Dan Patch made his first start as a four-year-old in 1900. At the time, harness races consisted of multiple heats – a horse had to win a majority of heats (usually three out of a possible five heats) to be declared the race winner. During his career, Dan Patch never lost a race and lost only two heats. The first of those two losses occurred in his second start against what was termed "real competition" at the Lafayette Fair. In that heat, Dan Patch was last at the beginning of the homestretch and despite closing rapidly, lost by a nose. The other loss occurred in 1901 at Brighton Beach in a heat where the judges determined that the driver was "not driving to win", much to the fury of the crowd.
