Biography

A small chestnut daughter of Triple Crown winner War Admiral out of the Bubbling Over mare Baby league, Busher was bred at Col. E. R. Bradley’s famed Idle Hour Stock Farm and raced in Bradley’s colors as a 2-year-old and later for filmmaker Louis B. Mayer. She was recognized as a champion as a juvenile and Horse of the Year in 1945 as a 3-year-old. 

Busher made her debut with a half-length victory May 30, 1944, at Belmont Park. She returned two months later at the Saratoga meeting, which was contested at Belmont because of World War II travel restrictions. At odds of 8-1, Busher won by four lengths. She then finished fourth in the Spinaway before winning the Adirondack by two lengths.

Following the Adirondack, Busher finished second to Nomadic in a six-furlong prep for the Matron. Despite carrying 119 pounds to Nomadic’s 111, Busher lost by only a head. In the Matron, Busher defeated Calumet Farm’s Twosy by a neck with Nomadic back in fourth.

Busher was then shipped to Laurel Park to contest the Selima Stakes. She passed Gallorette on the backstretch and drew off from pacesetter Ace Card on the final turn to win by three lengths for her final victory of the year. Busher finished her juvenile campaign with a record of 5-1-0 from seven starts and earnings of $60,300.

In March 1945, Bradley sold Busher to Mayer for a reported $50,000. Now trained by former jockey George Odom, Busher won her first three starts as a 3-year-old, including the Santa Susana Stakes. She then finished second in the Santa Anita Derby before being assigned top weight of 126 pounds in the Santa Margarita Handicap, which she won by 1½ lengths.

Shipped to Chicago, Busher won the Cleopatra Stakes by 4½ lengths and then the Arlington Handicap by almost five lengths. She delivered the best performance of her career in the Washington Park Handicap, defeating Armed by 1½ lengths and breaking a 13-year-old track for 10 furlongs, running it in 2:01⅘.

Busher was sent back to California and added victories in the Hollywood Derby and Vanity Handicap. She concluded her sophomore season with a record of 10-2-1 and earnings of $273,735 from 13 starts. Her career earnings stood at $334,035, breaking Top Flight’s previous record for fillies.

Following her victory in the Vanity Handicap, Busher developed swelling in a leg and was forced to miss the entire 1946 season. She raced one in 1947 as a 5-year-old, finishing fifth of six, before being retired. Mayer then sold Busher for $150,000 to Elizabeth N. Graham in 1948.

As a broodmare at Maine Chance Farm, Busher produced four fillies, none of which raced, and one colt, Jet Action, who won $308,225 in four seasons. Jet Action defeated High Gun in the Withers Stakes and also won the Washington Park and Roamer handicaps.

Busher died in 1955 at the age of 13. 

Achievements

Champion 2-Year-Old Filly — 1944
Horse of the Year — 1945
Champion 3-Year-Old Filly — 1945
Champion Handicap Female — 1945
 

Biography

Armed was not an instant sensation on the racetrack. A son of Bull Lea out of the Chance Shot mare Armful, Armed was small, headstrong, and averse to being trained. Bred and owned by Calumet Farm, Armed did not make it to the races as a 2-year-old and was gelded in an attempt to make him easier to handle.

When he finally became cooperative, Armed was considered a second-string runner in the mighty Calumet stable and did not get the opportunity to demonstrate his full potential until his 4-year-old season.

When he arrived at the track as a 3-year-old in 1944, Armed won his debut by eight lengths at Hialeah Park. Four days later, he won again, this time by three lengths. Jockey Conn McCreary told trainer Ben Jones he thought Armed could win the Kentucky Derby.

“Let’s go with this one in the Derby, Ben; he’ll win it,” McCreary said.

Jones, however, wasn’t looking for a Derby horse at the time. Instead of giving Armed a shot in the Triple Crown series, Jones won the race with Pensive while Armed sat on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Armed developed a bit of an ankle injury and won only once more from five starts the remainder of the year.

After losing his 4-year-old debut, Armed began to show his talent, winning six consecutive races, including a division of the Sheridan Handicap by eight lengths. After his win streak, Armed finished second in four straight races before fashioning a four-race win streak to cap his season.

