One of the greatest race horses of all time was Exterminator, owned by Willis Sharpe Kilmer of Remlik Hall, (Kilmer spelled backwards) in Middlesex County.
When Kilmer’s mansion burned in 1939, three large murals of Kilmer’s most famous horses, Exterminator, Sun Briar and Sun Beau were among the first things removed from the fire. Today, they are in Saratoga Springs, New York, at the National Museum of Horse Racing and Hall of Fame.
Exterminator was the 1918 Kentucky Derby winner and named in 1922 “Horse of the Year.” Kilmer bought Exterminator as a workhorse to help train his prized horse Sun Briar. Kilmer had little respect for him. He called him the “goat” or “that truck horse.” In 1918 when Sun Briar was injured Exterminator got the nod to run in the Kentucky Derby.
Ole Bones, as the horse was often called, was a 30-1 long shot to win the derby. Exterminator ran last most of the way until the homestretch when he passed all to win the race by a horse length.
When Exterminator got old he lived at Remlik Hall, and Milford “Pitchfork” Bray was the horse’s main keeper. “I was to keep Ole Bones’ stall just like a house was kept,” said Bray in a 1983 interview. “Grooming Exterminator was a daily chore. I’d clean Ole Bones real good, and Kilmer would come in with his white gloves on and rub across his back. If there was any dirt on his gloves, I’d have to clean him all over again.
“Exterminator had a companion pony named Peanut that stayed with the derby winner all the time,” he said. “There were two buckets in the stall, one for the champ and the other for Peanut. Ole Bones would not eat until Peanut had his meal. There were two Peanuts. When the first one died, it created quite a problem. When the pony died, Exterminator dug a hole in his stall as deep as this chair I’m sitting in and wouldn’t let anyone in. It took three men holding him to get the dead pony out of the stall.
“Kilmer bought a new pony and when I put him in the stall, Ole Bones came at him with his mouth open as if to bite him,” said Bray. “The pony gave him a good kick and after that they were good friends.”
It Happened Here in Rivah Country!
