Long Shot was far from a champion horse, but he had stamina. His ability to complete races – a record 202 by 1969 – made him famous in Jamaica. His name lives on in the Long Shot Trophy, awarded annually at Kingston’s Caymanas Park race track. But in reggae, it is his 203rd race for which Long Shot is remembered. As the horse hugged the rail down the last straight, one afternoon in 1969, he dropped dead, just short of the finishing post. A year earlier The Pioneers – Sidney Crooks and Jackie Robinson – had recorded a song in honour of the popular racehorse. It is entitled “Long Shot (Bus Me Bet)” and tells of the “whipping and lashing”… Continue reading Story of the Song: Long Shot Kick de Bucket by The Pioneers