Armed won the Washington Handicap at Laurel Park with top weight then took a pair of overnight races in preparation for the 1945 Pimlico Special, which drew an outstanding field including Stymie, Gallorette, Polynesian, First Fiddle, War Date, and Pot o’ Luck. Armed proved to be the best, winning by four lengths to establish himself as one of the sport’s top handicappers.

In 1946, Armed enhanced his reputation by winning the Suburban, Widener, Washington Park, Dixie, and Philadelphia handicaps, among others. He set a track record for nine furlongs in winning the Double Event Stakes at Tropical Park and a 10-furlong track record in the Washington Park Handicap.

Armed enjoyed his best season as a 6-year-old in 1947, winning nine stakes and setting four track records. He carried 130 pounds or more 10 times that year and was selected Horse of the Year. With his victory in the Sysonby Mile, Armed’s earnings stood at $761,500, a new world record. Stymie, however, passed the record later in the year. Armed also defeated Triple Crown winner Assault that year in a match race at Belmont Park.

After 1947, Armed was no longer the same horse. Although he raced three more years, Armed never won another stakes race, compiling a record of 6-7-7 from 24 starts from 1948 through 1950. When he was retired to Calumet Farm in 1950, Armed owned a career mark of 41-20-10 from 81 starts and was the sport’s all-time earnings leader among geldings at $817,475.

Armed lived the remainder of his life at Calumet Farm. He died May 5, 1964, at the age of 23.

Achievements

Champion Older Male — 1946
Horse of the Year — 1947
Champion Older Male — 1947

Biography

America’s most prolific steeplechaser in the 1950s, Neji was bred at Marion du Pont Scott’s Montpelier in Virginia. A chestnut gelding, Neji was sold as a weanling to Rigan McKinney, who resold him as a maiden 3-year-old to Mrs. Ogden Phipps.

A son of Hunters Moon IV out of the Annapolis mare Accra, Neji won two editions each of the American Grand National, Temple Gwathmey, and Brook Handicap.

Trained primarily by Pete Bostwick and then Mikey Smithwick, Neji was named for a Rudyard Kipling character. Neji’s sire, Hunters Moon IV, also sired Mountain Dew, three-time winner of the Maryland Hunt Cup, as well as Peal, the 1961 steeplechase Horse of the Year. Neji’s dam, Accra, produced Mongo,a turf champion in 1963.

When McKinney dispersed his racing stock in 1953, Mrs. Phipps sent Neji to her Bostwick, her brother, for training. Neji first raced over hurdles as a 4-year-old in 1954 and then graduated to steeplechasing that fall. He won the Brook Steeplechase Handicap and finished second in the Grand National that year. Neji started 18 times in 1954 with a record of 5-5-3 and earnings of $41,005.

In 1955, Neji won the first of his three Champion Steeplechase Horse honors. He again won the Brook and carried 167 pounds to victory in the Grand National, 17 more than the second-place horse. He added a victory in the Temple Gwathmey, again under 167 pounds.

After winning two stakes races in 1956, Neji was shelved with a fracture in a hind leg. While recuperating, Neji was given a new trainer. At the time, Mrs. Phipps had enlarged her racing stable and Bostwick did not want to commit himself full-time. Mikey Smithwick, 28 years old at the time, became the head trainer for Mrs. Phipps and Paddy Smithwick took over as Neji’s jockey.

Neji returned to the races in 1957 to win four stakes — including repeats in the Grand National under 168 pounds and the Temple Gwathmey with a record impost of 173 — and was again named Champion Steeplechase Horse

In 1958, Neji won the Grand National under 173 pounds, prompting John E. Cooper to write in the Chronicle of the Horse: “Neji won his second Grand National, and the way he did it drew applause from the crowd even before he crossed the finish line.”

Cooper wrote with great emotion when Neji carried a record 176 pounds in the Temple Gwathmey: “A swelling ovation rose from the stands when Neji jumped the final fence and forged into the lead coming up the stretch. In a few tense seconds, though, silence fell on the crowd as Albert Foot, arms flailing, drove up on the inside with Mrs. Scott’s Benguala, who carried twenty-six less pounds less. Neji’s half-length lead became a head, then a nose, and a stride before the wire, Benguala’s nose showed in front. At the finish line, a short head measured his victory in one of the most dramatic of all jumping races. Even those with a direct interest in the outcome — the owners, trainers, and riders of the other horses in the eight-horse field, as well as the general public — wanted Neji to win.”

