The Derby winner of the day is Brokers Tip. He is not my favorite horse by a long shot, but the 1933 Derby is an interesting story. It was made famous by the “fighting finish.”
His Derby win went down in history as the “Fighting Finish” because Brokers Tip’s jockey Don Meade and Herb Fisher, the jockey aboard rival Head Play literally fought one another atop their mounts down the homestretch.
The only photo of the event, shot by Wallace Lowry for the Louisville Times and The Courier-Journal did not reveal who started the struggle.
Later, a newsreel of the “Fighting Finish” suggested Fisher got the first grab in and Meade defended himself. Years later, Meade said Fisher’s reins were dangling as he fought off Meade’s defense. Thus, Head Play had no guided finish. The loose reins allowed Broker’s Tip to get the only win of his career as he edged ahead of a basically riderless Head Play at the wire.
In an era before photo finishes, Brokers Tip was declared the winner by a nose. Brokers Tip is the only horse in history whose only win in his whole career was the Kentucky Derby.
