A day after the Reds punched ticket for World Series, Pete Rose was at Keeneland
By Brian Simms,
1 days ago
The Cincinnati Reds had just come from behind to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 7-6 for a three-game sweep in the 1976 National League Championship Series.
The next day, a Wednesday, its star player, Pete Rose was in Lexington at Keeneland racetrack .
Yes, the Big Red Machine had a Saturday date at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium in the World Series with the eventual American League Champion New York Yankees, but the man who would become baseball’s “Hit King” appeared focused on the eight-race card at Keeneland.
Rose, who died Monday at 83 years old , famously accepted a lifetime ban from baseball in 1989 because of accusations he gambled on games while managing the Reds. First denying he ever bet on baseball, Rose later admitted he gambled on the game and his beloved Reds. The scandal cost him induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Herald-Leader archive photos show Rose watching Thoroughbred horse races from a Keeneland Grandstand box with binoculars a day after the Reds beat the Phillies. He was joined by a high school pal, Joe Kaiser, then sports director for WLEX-TV Tom Hammond, and University of Kentucky basketball player Rick Robey.
Rose was also spotted in the paddock checking out the horses and talking with fans. With him was Lexington native Doug Flynn, the Reds’ utility infielder, Mario Nunez, a friend of Rose’s known as “The Cuban,” Hammond and Teri Rubio, a friend of Rose’s.
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