Driver Tony Morgan grabs loose horse during race atYonkers.

On April 7, harness racing driver Tony Morgan towed a horse for half a race at Yonkers Raceway after the horse's driver was thrown from the sulky during an accident. The KZbin link contains the entire race, which shows the accident as the horses come around the second turn, plus two angles of Morgan pulling the horse across the finish line at the end while driving his horse.
Tony Morgan wasn't expecting to drive Black Cat Bone in Saturday's (April 7) George Morton Levy Memorial division at Yonkers Raceway, but after the pacer was involved in an accident that unseated Patrick Berry, it was Morgan who ended up guiding the horse around the remainder of the track -- all while driving his own Village Jate N to a fifth place finish.
Black Cat Bone unseated Berry after becoming tangled with a horse that went off stride during the opening half-mile. Morgan, who was following the field in seventh place, moved to the infield to avoid hitting the fallen Berry and was later able to grab Black Cat Bone as the loose horse followed behind Village Jate N. He had Black Cat Bone in tow for approximately half the race.
"I've done it a few times before," said Morgan, who has 11,089 wins in his career and is a four-time recipient of Harness Tracks of America's Driver of the Year Award. "He was following behind me, like they do in a race, and I reached over and grabbed a hold of him. My horse was pretty racy, so I just went on around. My horse was charging and wanted to finish the mile; I let him finish so I could pull him up easy."
Village Jate N, trained by Kelvin Harrison, finished 40 lengths behind winner Cheyenne Hollywood and was timed in 2:04.1. Neither Black Cat Bone nor Berry was injured.
"I had a nice horse; he was real handy," Morgan said. "He did what I asked of him and kept me out of trouble."
Black Cat Bone is owned and trained by Erika Paradee. The 10-year-old has won 61 races lifetime and earned $760,080.
"What Tony did really meant a lot to me," Paradee said. "It was a very selfless act. So many things could have happened; it happened real quickly. Black Cat Bone had one tiny scratch on him, and it could have been so much worse. I will be forever grateful to him."

[@jeckburg]

I own Black Cat Bone - during that race i almost threw up i was so nervous - i bought him when he was 4- he was a great horse- He is to old to race now - he is now a riding horse

[@carolley9705]

God bless you for keeping cat in semi retirement! So many race horses end up in the slaughterhouse.

[@gracewright9034]

I have always been interested in harness horses. I live down south so I do not get much exposure. I have ridden and owned many horses. This driver bringing this horse and bike in safely is one of the most honorable things I have ever seen on KZbin.

[@brookebenton8192]

Very hard to handicap!

[@catfoody]

I remember Tony when he was first starting out at the Quad City Downs. Class act, and I wasn't surprised to see his name attached to bringing a horse back

[@stormchaser2928]

My first horse was an ex/pacer, one of the best horses I have ever owned. Great temperament and so quiet. Great for me, when I was just starting out. Plus the fact he could keep up with my friends horses at a canter, and he was only pacing! Awesome horse! Never forget him.

[@krg9942]

My last horse was a Trotter. One of the best horses I ever had too! Sure wish I knew about Standardbreds earlier in my riding life. I'll never forget that horse either.

[@scoohey]

tony wasnt getting money any way and cught the horse in open field. i was driving southern freight at pocono years ago, and billy mullin hollered up he broke both lines,he was sitting 4th and i was 3rd horses all around us. to avoid an accident i reached back held his horse save, and finished 3rd in the race for almost 1/2 a mile, the crowd gave me a standing novation, the judges gave me a suspension. Billy yelled at teh starting judge said i saved him from getting hurt bad!

[@peggypapczun2906]

Just saw this incredible act of pure selflessness for the first time--Wow!

[@groussac]

Tony Morgan is good people. I knew him back at Louisville Downs when he was just a kid. Doc and Wheeler and Mugsie and Papa Go G and Carrie Nation and Herb. The announcer referred to his dad as 'Steady Eddie Morgan'. No surprise that Tony turned out as well as he did.

[@stickshiftstarship]

nice of him to care about the other horse enough to keep it out of the way of the others

[@daschuck77]

Right! The whip rarely strikes the horse...usually the number pad or the shaft of the sulky is the sound you hear from the whip.

[@carlmoore3215]

It's not until very late that we see the 5th (last) place driver, who is holding the driverless horse's bridle while continuing to drive with his own horse.

[@ftechone]

Thats why they call him "Tough Tony"! I remember back in the early 80's at Freehold when Jack Moiseyev broke a line on his horse and climbed on the back of the horse to pull him up, you could see Jack holding on to the horses head while on his back in one of the finish photos!!

[@JeffJamesoutdoors]

LOL I like that Tony actually finished the race. Good stuff

[@phunkyyall]

omg thats a true act of kindness that was a great thing for him to do!!

