Willy Molter

Ansel said Bill Molter was the leading race horse trainer in Canada, he trained the great horse Round Table. Got him to be the leading money earner of the world. Round Table himself would make a book on his own.

When Bill was still riding he was called Willy. He had (owned) a gray horse by Iron Crown II, and one time he ran him at Calgary at the Stampede Park, and they were all in the Jock's room just before the riders went out to get on their horses. He gave his valet $10.00 and told him to go bet on the gray horse to win. So Ansel saw this and said, well if thats what he thought, then that was worth his money too, and gave the valet $10.00 to bid on the gray horse for him too, and then the horse finished third. When Bill came back to the Jock's room, he patted himself on the back and said to himself laughing, “well Pally you got him beat today, but I’ll let you ride him back the next time I run him”.

Addendum taken from: TexasEscapes.com by Bill Bradfield

Willie No. 2 is William Molter Jr. who outgrew his first occupation -- jockey -- and became one of the nation's greatest racehorse trainers. A native of Fredericksburg, he was born in 1910 and launched his training career in 1935. He trained Determine, the 1954 Kentucky Derby winner, and 1958's horse of the year, Round Table.

For four consecutive years, 1946 through 1949, he led America in the number of winners saddled. In his career, Molter saddled 2,160 winners collecting $11.9 million in purses.

Johnny Longden

Johnny Longden is in the first row wearing polka dots, Ansel is in the third row far right (with the ears ;o) Willy Molter is first in the third row with the box pattern on his right sleeve. Ansel isn't sure where the picture was taken.

1st row- Bobby Warren, Charlie Scott, Johnny Longden, Stan Balcom
2nd row- __________, ___________, __________.
3rd row- Willy Molter, Lyle Brown, _____Brown, Ansel Marshall
4th row- Johnny Coclan, Jimmy Coclan, Jimmy Collins, _______, Jay Cowan, Lyman Logan, ________, Larry Arnold.

1932 at Whittier Park, Winnipeg, Canada Ansel was running with Johnny Longden and they shared the same valet. Ansel said it rained like really hard all night and it was still raining the next morning, and the track was a real sloppy mess. They were in the jocks room and it was still 45 minutes before the race.

Looking out the window at all the rain and slop, Longden said, “Well Ansel, I just saw a mouse run across the track being chased by four cats and when they hit the turn they all four cats fell down, but we’re going to out there an run anyway…”

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Johnny Longden hardly ever whipped his race horses, he would hand ride, (run his hands up the horses neck) He said, that he figured if he was a horse, out there running hard and he was doin his best and you started pounding on him with a whip, why then he would stop, well he’d sure quit running hard anyway.








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