he made up moving from sixth to second, Dr. Fager is estimated to have completed the second quarter in a blistering 20 seconds, believed to be the fastest quarter-mile ever run in a non-sprint race. As they moved into the turn, Dr. Fager moved to the lead then started to open up ground on his rivals. He completed six furlongs in 1:07 with a lead of lengths. In the stretch, Baeza was motionless but Dr. Fager continued to draw away, winning by ten lengths. He completed the mile in 1:32, breaking the world record by two-fifths of a second. After the finish, the track announcer, Phil Georgeff, paused for a few seconds and then said just one word after noticing the time: "Wow." He later explained, "He was just galloping through the stretch and was running so effortlessly that I had forgotten all about the record, especially since he was carrying 134 pounds. When I saw the time I was shocked." Baeza was also surprised by the performance. "I never in any of his races knew how fast he was going," he said. "He moved so smoothly and his action was so fluid I felt like I was in a Lear Jet. All I knew was that he was going faster than the rest of them. I'd try to slow him down, but he'd still pull away from them." Nerud called it a "Babe Ruth performance". Dr. Fager's time would stand as the world record on any surface for 29 years. It still stands as the American record for a mile on the dirt. The race was ranked #7 in The Blood-Horse list of the Horse Racing's Top 100 Moments of the 20th century. Aftermath For his next start, Nerud decided to try the colt on the turf for the first time in the United Nations Handicap on September 11. The field included 1967 champion turf horse (and future Horse of the Year) Fort Marcy, Australian champion Tobin Bronze and multiple stakes winner Flit-to. Dr. Fager was assigned 134 pounds, spotting his rivals from 12 to 23 pounds. Despite this, Nerud's only concern was the weather, fearing that soft going would blunt Dr. Fager's natural speed. Elliott Burch, the trainer of Fort Marcy, foresaw additional problems. "It's been my experience that speed horses on the dirt are usually not turf horses," he said. "They can't handle the turns. They tend