Neji was named Champion Steeplechase Horse for the third time in 1958 and in the process eclipsed Elkridge’s record for earnings by a steeplechaser. That fall, Neji was sent to Ireland to train with Dan Moore, a cousin of the Smithwicks, to prepare for the 1959 Cheltenham Gold Cup. Neji raced three times abroad with his best finish being a third in England. He didn’t make it to the Gold Cup, as he suffered a tendon injury in his final prep race.

Back in America, Neji raced three more times as a 10-year-old in 1960 before being retired with a career record of 17-11-9 from 49 starts and earnings of $274,027, a record for a steeplechaser. His earnings record stood for 22 years. Neji lived much of his retirement at Mrs. D. M. Smithwick’s Sunny Bank Farm in Middleburg, Virginia, where he died in 1982 at the age of 32.

Achievements

Champion Steeplechase Horse — 1955
Champion Steeplechase Horse — 1957
Champion Steeplechase Horse — 1958

Biography

Swaps was so fast that he set a world record for a mile, a world record for a mile and 70 yards, a world record for 1 1/16 miles (and broke that one), equaled an American record for 1 3/16 miles on turf, set a world record for 1 5/8 miles, and raced to three other track records — 10 in all — yet owner/breeder Rex Ellsworth said he never fully turned Swaps loose to see how fast he could run.

Bred in California, Swaps won three of his six starts as a juvenile and finished second in two others before emerging as a 3-year-old superstar in 1955. He began the year with victories in the San Vicente Stakes and Santa Anita Derby before defeating Nashua in the Kentucky Derby. Swaps then returned to California to win the Will Rogers, Californian, and Westerner stakes. In August, Swaps tried the grass for the first time, winning the American Derby at Washington Park. He gave seven pounds to Traffic Judge and beat him by a length in 1:54 3/5 to equal the American record for 1 3/16 miles on turf.

Eleven days later, Swaps met Nashua in a match race at Washington Park. Swaps was not in his best form and was defeated by 6 1/2 lengths. It was his final race of the year.

As a 4-year-old, Swaps was recognized as Horse of the Year and Champion Handicap Male. He won eight of his 10 starts and carried 130 pounds seven times. His wins included the Los Angeles County Fair, Broward, Argonaut, Inglewood, American, Hollywood Gold Cup, Sunset, and Washington Park handicaps. Swaps set a world record for one mile in the Argonaut (1:33 1/5), a world record for 1 1/16 miles in the Inglewood (1:39), and matched the world record for nine furlongs in the American Handicap (1:46 4/5). His time for the 1 1/4-mile Hollywood Gold Cup was 1:58 3/5, a track record that missed the world mark by two-fifths of a second. In the Sunset, at 1 5/8 miles, Swaps shattered the world mark with a clocking of 2:38 1/5.   

Swaps fractured a cannon bone while training that October and was retired with a career record of 19-2-2 from 25 starts and earnings of $848,900. Ellsworth had sold a half-interest in Swaps to John Galbreath for $1 million during the 1956 season and later sold the other half for a like amount. Swaps was sent to Darby Dan Farm in Kentucky for stud duty, later relocating to Spendthrift Farm.

Swaps sired 35 stakes winners, including Hall of Fame member Affectionately. Swaps died in 1972 at the age of 20.

Achievements

Horse of the Year — 1956
Champion Handicap Male — 1956

Biography

Bred by Harry Payne Whitney and campaigned by his son, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, Top Flight was sired by French stakes winner Dis Donc out of the Peter Pan mare Flyatit. Trained by Hall of Famer Thomas J. Healey, Top Flight was the best filly of her generation as both a juvenile and sophomore.

As a 2-year-old, Top Flight won all seven of her starts and set a single-season earnings record of $219,000, breaking the previous mark established by Hall of Famer Domino almost 40 years earlier. Top Flight debuted with a victory at Aqueduct in the Clover Stakes on June 17, 1931. She followed with a victory in the Lassie Stakes at Arlington in July before heading to Saratoga, where she defeated colts in the Saratoga Special and won by five lengths in the Spinaway. That fall, Top Flight added victories at Belmont in the Matron and Futurity (defeating colts once again) before closing out her perfect campaign with her third victory of the year against males in the Pimlico Futurity.