[@baseballeddie1177]

@Horseloverkooder yes, its considered in a sense a "super horse" or a "monster horse " because it is so durable and tough. A standardbred can be in a horrible accident and land awkard,take a hard fall and race the next week as scheduled; they can race 2 or 3 times in one day as well as 55 times in a year

[@Kazzerie]

Food for him hanging on to that other horse... way to go

[@janelle7668]

Black Cat Bone did not die in this race if I remember correctly. Black Cat Bone normally raced in Delaware not Yonkers. RIP Black Cat Bone. Run free

[@Rimfaxe96]

Woah, these horses must be very well trained. :O

[@stormchaser2928]

What an awesome guy. Hats off to you.

[@datacoboy]

I've seen a race in Sweden where the same thing occured, Driver Åke Svanstedt picked up a horse about a 100 meters from finnish. That was really nice!

[@wakeboardadict8956]

now theres something you dont see every day

[@williamdavidson9694]

Tony Morgan is an honest man.

[@petej.8676]

Saw Morgan drive for years in Chicago

[@capriole57]

Bravo Tony Morgan. Madkukkii is correct to say this might have been really bad. Having been down in a wreck I can say it all happens so fast that it was an angel that enabled him to have the presence of mind to grab the loose one.

[@bgardiner2000]

@Zach1949 Actually it's the standard time itself that lends itself to the standard-bred name. The standard time that a horse runs for a mile.

[@drewrocker9934]

Morgan was the man at Maywood on their half mile track in Chicago. He won me a boatload of money, as i bet on him all the time, I miss Maywood and Balmoral i loved betting those tracks. Lots of good memories.

[@henri65]

On the old track Lindenoord of Wolvega (Nld) did (many years ago) Jan Wagenaar the same. He took the other horse bij the lead on a very quiet way.

[@oneotvallhorseliveraces9039]

What a great race !👏👏👏

[@murray608]

excellebt driving and sportsmanship!

[@scoohey]

Not for tony I was in teh middle of the pack and both lines broke on Billy Mullins horse yrs ago, and i reached back and held the horse safe so billy or no one go thurt and I finished 4th and stayed 4th. at Pocono downs with southern freight teh grandstand all came out side and gave me a standign novation!

[@tracksideracing9188]

THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR VIDEO (TRACKSIDE RACING)

[@EquusEmma]

Can you imagine posting to their trot. Holy crap.

[@caliokiegirl]

Actually, their trot is quite smooth. I owned an ex-racer, and I would race my sister's horse, who had to gallop to keep up with my gelding's trot. Great horses.

[@smoke123416]

good job man i so would do that for a race grab a horse instead of winning man god will pick u

[@mamawlou]

That guy at the end of the race in fourth, was beating the shit out of that horse!!! Terrible!!!

[@altstiff]

Just like leading a horse in the morning!

[@royalisabella8099]

I don't like this type of horse sport but I laughed when I saw the man and his horse and the loose horse

[@tomslick1650]

whipping them, thats abuse!

[@watchgoose]

they only hit the shafts of the bike. hitting the horse might cause him to break and then you have to pull them back, losing ground.

[@SilverScaleMA]

tom slick The whips never actually hit the horse they are snapping whips, either making noise on the shafts or over the back. The horses are trained to pick up pace when they hear the sound. It is the same with most other harness horses and is definitely better then shacking the reins.

[@feelnrite]

You could benefit from a good whipping.

[@katemacneil4012]

So I guess you’re against crops to

[@watchgoose]

Pacers were part of the makeup OF TWH in the earlier stages of their breeding. Ditto for ASb which gives them the ability to do a lateral gait.

[@MarshalDillon360]

Where was the outrider?

[@Dawnpaw]

Cool starting gate!

[@kompuiheartsu]

do they also use TWH?

[@latiendadepaikawaii]

The horse racing color numbers is so wrong

[@dalewiederholt573]

Where or if is the "King" morgan racing at now?

[@charleslockhart6778]

Tony Morgan is still racing on the East coast circuit, sometimes I’ll see him at Harrington, Dover Downs, or the Meadows. One or the winningest harness drivers in history with over 16,000 wins. I recall Tony racing at Balmoral Park in the 80’s where he dominated the driving ranks, regularly winning 5 or 6 races a night.

[@Janusmannen]

@Zach1949 Each track?! In Sweden we use a national standard for qualifying times. :-)

[@marcospark2803]

Yes but he did it only when the race is over.

[@askmaryalice1]

Nice job !

[@watchgoose]

Driver, not jockey, please.

[@TXRider]

Gorgeous...so there is some class in the world!

[@ellainacase427]

April 7th is my birthday

[@Janusmannen]

I totally agree!

[@Horseloverkooder]

standardbreds the best breed

[@legendofthewest]

You, and asweweep, and battousaiblade... are you guys for real? obviously have no clue

[@Janusmannen]

@Zach1949 I understand, but I still think you would be better off with a national standard. :-)

[@getgorgeousnow]

good for him, a very heads up m ove

[@WeYale22]

He didn’t do it during the race. That’s a false headline.

[@aquaticnuke]

Horse was pacing at his speed so he was able to control it throughout

[@nomee3931]

This Is Abuse.