 Kentucky Futurity.

Bred and owned by Leonard and Helen Buck's Allwood Stables of Far Hills, N.J., Savoir, who was gelded at three, was a son of Star's Pride out of the mare Spicy Song, both sub-1:58 performers. Although Savoir had many great on-the-track accomplishments, his finest hours came in 1975 when he swept Roosevelt Raceway's three major 1 1/4 mile international trotting classics, the American Trotting Championship, the Roosevelt International and the Challenge Cup. Savoir thus became only the third trotter to ever complete the sweep, joining Su Mac Lad and Speedy Crown - both already honored as Hall of Fame Immortals.

In 1971 Savoir became the first three-year-old male trotter to go in 2:00 over a half-mile track, winning the Old Oaken Bucket. He went on that year to capture the prestigious Kentucky Futurity. Trained and driven by Jimmy Arthur, Savoir's first-heat 1:58.1 victory was the fastest mile ever trotted by a sophomore at the time. He followed it up with a 1:58.2 win in the second and decisive heat. For the day, his efforts added four world records to his ledger, giving him at the time eleven world marks for his age, sex and gait during that single season alone. During the early part of his career, Savoir was trained and driven by Arthur. He was later moved to the stable of John Chapman. In 1975 Chapman was taken ill, prompting him to turn the lines over to the veteran horseman Del Insko, who guided the world-champion trotter to his prestigious Roosevelt Raceway trifecta. The seven-year-old gelding won 13 of 21 starts that year, completing his Trotter of the Year season with a victory - successfully defending the championship he also won in 1974 - the American Trotting Classic at Hollywood Park with Jim Dennis in the sulky.

Savoir was retired from racing in 1978. He numbered 49 career victories, with many being world-record efforts. Among his other classic wins were the 1971 Colonial 3-Year-Old Trot at Liberty Bell Park, the 1972 American National 4-Year-Old Trot at Sportsman's Park, the 1974 American Trotting Championship at Roosevelt, a division of the 1975 Maple Leaf Trotting Classic and the 1975 Titan Cup at Goshen. In 1972 he trotted the first sub-2:00 mile in the history of Brandywine Raceway when he captured a free-for-all event in 1:59.3.

By pushing his earnings past the $1 million mark during his championship 1975 season, Savoir earned the distinction of becoming only the seventh Standardbred to reach the seven-digit mark in career earnings. This clinched his place as the richest U.S.-owned trotter of all time.

Savoir died of natural causes in September 1996 at Car-Lin Farms, Pennsylvania.

Published in the Harness Racing Museum's 2002 Souvenir Journal