Molly and Tenbrooks - Not Just a Song

One of my favorite tracks has to be The Bluegrass Album Band's "Molly and Tenbrooks", a song with a rich history in Bluegrass with a first known recording going all the way back to 1929 with the Carver Boy's version named "Tim Brook". The song really gained popularity though when Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys recorded "Molly and Tenbrooks" in the fall of 1947. 

With one of our newest and upcoming Tees being a tribute to that song, I figured that it would be a good time to delve into the actual event that inspired it. 

The song is a fictionalized version of a real horse race that occurred on July 4th, 1878, at the Louisville Jocky Club (what would later become known as Churchill Downs). The horses racing were named "Ten Broeck" and "Mollie McCarty"...a notable difference from the song title. 

Ten Broeck

Ten Broeck was foaled on a farm in Midway, KY in 1872 and was a direct descendent of Baron Mayer de Rothschild's "King Tom", a very successful stud from Great Britain. At three years old, Ten Broeck won 5 of 9 starts, and at 4 years old, set a world record for a 4-mile race on a dirt track. His lifetime record came in at 30 starts, 23 wins and 3 seconds with lifetime earnings at $27,550. 

Mollie McCarty (or McCarthy)

Mollie McCarty was a Bay horse that was foaled in 1873, in California. Mollie was "named for a dashing blonde," and was, in her racing days, described as "very bloodlike, highly finished, and full of quality," one of those "hard-muscled, fine-grained" horses that "make up in quality what they lack in substance." She stood 15. 2 hands. Her racing career started off strong, and at 3 years old, she had a 6 consecutive race winning streak. She eventually reached a point of being undefeated for 13 races when she was sold to Lucky Baldwin. Lucky decided to move her to Kentucky, a huge change for a horse that had never raced anywhere but in the temperate climes of California. 

Since both horses had seemingly run out of competition, it was decided that on July 4, 1878, they would race at the Louisville Jockey Club (what would later become Churchill Downs). More than 30,000 people gathered to see the two horses race a three-heat four-mile race. Heavy rains had occurred the night before the event, and the track had turned into thick mud...something that Mollie McCarty had little experience with coming from California. This led to Mollie's first defeat in her racing career, and Ten Broeck experienced a stunning victory for his last ever race...but was his success a "natural one"?

In a book of the era titled Famous Running Horses by Colonel John F. Wall, the author claimed that Ten Broeck may have been doped by his owners, as the horse was "laboring badly, did not sweat, was glassy eyed, and had to be whipped through the match." As to what could have been given to the horse for his final victory is anyone's guess...but this was a time when cocaine was readily available to the public. In any event, the race was the last of its kind, as the grueling long multi-heat horse race gave way to the English "Dash" race that is known today. 

Both horses went on to contribute to the bloodlines of many successful racing horses, with Mollie passing away in 1883 and Ten Broeck passing in 1887, both to be immortalized on many a stage when "Molly and Tenbrooks" is played.