The Ragens - Born Into Racing: Part 1
Author: Bob Gates
The Ragen family has a long history in Broadwater County. This 2-part article is about their storied history in horse racing. The article was written by Bob Gates and posted on the Assinboia Downs Facebook Page. It is published here courtesy of Bob Gates.
Part I
The Ragens were a multi-generational horse racing family with roots in Ireland. Edward Michael Ragen was one of the original grand old men of racing.
“Eddie” spent more than 70 years racing thoroughbreds, until an injury from a 1981 fall forced him into retirement at the age of 91. One of his many contributions to the sport was mentoring his nephew, John Edward Ragen, who in turn would spend the better part of 60 years in the same sport. And that’s what you could call a lot of “corporate” memory.
Ed Ragen was born August 3, 1889, and lived most of his life in Townsend, Montana. The family is proud of their Irish heritage and as far back as anyone can remember the Ragens always had horses in their life.
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind always be at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rain fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
-- Traditional Irish Blessing
Ed Ragen raced his stable throughout the northwestern United States and in western Canada. He first came to Winnipeg to race at Robert James Speers’ Whittier and Polo Park racetracks in 1937. He missed the first year Assiniboia Downs opened but arrived early in 1959 and raced here until 1975. He spent the twilight of his career (1976-1981) racing in Saskatchewan.
He was your typical old-school horseman:
“In my opinion, I think a man gets the best out of life when he owns a horse. Sure they eat hay and oats and can’t speak, but they’re mighty human after all and you just have to get to know them.
I have lived my life with horses and never regret a minute of it. Sure, I’d like to have more wins, what owner wouldn’t? You always know when your horse is trying, and if he gets beat, well that’s racing.”
Horses stabled in Ed’s barn during his time at the Downs included: Super Twenty, Miss Reliable, Kottonwood Kid, Go Spy, Colonel Miltie, Pete’N Repete and Pairs and Spares. Remember any of these?
On August 31, 1962, Ed Ragen’s Miss Reliable (13-1) combined with Kickapoo Joy (69-1) for a then record (and now defunct) Quinella of $499.60. One of the horses these two had to pass in the race was Maida, a 127-1 longshot who was leading at the top of the stretch but faded to fourth.
Ed never married. The love of his life was racing horses. His stable colors were blue and white. His riders wore white trousers, a blue silk shirt and a blue sild cap.
When you consider his 94-year life, with its happiness, sorrow, pleasure, heartbreak, joy, and thrill of racing horses, is it possible to pick his proudest moment? Probably not, but June 15, 1975, has to be up there.
To mark the official opening of Assiniboia Downs under its new ownership headed by President, Jim Wright, Edward Ragen was one of seven men honored for their contributions to the sport of horse racing. The others included Dick Armstrong, Maurice Smith, Jim Coleman, Lee Williams, Tom Sumner, and Lou Davies. Now that’s a collection of racing dignitaries!
Article Images
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PhotoCredit: Bob Gates
Image 1 Caption: Ed Ragen and Super Twenty
Image 2 Caption: Early win at Polo Park for Ed Ragen
Image 3 Caption: Ed on Red.
