50 Shades of Gray Hollywood Spooktacular on tap at Dayton Raceway

When it comes to gray horses – which are a bit of a rarity in the racing world – there are some myths and superstitions.

“There are some old wives’ tales about gray horses,” Gregg Keidel, the race secretary at Hollywood Dayton Raceway and a former harness horse owner, trainer and driver, said with a chuckle:

“One was that other horses are afraid of a gray horse. It was because horses are color blind and the different color they saw startled them at first.

“But in my experience, horses are afraid of a lot of things at first, then they adapt.”

Still, if the fright thing were real, it makes sense that Tuesday would be the day to run a gray.

It’s Halloween.

And Dayton Raceway will be in full trick or treat mode in the 10th race of today’s matinee session when it puts on an eight-horse pacing battle that it’s dubbed “50 Shades of Gray Hollywood Spooktacular.”

The race will feature horses with names like Give Up The Ghost, Time To Casper and Ghosts and Legends, and there will be at least one horse appropriately costumed.

White Fish Flash, campaigned by Ken Terpenning and Ron Zink, wears a dark hood with a white lightning bolt on it. It’s just like the lightning bolt logo the DC Comics superhero The Flash has on his chest.

The “50 Shades” field, put together by Keidel, features all gray horses, though the colorations may range anywhere from charcoal, silver and roan to near white.

The myths that surround grays come in part because they aren’t seen that much.

“We’ve had over 800 different horses run at Dayton Raceway already this season and only 12 were gray,” Keidel said. “That’s 1 ½ percent.”

If you pair that curiosity with the calendar, you get the perfect race track promotion.

A couple of other tracks around the nation feature an all-gray race on Halloween, specifically The Downs at Monhegan Sun Pocono which runs its annual “The Grey Ghost and Poltergeist Pace” Tuesday night.

Thoroughbred racing also has some all gray races.

The famed Newmarket Racecourse in Suffolk England runs the much ballyhooed Newmarket Handicap each summer for gray horses.

All the tracks are tapping into the same thing. Seeing a field of gray horses come down the stretch is a rare sight.

“The race (today) draws attention in a good way to our sport,” said Terpenning, whose White Fish Flash driven by Mike Millacef, is a 9-2 pick this afternoon. “This is a real novelty and its kind of fun to have it on Halloween.”

Unique appearance

The unique appearance of gray horses comes from a combination of their black skin and the varying amount of black and white hairs that covers it. Roans have all the characteristics of grays, but have red hairs in their coats.

And with age many grays lighten up until they are almost white.

There are also the genetic rarity white horses. Years ago I remember a thoroughbred named White Fox running at River Downs. It was only the 17th ever registered as white by The Jockey Club, which assumed responsibility for the American Stud Book in 1896.

“Trainers either love or hate gray horses,” said Keidel.

Some of it may have to do with the racing luck they had with their first gray horses. And long ago, there also were misconceptions that skewed people’s attitudes.

At one time gray horses were thought to be diseased. Other people have said they didn’t try as hard on the race track. While those are old wives’ tales, it can be true that their skin is more sensitive and very light horses can get sunburned.

On the flip side, when it comes to gray horses, there have been several famous and accomplished ones among thoroughbreds and to a lesser extent standardbreds.

Thoroughbreds who were some variation of gray and won both the Kentucky Derby and were named the Horse of the Year include Native Dancer and Spectacular Bid.

Silver Charm won the Derby and the Preakness and is in racing’s hall of fame. Winning Colors , a roan filly, won the Derby and is in the hall of fame. Skip Away and Holy Bull each were named Horse of the Year and are in the hall of fame.

One of the most famous gray standardbreds was Admirals Galley, known as The Grey Gladiator. Another celebrated gray was Jet Laag.

The scarcity of gray horses gives them an almost cult appeal.

And similarly, the White Fox, was so popular it had its own website, T-shirts, postcards and even had inspired a children’s book: “Foxy the Little White Thoroughbred.”

“A lot of times the novelty of it all goes to people’s heart over their head,” said Randal Smith who with his daughter owns and trains Ghosts and Legends, which he stables at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia.

“I’ve seen people at sales bid way high on gray horses because they wanted a pretty race horse.”

Keidel recalled a woman owner from Cleveland and her husband who “bought every gray race horse they could.”

Ryan Miller, who owns and trains the three-year-old pacing filly Give Up the Ghost , said his old boss once told him: “Don’t buy red horses and don’t buy gray horses and you’ll be ahead.”

Miller didn’t listen. He had a gray horse that was successful once before, so he didn’t hesitate when that same old boss sold him the Ghost three months ago for $22,000.

Since then, he’s already made his money back.

Terpenning said he “gravitates” to gray horses, too.

Brian Clemmons, who trains Empty Gun Ivy, a 6-1 pick Tuesday, said he had past success with a gray which is why he got this one.

Conversely, Smith said he doesn’t “particularly care for grays,” but was talked into Ghosts and Legends by his daughter.

And then there‘s Daniel Maier, who has 5-1 White Ruler in Tuesday’s race:

“I’ve never had a gray before, but I don’t pay attention to the color, just how they run. And I like this one.”

Other people are especially taken by the color.

Miller said Give Up the Ghost “is a beautiful silver. She looks kinds like a greyhound. Every person who sees her on the track said she could be a show pony when she’s done racing. She’s an absolutely stunning animal.”

Gray horses have a special place in the hearts of bettors, too.

“There are some people who bet the gray horse in every race they’re in,” said Larry Tincher, who trains Time To Casper, a 3-1 pick Tuesday. “It could he because they’re something different or maybe they’re just easier to watch.”

That affection shows itself in more myth.

“There’s an old expression I used to hear,” Terpenning said. “Bet a gray on a cloudy day.”

And there’s another well-worn maxim that poses a special problem today said Miller:

“They always say ‘Never bet against a gray!’

“I don’t know how they’re gonna do that today in a field of all grays. They might need to put $2 to win on everybody.”

At least that way, along with the trick, there would be a little treat.

Dayton Hollywood Raceway

(Matinee post time 2:15)

10th race $6,000 Pace:

“50 Shades of Gray Hollywood Spooktacular”

1.Mr Ruppel (Randy Tharps) 10-1

2.War Time Penny (Ty Smith) 12-1