The winners of the Great Cowboy Race

got to pose, too: “Old Joe” Gillespie stands at left; Charlie Smith is seated at right. The winner’s pearl-handled Colt shows in Gillespie’s holster. Note the flat-bodied conformation of both horses, a definite plus in enduro competition. Undoubtedly both animals were part-Thoroughbred and might even have had some “Araby.” The name of Smith’s chestnut horse is Red Wing,

which describes his color, but the name of Gillespie’s horse is much more informative: It was Billy Mack, and the name of his spare horse (not in this photo) was Billy Schafer. Horses in that era were not called “Billy” unless they had Billy blood. As we will see in our next installment, in just a few more years Thoroughbred crossed on Billy or rondo would become the go-to combination for short-track success.