Needles, the horse that put Florida on the map

BY CARLTON REESE | WITH THE HISTORIC OCALA PRESERVATION SOCIETY

On May 4, 1956, little respect existed for Florida-breds in the sport of thoroughbred horse racing. The next day that would all change, thanks to a bay colt whose sickly beginning certainly belied his future glory.

The great Needles was sired by 1949 Kentucky Derby winner Ponder out of dam Noodle Soup, but life as a foal would be difficult. At just 5 weeks old, the colt came down with equine pneumonia and was endlessly poked and prodded with injections, so much so that he was given the “Needles” moniker. Near death, Needles fought for life and eventually grew into a promising horse, such that Jack Dudley, Bonnie Heath and trainer Hugh Fontaine purchased him for $20,000 from Dickey Stables.

Few could have predicted then the impact Needles would have on the sport and, especially, the future of the horse industry in North Central Florida. His 2-year-old campaign in 1955 saw Needles capture the Hopeful Stakes and Sapling Stakes, both in track-record times. En route to the 1956 Kentucky Derby, Needles stormed to victories in the Flamingo Stakes and Florida Derby, making him the betting favorite at Churchill Downs.

Then May 5 arrived and Needles put on a show. Prone to coming from behind, Needles found himself 16th of 17 horses at the Derby, only to blast through the field for a three-quarter length victory over Fabius. Not only the first Florida-bred to enter the Kentucky Derby, Needles became the first Florida-bred to win the Kentucky Derby.

Needles’ victory that day, along with his win in the Belmont Stakes and second-place finish in the Preakness, cannot be overstated in terms of what it meant to horse racing in what we now call “The Horse Capital of the World.” At the time of Needles’ birth, there were only five thoroughbred farms in Marion County, but that number rose to seven after Needles’ 3-year-old campaign, then skyrocketed to 21 the next year. Today, there are 600 thoroughbred farms in Marion County and 1,200 horse farms in total. Were it not for Needles’ success, such growth may not even be thinkable.

Since Needles won the 1956 Kentucky Derby, and was less than two lengths from a Triple Crown, there have been five more Florida-breds to win the Derby, including 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed.

For his role, Needles earned a hero’s welcome in those days. According to a recent article by Joe Nevills in “The Paulick Report,” Needles was paraded on the field at halftime of a University of Florida football game and was named an honorary member of the Ocala Chamber of Commerce. In 1974, Needles was selected as the only equine member of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame and to this day is the only horse there (amazingly, Affirmed is not a member), and in 2000 was elected to the National Racing Museum’s Hall of Fame (yes, Affirmed is a member).

Spurning offers from prominent Kentucky farms, Heath decided to stand Needles at his own farm despite a sparse broodmare population in Florida at that time. He did sire 21 stakes winners, but one wonders how great Needles’ reputation as a sire would have been had he stood in Kentucky. Instead, Needles lived out his days in Marion County and passed away in 1984. His impact on Florida’s horse industry was so great, it is fitting that his remains are buried on the property of Ocala Breeders Sales. Needles was to Florida horse racing as Babe Ruth was to baseball or George Halas was to professional football. Without Needles’ success, the great industry that exists here might only have been a fantasy; instead, we bask in the path blazed by this great horse.

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