The Day the Music Died
by Lisa Harkema
When Greyhound, by many regarded as the best trotter of all times, retired, his owner, EJ Baker, was looking for other interesting prospects. In 1943 he found The Grey Ghost’s successor when he bought the horse almost everybody thought would break all trotting records. However, less than a year later that horse had passed away. The untimely death of Volo Song has been called one of the greatest tragedies to befall trotting.
Volo Song was foaled in 1940 at Walnut Hall Farm. A son of Volomite out of the fantastic broodmare Evensong, his siblings include Kentucky Futurity winner Twiling Song, Victory Song and Hit Song, both second in Hambletonian, and Scotch Song, dam of Hambletonian winner Lusty Song as well as Scotch Rhythm. He was purchased for $5,000 by William Strang who put him in training with Ben White. Strang also owned the winner of the 1942 Hambletonian, The Ambassador. After the Hambletonian win of the latter, Strang, in “post-race excitement” gave away a substantial amount of the $20,489 winner’s check, giving trainer Ben White $5,000, instead of the customary 10 %, and, according to Dean Hoffman’s book Harness Racing in New York, handing “each of Ben White’s caretakers a bill that would buy a small piece of property in the area of Lexington, Kentucky, where many of them lived.”
As a two-year old Volo Song quickly established himself as the best in his crop, winning all stake engagements including the junior Kentucky Futurity and Tompkins, and trotting in 2:03 1/2 (1.16,8). The next year he won the Matron, American-National, the Review Stakes in addition to the Hambletonian. His Hambletonian win was of the impressive kind. In the first heat Volo Song made a big break but rebounded to finish a close third, timed around 2:00 (1.14,6), before sweeping the next two heats in easy and convincing fashion.