The Horse Racing Deputy

The Horse Racing Deputy

By : Ken Marotte, Citrus County Historical Society

One of the early Chief Deputies in Citrus County had an interesting side hustle. He raised horses that challenged – and beat – a member of America’s equine royalty.

A Young Entrepreneur

Ray Sassard was born in Red Level in 1901.  He was part of a large family of eight children and money was always in short supply.  Ray learned at an early age that he needed to explore as many opportunities as possible to help keep the family afloat.  His cousin later noted “He used to run the first theatre in Crystal River in a tent by the old railroad house.  It was a silent movie  and you had to sit on boxes”.  She reminisced that he also owned a hardware store, barbershop and drug store in downtown Crystal River.  His brother recounted that Ray took a job in a saw mill and ran the family farm after his father passed away.

Sassard later purchased properties throughout the county for investment and business purposes.  He tried his hand at farming and successfully grew acres of tomatoes in Inverness.  He purchased 30 acres of land in Lecanto and planted crops that would be used to fatten a passel of 200 pigs for market.  He even raised 200 rabbits for commercial purposes.

His land holdings extended to the area around Gospel Island and he was later able to sell many parcels for a good profit.   He also purchased the “All States Café” in Inverness and renovated the restaurant with a number of improvements.  He employed Hazel Mountain and sister Ollie May Sassard as managers.  Foreseeing the need for more automotive care facilities, he opened a successful gas station in downtown Inverness across the street from today’s Old Courthouse Heritage Museum.

The Chief Deputy

As a young man Ray and his seven siblings were popular in the Crystal River and Inverness communities.   Sassard was frequently mentioned in Citrus County society pages as having attended many dances, picnics and church gatherings.  He met future Sheriff Charles S. Dean at some of the social events that they attended.   When Dean was elected as Sheriff in 1928, he was given the authorization to choose new Deputies.   Sassard had impressed Dean as a hard-working young man who approached law enforcement with a same mindset as the new Sheriff.  The current Sheriff’s website notes: “Sheriff Dean was a big man with a John Wayne style of enforcement.”   Sassard was over six feet tall and weighed in at 220 pounds.  His imposing figure would prove useful to the Sheriff as they tackled future criminal encounters together.  Dean appointed Ray Sassard as Chief Deputy in 1929.

Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20394501/ralph_raymond-sassard

Deputy Ray on Duty

Sassard encountered more than his share of adventures during his law enforcement career.  Since some state convicts were jailed in the Citrus County work camps, there were occasional escapes that required a response from the county Sheriff’s office.   A pair of convicts had hidden a gun in the ditch where they were working in Floral City.  They waited for an opportune time and shot the lone guard standing on the bank.  The guard was immediately killed and fell into the pit.  The two convicts scampered away and were the subject of month’s long manhunt by Dean and Sassard.  They eventually tracked the suspects to Detroit and arranged for their apprehension.

We tend to think of carjacking as a recent phenomenon, but Sassard resolved quite a few such cases during his time on the job.  Even taxicabs were not immune from this crime of opportunity.  When a man carjacked a car in Tampa, he got as far as Deputy Sassard in Citrus County.  Sassard ended the chase by firing a bullet into the gas tank of the fleeing felon and setting the car on fire.  When the criminal tried to escape, Sassard used the butt end of his pistol to subdue the man.  He reportedly awoke an hour later in the Citrus County jail.

There were plenty of odd situations that Sassard helped resolve as well.  When an Inverness bicyclist looked backward to check for oncoming cars, he didn’t notice that he was very close to a parked car.  The car’s door handle had some sharp bolts and the hapless cyclist found that he had impaled himself on one of the bolts.  If he removed the bolt from his side, he would be at risk of immediate blood loss.  Fortunately, Ray Sassard was nearly and he rushed to the man’s aid.  He was able to remove the man from the handle and stem the bleeding until medical help arrived.  He may have saved the man’s life that day.

Bringing the Rodeo to Citrus County

Ray Sassard had become a dedicated horseman and owned a string of horses that he planned to feature at the event.  In particular, his favorite thoroughbred was named “Cowboy” and his top cowpony was “Jimmie”.   He competed aboard “Jimmie” during the contest.   While the horse was well trained, Sassard joked that the weight of the rider probably hindered their chances of winning.

The Racehorse Deputy

“Cowboy” and “Jimmie” were probably better suited to sprinting on the track.    Sessard brought them to races across Florida and Georgia and they compiled a successful record.  They placed either first or second in all of their events and fans in Citrus County started to take notice.  The latest race results for the local horses were reported in the Citrus County Chronicle and they became local celebrities in 1940.

While its popularity has waned today, horse racing was a fashionable sport during those days.  Newspapers carried stories about upcoming races and covered all of the latest results.  Some exceptional horses achieved mythical status during that Golden Age.  In 1920 a horse named “Man ‘O War” swept most of his races and became a national hero.  He was named co-winner of the “Athlete of the Year” (sharing that title with baseball’s Babe Ruth).  Today Man ‘O War is considered to be one of the greatest horses of the 20^th century.   When he retired from racing, his owners put him out to stud and he sired many offspring, including Triple Crown winner “War Admiral”.  One of his “grandsons” was “Seabiscuit”,  who has been featured in many movies and documentaries.

Man ‘O War must have enjoyed a very happy life after retirement.  His direct lineage includes 382 horses produced between 1921 and 1943 (an average of over 17 live foals per year).  Some were consistent race winners, while over 90 never competed.   One his offspring who enjoyed moderate success was named “Pre-War”.   In May, 1940 Pre-War came to the new Ocala track.   Even  though he was older, he was still able to win recent races at Suffolk Downs and other tracks.  Pre-War was going to face stiff challenge from the other horses in the field, including Cowboy.

Sassard’s Cowboy eyed Pre-War at the gate awaiting the start of the half-mile race.   Thankfully Sassard had enlisted a lighter jockey to ride Cowboy that day.  Both horses left the gate fast and waged a furious back-and-forth contest through the distance.  Cowboy nipped Pre-War at the Finish Line as the crowd roared its approval.  A thoroughbred from Citrus County had defeated one of the descendants of the famous Man ‘O War.

Cowboy and Jimmie continued to race through the season and placed “in the money” in every contest.  The entire county was buzzing about the remarkable horses that were being raised by Chief Deputy Sassard.

A Change of Pace

Pinellas County came calling in 1952.  They needed an experienced law enforcement professional to take charge of their county jail.  Ray Sassard accepted a position as Captain at the jail and moved to Pinellas.   In that role, he worked with the Chief of the Dunedin Police Department to establish a bloodhound training facility at their own expense.  They purchased a stud dog from New York and used him as the nucleus for a pack of hounds that could be loaned to any other Florida enforcement agency free of charge.  (There’s no word whether or not the bloodhound fathered more than 382 puppies)  Sassard also implemented a program that enabled trustees to enjoy brief supervised activities outside the jail walls.  He personally helped to prepare holiday meals for the general inmate population.

Sassard encountered health problems in 1958 that required hospitalization.  He resigned from his Pinellas Jail post and decided he would take life easy.  However “easy” was not in Ray Sassard’s vocabulary and he established “Ray’s  Market and Nursery” after moving to the Orlando area.   Ray and his wife eventually moved to Marion County.  He passed away on January 8, 1987 at the age of 85.  Ray Sassard is buried in the Red Level Cemetery