He Loved to Horse Around

John Galbreath, baseball and horse racing owner who died Wednesday, liked to tell stories, and one of his favorites was about a fellow named Tex who entered a horse in the Epsom Derby, the most famous race in England.

Tex cut quite a figure with his fancy boots and 10-gallon hat, but the head racing steward, Lord Donamore, was suspicious of him and followed him to the paddock, where he saw him take a small white pellet from his pocket and give it to the horse.

Said Lord Donamore: “I say there, good man, this is the Darby. We will not tolerate such an act on these grounds.”

Said Tex: “Shucks, Lord Donamore, I just gave my horse a little ol’ sugar pill.” Whereupon he popped one into his mouth and offered one to the steward.

Lord Donamore took one and was satisfied that it was harmless.

Tex then led his horse aside and told the jockey, “I want you to keep the horse on the outside, away from trouble. When you come into the stretch, bring him to the rail and let him run. Nobody’s going to pass you--unless it’s Lord Donamore or myself.”

Vin Scully came up with this line Wednesday when St. Louis Manager Whitey Herzog went to the mound to replace Cardinal pitcher John Tudor with John Costello: “Whitey’s saying, ‘Give me Costello, I’ve seen enough of Abbott.’ ”

Trivia Time: He’s the defending Olympic champion, but nobody seemed to notice when he failed to qualify for the 400-meter final in the Olympic trials at Indianapolis. Who is he? (Answer below.)

She has surprised the world, but Florence Griffith-Joyner’s husband told Sports Illustrated he knew last month she was ready for big things when he found he could no longer beat her in the 100-yard dash.

He is Al Joyner, 1984 Olympic triple jump champion who also rates among the 10 fastest high hurdlers in the United States.

Add Trials: Says Coach Bob Kersee, looking forward to Seoul: “We weren’t at the Olympics in 1980. The Eastern bloc countries weren’t in Los Angeles in 1984. We’ll both be there in 1988. It’s time to rumble.”

The subject was food, and New York Giants General Manager George Young told Dave Anderson of the New York Times how the club was forced to assign an assistant trainer to tail Leonard Marshall when the defensive end was a rookie.

The trainer’s assignment was to make sure Marshall didn’t stop by the local McDonald’s.

Young: “Leonard had been going out and bringing back burgers for a late snack. Not just two or three burgers in the little bag you get in those fast-food places. He had so many burgers he needed a shopping bag.”

15 Years Ago Today: On July 21, 1973, Henry Aaron of Atlanta hit his 700th home run in the third inning of an 8-4 loss to Philadelphia. Aaron connected on a 1-and-1 fastball off Phillie pitcher Ken Brett.

On this date in 1975, Joe Torre of the New York Mets set a National League record by grounding into four double plays in a 6-2 loss to the Houston Astros. Felix Millan had four singles but was wiped out each time by Torre.

Note: Today, Brett and Torre are both employed as Angel announcers.

Trivia Answer: Alonzo Babers.

Quotebook

Sparky Lyle, before an old-timers’ game in which he represented the 1978 New York Yankees: “It would be good if George came in and chewed us out to make us feel at home.”