Top Flight tired in her first start as a 3-year-old, finishing off the board in the Wood Memorial. She returned to form with consecutive victories in the Acorn, Coaching Club American Oaks, and Arlington Oaks. Top Flight added wins in the Alabama Stakes and Ladies Handicap before being retired at the end of the year with a career record of 12-0-0 from 16 starts and earnings of $275,900. Three of her four career defeats came against males.

At the time of her retirement, Top Flight owned the career earnings record for an American filly or mare.

As a broodmare, Top Flight produced only one stakes winner, Flight Command, from seven mares. Top Flight died in 1949 at the age of 20.

Achievements

Champion 2-Year-Old Filly — 1931
Champion 3-Year-Old Filly — 1932

Biography

America’s champion steeplechaser in 1942 and 1946, Elkridge won 31 races in his career and retired in 1951 at the age of 13 as the all-time leader in steeplechase earnings with $230,680.

Bred by Joseph F. Flanagan at the Country Life Farm of Adolph Pons in Belair, Maryland, Elkridge was named for the Elkridge-Hartford Hunt Club. Flanagan sold Elkridge as a weanling to Maj. Thomas Hitchcock, but Hitchcock died in 1941 and his jumpers were sold at auction that autumn. Elkridge raced only once for Hitchcock — winning his career debut on Sept. 24, 1941, by seven lengths at Belmont. Hitchcock died five days later.

At the auction, Kent Miller paid $7,000 for Elkridge and also took over as trainer. In Miller’s pink and lavender silks, Elkridge won seven times in 1942 and was America’s champion steeplechaser. He earned $28,130 during the year to more than deliver on Miller’s initial investment. His wins that year included the Indian River, North American, Gov. Ogle, and Manly Memorial steeplechases.

Elkridge was again the American steeplechase champion in 1946. As an 8-year-old that year, he won the celebrated American Grand National under 151 pounds after finishing no better than third in three previous attempts.

In 1948, Elkridge, then a 10-year-old, won the Indian River Handicap at Delaware Park for the third time. The $8,800 he earned for the win allowed him to surpass Greentree Stable’s Jolly Roger for the highest career earnings among steeplechasers. Jolly Roger, a Hall of Famer, had held the record for 18 years.

Later that summer, Elkridge broke the course record for two miles at Saratoga on consecutive weekends in the Shillelah and North American steeplechases, respectively.

In 1949, Elkridge continued to shine at age 11, winning the Meadow Brook, Georgetown, and his fourth Indian River. In the Indian River, shouldering 156 pounds and ridden by Hall of Famer Paddy Smithwick, Elkridge won the event in record time in what was his 100th career start.

Elkridge won the Indian River again in 1950 for his fifth victory in the race. He carried 154 pounds and won by nine lengths. He also won his second Saratoga Steeplechase that year for his 31st and final career victory.

In 1951, Elkridge finally slowed down, going winless in 10 races. He finished second in an attempt to win his sixth Indian River and finished third on three other occasions. With a career record of 31-18-15 from 123 starts and earnings of $230,680, Miller decided to retire the old warrior. Throughout his 11-year career, the sure-footed Elkridge fell only one time.

A gelding, Elkridge was retired to a farm in White Post, Virginia, where he had a habit of jumping over paddock fences. Elkridge died in 1961 at the age of 23. 

Achievements

Champion Steeplechase Horse — 1942
Champion Steeplechase Horse — 1946
 

Biography

Bred by William Woodward, Sr. under his Belair Stud banner, Nashua was trained by Hall of Famer James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons, who won the Triple Crown twice for Belair in the 1930s with Gallant Fox and Omaha. Unfortunately, Woodward died in 1953 and never had the opportunity to see Nashua’s brilliance on the racetrack.

Campaigned initially by William Woodward, Jr., Nashua broke his maiden in his career debut on May 5, 1954, at Belmont Park. Regarded as the top 2-year-old of the year, Nashua won the Juvenile Stakes, Grand Union Hotel Stakes, Hopeful Stakes, and Futurity Stakes that year and finished second to Summer Tan in the Cowdin. Nashua concluded his juvenile season with a record of 6-2-0 from eight starts and earnings of $192,865.

