Zippy Chippy

Zippy Chippy (born April 20, 1991) is a thoroughbred race horse, a bay gelding, who is notable for being winless in 100 races. Zippy Chippy's pedigree includes many famous horses, such as Ben Brush, Buckpasser, Busanda, Bold Ruler, Count Fleet, Man o' War, Nasrullah, Native Dancer, Northern Dancer, Round Table, Tom Fool, War Admiral and the greatest "blue hen" broodmare of the twentieth century, La Troienne.[1]

Zippy Chippy
Sire	Compliance
Dam	Listen Lady
Damsire	Buckfinder
Sex	Gelding
Foaled	1991
Country	United States
Breeder	Capritaur Farm
Owner	Felix Monserrate
Trainer	Felix Monserrate
Record	100: 0 -8-12
Earnings	$30,834
Major wins
None

Career

Zippy Chippy was owned and trained by Felix Monserrate and at Capritaur Farm in New York. Tom Gilcoyne, a retired historian for the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York, said that Zippy Chippy "...hasn't done anything to harm the sport. But it's a little bit like looking at the recorded performances of all horse races through the wrong end of the telescope."[2]

Felix Monserrate, who had boarded Zippy Chippy, acquired the horse in 1995, in a trade for a 1988 Ford truck. Eventually, Zippy Chippy was banned from competing at numerous tracks. The only track not to ban him was at the Northampton Fair.

In August 2001, Zippy came in first against a minor league baseball player in a 120-foot (37 m) race. (Although there are sources that say he lost this 40-yard dash, it seems there may have been two races. On August 18, 2000, Rochester outfielder José Herrera outran Zippy Chippy in a 40-yard race.) Zippy also won against a harness racer called Paddy's Laddy in a publicity stunt in which he spotted the trotter a twenty-length lead.[3]

Zippy Chippy's 100th loss occurred on September 10, 2004, in the Northampton Fair at the Three County Fairgrounds. He went off at odds of 7-2, making him the second betting choice; however, Zippy Chippy finished last.[4] In December 2004, he retired from racing to become an outrider pony at his hometown track, Finger Lakes racetrack in Farmington, New York, where he'd been banned from racing on September 8, 1998, after failing to leave the gate with the rest of the field for the third consecutive time. As an outrider pony, he escorted horses in the post parade and led them to the gate.

In 2000, People magazine included Zippy Chippy on its list of that year's most interesting personalities.[5][6] An English ad campaign used his name and image to convince kids to stay in school.

Zippy Chippy's lifetime record is: 100 starts, 0 wins, and lifetime earnings of $30,834.[4]

Retirement

Zippy Chippy retired to the Bobby Frankel Division of Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm at Cabin Creek near Saratoga Race Course in New York on April 22, 2010. The 19-year-old gelding joined Cabin Creek's seven other retirees and is expected to live out his life there.[7][8]

Zippy Chippy went on tour in Kentucky in the summer of 2012 to bring attention to the safe retirement of race horses.[9]

Other horses with long losing streaks include Dona Chepa (0 wins out of 135 starts), Ouroene (0 for 124), Haru Urara (0 for 113, Japan), Meine Attrice (0 for 192, Japan),[10] Thrust (0 for 105, North America) and Quixall Crossett (0 for 103, Britain).

Adaptations

• Thomas, William (5 April 2016). The Legend of Zippy Chippy: Life Lessons from Horse Racing's Most Lovable Loser. McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 978-0-7710-8162-0..[11][12]

• Bennett, Artie (February 25, 2020). The True Story of Zippy Chippy: The Little Horse That Couldn't. Illustrated by Dave Szalay. NorthSouth Books. ISBN 978-0-7358-4396-7. (children's picture-book biography).

Pedigree

Pedigree of Zippy Chippy, bay gelding, foaled April 20, 1991[1]

Sire Compliance b. 1978	Northern Dancer b. 1961	Nearctic br. 1954	Nearco
			Lady Angela
		Natalma b. 1957	Native Dancer
			Almahmoud
	Sex Appeal ch. 1970	Buckpasser b. 1963	Tom Fool
			Busanda
		Best In Show ch. 1965	Traffic Judge
			Stolen Hour
Dam Listen Lady dkb/br. 1982	Buckfinder dkb/br. 1974	Buckpasser b. 1963	Tom Fool
			Busanda
		Shenanigans gr. 1963	Native Dancer
			Bold Irish
	Wide Application b. 1978	What a Pleasure ch. 1965	Bold Ruler
			Grey Flight
		Running Juliet b. 1966	Round Table
			Juliet's Nurse (Family 23-b)

Zippy Chippy is inbred 3 × 3 to Buckpasser, meaning that Buckpasser appears twice in the third generation of his pedigree. He is also inbred 4 × 4 to Native Dancer.

See also

• Underdog
• Haru Urara, a similarly unsuccessful but popular Japanese racehorse.

References

1. "Zippy Chippy Pedigree". Equineline. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
2. "USATODAY.com - Hollywood ends Zippy Chippy's 0-for-100 run". usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
3. "Zippy Chippy wins - against a standardbred". www.espn.com. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
4. "Zippy Chippy: 100 and counting". www.equidaily.com. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
5. "Table of Contents – Vol. 53 No. 18". PEOPLE.com. May 8, 2000. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
6. "Sequels 2000 – Vol. 54 No. 27". PEOPLE.com. December 25, 2000. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
7. "Hapless Zippy Chippy May Go to Old Friends". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
8. "Zippy Chippy Arrives at Cabin Creek". BloodHorse.com. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
9. "Zippy Chippy Is a Horse That Enjoys the Spoils of Defeat". The New York Times. August 4, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
10. "Meine Attrice (JPN)". JBIS (Japan Bloodstock Information System). Japan Bloodhorse Breeders' Association. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
11. "Zippy Chippy: the losingest racehorse in thoroughbred racing history". CBC Radio. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
12. "The horse that won by losing: Zippy Chippy, racing's famous also-ran, celebrated by Canadian author". National Post. April 6, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2017.

External links

• Zippy Chippy in The Encyclopedia of New York State