DAN PATCH (1896-1916)
• Was born in Oxford, Ind., so congenitally malformed that he was almost euthanized.
• Was a natural-born pacer -- "moving his left front and rear legs in tandem, then doing the same on the opposite side" -- without being trained.
• Broke world speed records at least 14 times in the early 1900s, setting the world's record for the fastest mile by a harness horse (1:55 seconds) in 1906, a record that stood for 32 years.
• Earned more than $1 million a year at the height of his fame, a time when the highest-paid baseball player -- Detroit's Ty Cobb -- earned $12,000.
• After racing, he would bow to the grandstand, "seeming to acknowledge the applause."
• Bit only one person in his life: a Minnesota boy named Fred Sasse, who "would grow up to write an appallingly bad book about him."
• Died on a hot day in July in Savage, Minn. His owner, M.W. Savage, who had "pushed the horse beyond reasonable limits," died of a heart attack one day later.
• His heart weighed 9 pounds, 2 ounces.