Sent to Florida that winter, Nashua began his sophomore campaign with three consecutive victories, including the Flamingo Stakes and Florida Derby. Nashua then won the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, defeating Summer Tan with a desperate surge in the final yards.

Nashua, however, had his six-race win streak snapped by Swaps in the Kentucky Derby. Swaps returned to California following the Derby and Nashua went on to win the Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, Dwyer Stakes, and Arlington Classic.

Fans clamoring for a rematch between Nashua and Swaps got their wish that summer in Chicago at Washington Park in a $100,000 match race. Nashua won easily by 6½ lengths, but questions about the soundness of Swaps lingered after the race. Nashua added a victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and closed out his year with a record of 10-1-1 from 12 starts and earnings of $752,550 to be named Horse of the Year.

Nashua was sent into auction after the tragic death of William Woodward, Jr., who was fatally shot by his wife when she mistook him for a burglar. A syndicate headed by Leslie Combs II bid a record $1,251,200 for Nashua. Fitzsimmons remained as trainer and Nashua won six major stakes as a 4-year-old in 1956: the Widener, Grey Lag, Camden, Suburban, and Monmouth handicaps, as well as his second consecutive Jockey Club Gold Cup (in record time).

Nashua was retired following his second Jockey Club Gold Cup victory with a career record of 22-4-1 from 30 starts and earnings of $1,288,565, which bested the previous career mark of Citation.   

Nashua lived to the age of 30, spending his entire stud career at Combs’ Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky. He sired 77 stakes winners, including Hall of Fame member Shuvee. As a broodmare sire, Nashua sired the dams of 122 stakes winners, including the mighty stallion Mr. Prospector.

Achievements

Champion 2-Year-Old Male — 1954
Horse of the Year — 1955
Champion 3-Year-Old Male — 1955

Triple Crown Highlights

Won the Preakness Stakes — 1955
Won the Belmont Stakes — 1955

Biography

Bred and raced by William Woodward, Sr., Omaha became America’s third Triple Crown winner when he achieved the feat in 1935. A son of 1930 Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox, also bred and owned by Woodward, Omaha was trained by Hall of Famer James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons.

Foaled at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky on March 24, 1932, Omaha was moved to Woodward’s Belair Stud in Maryland as a weanling and shipped to Fitzsimmons in New York at Aqueduct as a yearling for breaking and early training. A golden chestnut with a white face, Omaha grew to 16.3 hands and weighed in at 1,300 pounds.

Omaha managed only one win in nine starts as a 2-year-old in 1934, breaking his maiden in his second career start. He showed some promise by finishing second in the Sanford Stakes at Saratoga, the Champagne Stakes at Belmont, and the Junior Champion Stakes at Aqueduct, but he was off the board in his other four starts.

After winning his first start as a 3-year-old, Omaha finished third in the Wood Memorial before contesting the 1935 Kentucky Derby. After breaking slowly, Omaha took the lead on the backstretch and came home to win by 1½ lengths ahead of Roman Soldier.

In the Preakness, Omaha was odds-on and drew off from the field to win convincingly by six lengths. Prior to the Belmont, Omaha entered the Withers Stakes and was installed as a 1-2 favorite. However, after being taken back early in the race, Omaha’s late run came up 1½ lengths shy of Rosemont at one mile. The added distance of the 1½-mile Belmont was a benefit to Omaha, as he defeated Cold Shoulder by 1½ lengths to secure the third Triple Crown, with Rosemont third, almost 10 lengths back.

Two weeks later, Discovery set a world record for nine furlongs in the Brooklyn Handicap with Omaha a distant third, 12 lengths back. Omaha rebounded to win the Dwyer Stakes and then closed out his year with a track record in the Arlington Classic (2:01⅖ for 1¼ miles). Omaha finished the year with a record of 6-1-2 from nine starts and earnings of $142,255. He was regarded as the top 3-year-old male, while Discovery was named Horse of the Year.

