12/19/2025
On day 6, we celebrate another Australian and New Zealand National Treasure- Phar Lap!
(1926-1932) Born in New Zealand, and considered an unlikely champion, Phar Lap went on to dominate Australian racing with 37 wins out of 51 starts, and won the 1930 Melbourne Cup. Phar Lap was known for his massive 17.1 h stature, 9 meter length stride, and incredible strength by winning with massive handicap weights. He had many nicknames including “The Red Terror”, and “Big Red”, and like the other “Big Red” (Secretariat), Phar Lap had an impressively large heart at 14 pounds. In comparison to another American legend, Seabiscuit, both horses raced during the Depression Era, and were considered underdogs, and great symbols of hope for their perspective nations. On a sad note, Phar Lap died very suddenly at 5 years old when he was visiting in California. Following his death, the Australian government pursued a huge investigation, with the belief that the horse likely died due to a large dose of arsenic poising from suspected American gangsters who were concerned about losing large sums of betting money. Phar Lap’s body has been preserved and is on display at the Melbourne Museum in Australia, and has been commemorated with his own film in the 1983, “Phar Lap: Heart of a Nation”.
