On March 27, 1877, the front page of Norfolk, Virginia’s The Public Ledger declared: “A trotting race is to come off at Campostella race-course on the 5th of April between Mr. Daniel Steever’s Maryland horse Carrollton and Sadie Bell, the famous Chincoteague pony, owned on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.”
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| Sadie Bell |
Sadie Bell was a trotting legend from Accomack County, Virginia who astounded crowds with her speed. The mare was reported to be about 15hh and was a light chestnut color. She had two back stockings that went halfway to her hocks, and she did not pace.
Media at the time often called her a Chincoteague pony. Let’s explore Sadie Bell’s life and lineage and celebrate a remarkable racehorse of dubious origin.
Sadie Bell’s breeding
Was Sadie Bell born a wild pony on Chincoteague? No, but she possibly had Chincoteague blood through her mother’s side, with emphasis on the possibly.
In newspapers, Sadie Bell was frequently referred to as a Chincoteague pony, and she did have the cream-colored mane and tail associated with the breed at the time.
A Norfolk newspaper posited that Sadie Bell’s dam, Mollie, was out of a Chincoteague mare and that she was by a stallion named Toodles. Other sources state that Sebastapool was Sadie Bell’s maternal grandsire, and even more sources state that Sadie Bell’s maternal parentage was completely unknown.
Sources do agree that Sadie Bell’s sire was a horse named Oden Bell, who was entirely unremarkable except for his siring Sadie Bell. Oden Bell’s paternal grandfather may have been a Morgan stallion named Sam Patch.
Revel’s Island, Sadie Bell's birthplace, was put up for sale in 1884 for $1400 by its owner, Custis M. Dunton. In the advertisement, he states that “Horses of the Hambletonian, Morgan, and Bell stock are for sale on the Island.”
The Eastern Shore phenomenon
Accounts sometimes refer to her as a Chincoteague pony or a beach pony, but more often than not, they marvel at how a gawky little horse from Accomack County could reach such heights. After all, the Eastern Shore of Virginia is not the kind of place that regularly produces champion racehorses.
“This is impossible! You may find a Sadie Bell or a Little Bets phenomenon once and a while, but you cannot raise race horses in that locality. It is out of the question. [...] No race horse can thrive on salt grass,” one newspaper quoted a “scientific man” saying.
Sadie Bell became a sort of mascot for the people of the Eastern Shore, and many people from Accomack County and the surrounding areas traveled to watch her race.
Coverage of Sadie Bell sometimes reads like hot gossip.
“The owner of ‘Sadie Bell’ has refused an offer of $30,000 for her,” a newspaper excitedly reported in 1877.
Sadie Bell’s origins
Sadie Bell was born in or around 1872 to zero fanfare or excitement. The story goes that she was bred by a Mr. Duncan who lived on Revel’s Island, near Parramore Island. Revel’s and Parramore Islands are Atlantic islands south of Chincoteague and Assateague on the Delmarva Peninsula. They are near modern-day Wachapreague.
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In historical records, the island is called both Revel Island or Revel’s Island. |
Sadie Bell was a small, unremarkable foal. When she was three years old, Duncan broke her to harness with the intent to use her as a plough horse. She plowed fields dutifully for a little while before one of Duncan’s sons discovered her immense speed and skill as a race horse. Not wanting to tempt his son with such a fast horse, Duncan sold Sadie Bell to T. McConnell.
McConnell owned a 110 acre farm that included a race track in Pungoteague, Virginia. It’s entirely possible that reporters got Pungoteague and Chincoteague mixed up when they called Sadie Bell a Chincoteague pony.
“She is small, has an eagle mane and tail, and is awkward looking and awkward in her gaits, until she gets warmed up to the work before her, when she undergoes a sudden transformation and looks the very fine and valuable beast she has proved herself to be,” a journalist wrote in 1877.
Let’s take a look at Sadie Bell’s record. The book Chester's complete trotting and pacing record, containing summaries of all races trotted or paced in the United States or Canada, from the earliest dates to the close of 1883 (what a mouthful!) gives at least part of Sadie Bell’s record:
- September 7, 1876 — $200
- Point Breeze Park in Philadelphia, September 13, 1876 — $200
- Suffolk Park in Philadelphia, September 29, 1876 (the Republic Race for Four-Year-Olds)— $2,500
- Middletown, Delaware, October 4, 1876 — $100
- October 6, 1876 — match race, $500
- Norfolk, Virginia April 5, 1877 — match race $1000
- Ambler Park, PA June, 1 1877 — $300
- Belmont Park, Philadelphia May 24, 1878 — $300
- Wilmington, Delaware June 13 and 14, 1878, — $300
- Watertown, NY September 27, 1878 — $200
To put some of that money into perspective, $200 in the 1870s is equivalent to about $5,700 today. The largest amount on this list is $71,913.32 in today’s dollars.
Her 1877 match race against Carrollton was one of the highlights of her career. It drew one of the largest attendances at Bishop’s Herring Run Course, and Sadie Bell “excited considerable attention on account of her previous reputation.” She won her first heat by six lengths, her second heat by a length and a half, and though the third heat was a closer race, she swept Carrolton and won the match.
In October 1879, Wesley P. Balch of Boston purchased her for $3500.
She raced at least once in Boston at Beacon Park in 1880, and in 1881, she was bred to Smuggler, a stallion owned by Colonel H.S. Russell of Milton, Massachusetts. Like Sadie Bell, Smuggler’s maternal lineage is unknown. Smuggler was a remarkable trotter himself—though, unlike Sadie Bell, he was a “converted pacer” who required special shoes to maintain the trot.
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| Smuggler |
Like with many horses from history, Sadie Bell’s story seems to taper off. She may have lived the rest of her life as a broodmare. Whatever happened to her, I hope her owners appreciated what a special mare they had—Chincoteague pony or not.
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