Blackie
Blackie the Wonder Horse was a 12-year-old horse that swam from the Marin County side to San Francisco's Crissy Field on 1 October 1938 in 23 minutes and 15 seconds. His swim reportedly still stands in the Equine Division.
Course
Blackie started at Roberts-at-the-Beach, a restaurant at 2200 Great Highway (at Rivera Street) owned by Richie "Shorty" Roberts, and finished in Fort Point in San Francisco. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals convinced the local government to forbid Blackie from starting at Marin County. Blackie swam pulling Shorty along who was holding onto his tail.
Background
In September 1938, Bill Kyne of the Bay Meadows race track, was at Roberts-at-the-Beach and said to Shorty that horses could not swim. Shorty and Kyne bet US$1,000 that Blackie could not swim from Lime Point in Marin County to San Francisco.
Golden Gate Bridge Equine Swim
