An undisputed “Oldie but Goodie, ” George Jones first top-40 hit some 60 years ago. The Race is On was written by Don Rollins after her visited an Arizona racetrack the day before he wrote it. The thoroughbred horse is a METAPHOR for George’s love life. This is the 2nd oldest award surviving in the estate of Ken Kittinger (gooooogle: Ken Kittinger Gold Records) which had more than 5,000 gold & platinum awards being held in reserve for virtually every record label in the music industry. Kittinger made the awards and the labels sent them out ONLY to radio stations and music executives…… NEVER AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC until after his death and his estate items liquidated. Jones had recorded “The Race Is On” in June 1963 but it was not released until September 1964 on the album. I Get Lonely in a Hurry. The single reached #3 on the. It also climbed to number 96 on the pop charts, a rarity for a Jones single, and United Artists capitalized on its success by making it the title of his next 1965.