At age 4, Omaha was trained by Cecil Boyd-Rochfort and campaigned in England. He won the 1½-mile Victor Wild Stakes under 129 pounds and then defeated Lord Derby’s Bobseligh under 130 pounds in the Queen’s Plate at two miles. Favored in the Ascot Gold Cup, Omaha came up a nose short in the 2½-mile event to Lord Stanley’s Quashed. Omaha raced once more, carrying 138 pounds in the 1½-mile Princess of Wales Stakes. He lost by a neck in a valiant effort against the Aga Khan’s Taj Akbar, a 3-year-old carrying only 120 pounds.

Omaha was retired to stud duty at Claiborne Farm with a career record of 9-7-2 from 22 starts and earnings of 154,755. A disappointment as a stallion, Omaha sired only seven stakes winners. In 1943, he was leased to The Jockey Club’s Lookover Stallion Station in New York. Omaha was moved to Nebraska seven years later and died there in 1959 at the age of 27. He was buried in Omaha at the grandstand entrance to the Ak-Sar-Ben track, behind a bronze replica of his head mounted on a Triple Crown.   

Achievements

Champion 3-Year-old Male — 1935

Triple Crown Highlights

Won the Kentucky Derby — 1935
Won the Preakness Stakes — 1935
Won the Belmont Stakes — 1935

Biography

Bred and owned by Calumet Farm, Twilight Tear was a bay daughter of Bull Lea out of the Blue Larkspur mare Lady Lark. Named Co-Champion 2-Year-Old Filly, Twilight Tear went on to dominate as a sophomore, putting together an 11-race win streak en route to being named Horse of the Year.

Trained by Hall of Famer Ben Jones, Twilight Tear broke her maiden in her career debut on June 25, 1943, at Washington Park. Stepping up to stakes competition eight days later, she earned a 2½-lenngth victory in the Arlington Lassie, defeating stablemate Miss Keeneland in the richest race of the year for juvenile fillies. Twilight Tear won a pair of allowance races later in the year and split the honor of best juvenile filly with Durazna.

As a 3-year-old in 1944, Twilight Tear won several distaff events, including the Acorn, Coaching Club American Oaks, Pimlico Oaks, and Princess Doreen. She also made her mark against colts, winning the Skokie Handicap at Washington Park and the Arlington Classic. In the Skokie, Twilight Tear defeated Pensive, winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, setting a track record of 1:22⅗ for seven furlongs. Later in the year, Twilight Tear defeated Greentree Stable’s two-time handicap champion Devil Diver by six lengths in the Pimlico Special in time that equaled Seabiscuit’s when he beat War Admiral in the same race six years earlier. At the end of the year, Twilight Tear had won 14 of 17 starts and was named Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Filly. She was the first of her gender to be named Horse of the Year since Beldame four decades earlier.

Twilight Tear was kept in training as a 4-year-old, but she bled during a race at Washington Park and was immediately retired to Calumet. As a broodmare, Twilight Tear produced Coiner, winner of 20 races and stakes in Canada through the age of 9; A Gleam, winner of eight stakes and earner of $251,395; and Bardstown, winner of 18 races, including multiple editions of the Widener Handicap, and earner of $628,752.

Twilight Tear died in 1954 at the age of 13.

Achievements

Co-Champion 2-Year-Old Filly — 1943
Horse of the Year — 1944
Champion 3-Year-Old Filly — 1944

Biography

Known as the “Gray Ghost,” Native Dancer was one of the most prolific racehorses of the 20th century, winning 21 of his 22 lifetime starts and becoming the sport’s first television superstar. He appeared on the cover of Time magazine and was a fan favorite everywhere he raced.

A son of Polynesian out of the Discovery mare Geisha, Native Dancer was foaled March 27, 1950, at Scott Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. Bred and owned by Alfred G. Vanderbilt, Native Dancer was sent to his owner’s Sagamore Farm in Maryland shortly after being foaled.

Native Dancer’s pedigree suggested he could become something special. Polynesian won the 1945 Preakness Stakes, while Geisha was by Hall of Famer Discovery, a champion in the 1930s and winner of both the Whitney and Brooklyn handicaps three consecutive years. Through Discovery, Geisha's lineage traced back to Fair Play, the sire of Man o’ War.

