How long did the American Standardbred Dan Patch live?
Dan Patch
In 1901, Messner decided to test Dan Patch against the best horses in the country on the Grand Circuit, a series of valuable races around the north-eastern United States. Accordingly, he hired Myron McHenry to be Dan Patch's new trainer and driver. Though McHenry was reputed to be difficult to work with, his ability with horses was such that he was called "America's greatest reinsman". On May 13, Dan Patch left Oxford on a train bound for Cleveland so that McHenry could try him out. In their first drive together, Dan Patch did not appear to be working hard but the stopwatch showed he had been moving fast. McHenry reportedly said to the horse, "You're either the world's biggest counterfeit, or you're the fastest horse in the world."[15]