Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Mystery solved


More than 70 years after the fact, research scientists have confirmed what was always suspected -- the great New Zealand/Australian racehorse, Phar Lap, was indeed murdered, killed by the injections of a lethal dose of arsenic. The scientists used a bit of Phar Lap's preserved skin to do the anylysis.

From the article:
"Previous theories speculated the champion died of a stomach condition but many suspected foul play by US gangsters trying to avoid losses from Phar Lap's continued success."
I knew I was justified in not wanting to go to the Tanfaran Shopping Center, the site of the racetrack just south of San Francisco where they did the evil deed (click here for a previous post explaining some of that).


I'm not sure why I'm so fascinated by Phar Lap. It probably comes from the same place as my admiration for Captain Cook (you might ask "what's that about," but I'll save it for another post). These are stories I was unaware of growing up in New York, but have entered my conciousness after being with Ken for all these years.

The Phar Lap story is one of spirit. This one-of-a-kind horse with, literally, a huge heart gave a small piece of joy to so many people hit hard by the Depression of the 1930s. How hard it must of been when this symbol of hope was murdered.

For the whole story with great photos, check out "A Tribute to Phar Lap."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi, it´s great that you have your own opinion on this, but I do not think that it could be so easy to believe in this conclusion. Even if it is made by a team of sciencist around dr. Kempson, because there are some very important things they have to explain to the public. For instance there exist one theory that all racehorses in nearly 30´s had the arsenic in their system...so how could they know...nobody can say it for 100 % - the death ofPhar Lap was and still will be the mystery.