I found this an interesting read this morning. It's a recap of Salvator's world record shattering mile mark in 1890 at Monmouth Park that stood for 28 years until Roamer went 1:34.80 at Saratoga in 1918 - it's from Henry Buck in Vanity Fair in the late 1910's.
The Cal Bred Salvator was beaten in his first two starts - but won 16 of his final 17 races. The lone defeat came failing to stay 12 furlongs as a highweight against tough competition at age 3.
He was undefeated at age 4 - and broke the world record for both 8f and 10f.
The best part is that bookmakers took action! Closing odds were: Salvator: 1-to-3 Time: 2-to-1 - and Even money against 1:37 for a mile