Trained by Hall of Famer William C. Winfrey, Native Dancer was prepped for his racing career at Santa Anita and was made the 7-5 favorite for his career debut at Jamaica on April 19, 1952. Native Dancer did not disappoint, winning by easily with Hall of Fame jockey Eric Guerin aboard. Guerin rode Native Dancer in 21 of his 22 career starts. Four days after breaking his maiden, Native Dancer won the Youthful Stakes by six lengths before being sent to Saratoga. At the Spa, Native Dancer won four races that August: the Flash, Saratoga Special, Grand Union Hotel, and Hopeful.

Native Dancer was given three weeks off after Saratoga before returning in the Futurity Stakes at Belmont. Blocked early before reeling in Tahitian King, Native Dancer clocked a final time of 1:14⅖, equaling the world record for 6½ furlongs over a straight track. Native Dancer concluded his juvenile season undefeated in nine starts with earnings of $230,495, a record for a 2-year-old. He shared Horse of the Year honors with One Count and was assigned 130 pounds atop the Experimental Free Handicap.

After spending the winter in California, Native Dancer returned to Jamaica to win the Gotham and Wood Memorial to kick off his 3-year-old campaign. The 16.2-hand, 1,200-pound Native Dancer was undefeated in 11 career starts entering the Kentucky Derby. Coupled with Social Outcast as a 2-3 favored entry, Native Dancer was bumped soundly by longshot Money Broker rounding the first turn. The Grey Ghost recovered and began to make his move on the leaders, but he came up a head short of Dark Star at the wire.

“When he lost the Kentucky Derby by a head, thousands turned from their TV screens in sorrow, a few in tears,” Time magazine reported.

The New York Times added that there “hadn’t been so much furor over a horse losing a race since Man o’ War’s defeat by Upset in the Sanford Stakes in 1919.”

Returning in the Withers Stakes, Native Dancer began another winning streak that spanned 10 races and 15 months until he was retired. After winning the Withers by four lengths, Native Dancer met up with Dark Star again in the Preakness. Dark Star took an early lead and maintained it into the stretch before fading into fifth. Native Dancer, meanwhile, was all out and held off Jamie K. for a neck victory. In the Belmont, Native Dancer again defeated Jamie K. by a neck in a time of 2:28⅗, the third-best time in the 1½-mile race’s history to that point.

Next up for Native Dancer was a victory at 1-20 odds in the Dwyer Stakes followed by a nine-length romp in the Arlington Classic and a 5½-length score in the Travers. He then won the American Derby at Washington Park by two lengths, but a foot bruise was discovered after the race, ending Native Dancer’s season. With a record of 9-1-0 from 10 starts and earnings of $513,425, Native Dancer was named champion 3-year-old male. Horse of the Year honors, however, went to Tom Fool, winner of all 10 of his starts.

Native Dancer won his 4-year-old debut in an allowance race at Belmont Park. Under 130 pounds in the Metropolitan Handicap, Native Dancer unleashed his customary late kick to make up seven lengths and defeat Straight Face by a neck. Soreness in his right foreleg kept Native Dancer on the shelf for three months before he returned to Saratoga. In what turned out to be his final start, Native Dancer carried 137 pounds to a nine-length victory in the betless, seven-furlong Oneonta Handicap. The soreness recurred in the right foreleg after the race and Vanderbilt decided to retire his champion.

Honored with the 1954 Horse of the Year title, Native Dancer retired with a record of 21-1-0 from 22 starts and earnings of $785,240. Standing stud at Sagamore, Native Dancer sired 44 stakes winners, including 1966 Kentucky Derby winner Kauai King. He also became the grandsire of Mr. Prospector and the broodmare sire of Northern Dancer. The Grey Ghost sired the dams of 84 stakes winners and linked two of America’s most important sire lines. His son, Raise a Native, sired Alydar, Exclusive Native (sire of Affirmed), and Majestic Prince (sire of Majestic Light). Native Dancer also sired Atan (sire of Sharpen Up) and Dan Cupid (sire of Sea-Bird, winner of the Epsom Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe).

Native Dancer died on Nov. 16, 1967, at the age of 17.

Achievements

Champion 2-Year-Old Male — 1952
Co-Horse of the Year — 1952
Champion 3-Year-Old Male — 1953
Horse of the Year — 1954
Champion Older Male — 1954

Triple Crown Highlights

Won the Preakness Stakes — 1953
Won the Belmont Stakes — 1953