Star Pointer was the first standardbred race horse to complete a mile in less than two minutes. Bred in 1889, he was a pacer by Brown Hal out of Sweepstakes.
Driven by David J. McClary, Star Pointer began racing in 1894 and in 1897 lowered the record for the mile to 1:59¼. His record stood until 1903, when it was lowered to 1:59 by Dan Patch.
Star Pointer was bred by Captain Henry P. Pointer of Spring Hill, Tennessee. His sire was Brown Hal and his dam was Sweepstakes. He broke the 2 minute mile barrier on August 28, 1897 at around 4:00 pm with quarter times of 30 sec, 293⁄4, 291⁄4, 301⁄4 for a 1:591⁄4 time.
Star Pointer died of stroke several weeks before the Christmas of 1910. His record was 22 victories and 4 seconds in 30 starts. He had a total of 60 wins in 79 heats and earnings of over $50,000.
Star Pointer's remains were buried beneath the finish line of the Dean Racetrack in Palatine, IL but his remains are now lost to history.
Star Pointer was owned by James A Murphy,(born in Rome New York August 11, 1846 and died January 24, 1920 in New York City)and was a resident of Chicago Illinois. He was famous throughout the United States as a thorough horseman and was a familiar figure on the tracks of the big meets. James A Murphy organized the Central Grange and Stock Exchange. Utica Saturday Globe January 24, 1920 Obituary.
Famous quotes containing the words star and/or pointer:
“The flame from the angel’s sword in the garden of Eden has been catalysed into the atom bomb; God’s thunderbolt became blunted, so man’s dunderbolt has become the steel star of destruction.”
—Sean O’Casey (1884–1964)
“The hardiest skeptic who has seen a horse broken, a pointer trained, or has visited a menagerie or the exhibition of the Industrious Fleas, will not deny the validity of education. “A boy,” says Plato, “is the most vicious of all beasts;” and in the same spirit the old English poet Gascoigne says, “A boy is better unborn than untaught.””
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)