Racing Legends

Known best for his famed match race with Seabiscuit, this regally bred son of the great Man O' War was hardly a slouch. Owned and bred by Samuel Riddle, War Admiral began his racing career with a distinct distaste for the starting gate. Delaying the start of the 1937 Kentucky Derby for more than 8 minutes, 'The Admiral' was worth the wait, as he defeated 19 others to go and win that race in emphatic fashion. He had to work harder in the Preakness just two weeks later but was up to the task, winning narrowly. In the Belmont Stakes, "The Mighty Atom" caused as much of a ruckus before the start of the race as he did once the race began, slicing his heel but winning anyway to become one of only 11 horses to capture racing's coveted Triple Crown. The following year, War Admiral carried a hefty 130 pounds to victory in the 1938 Widener Handicap here at Hialeah Park and went on the famed match race with Seabiscuit later that season.

There were few stars in horse racing in the 1940's to rival Citation. Bred and owned by Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, dominant in racing for over a decade, Citation was the first horse to win a million dollars.

"He was the best horse I ever saw," said trainer Horace A. 'Jimmy' Jones, Citation's trainer. It was said that Citation had no faults. According to Jones, "he could sprint, run two miles, run in the mud or a hard track. He could do it all." After winning the Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah Park in 1948, Citation's regular jockey, Al Snider, drowned off the Florida coast in a fishing accident. Trainer Jones replaced Snider with Eddie Arcaro, one of Snider's friends. After winning the Kentucky Derby in 1948, Arcaro gave Snider's widow a share of the purse.

By the end of the 1948 season, Citation had a career record of 27 wins and two seconds in 29 starts. That same year, Citation went on to win the Triple Crown. Ranked the 3rd greatest Thoroughbred race horse of the 20th Century, Citation was elected to the racing Hall of Fame in 1959. He died at age 25 on August 8, 1970. In his honor, a statue of Citation stands on the grounds of Hialeah Park.

Nashua's athletic ability and prowess as a racehorse was evident early in his career. Trained by the legendary 'Sunny' Jim Fitzsimmons, Nashua won the Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah Park in 1955. Owned by William Woodward, Nashua also became a silent figure in one of the great social scandals of the century when Woodward was fatally shot by his wife, in a society saga that continued for years to come.

Nashua was eventually sold at a sealed-bid auction as the most expensive horse of the times. Winner of the Preakness and Belmont Stakes in 1955, Nashua enjoyed a long stud career, siring 77 stakes winners including champion, Shuvee. He remained a fan favorite in Kentucky until his death at the age of 30.

A champion by the age of three, Bold Ruler was a standout runner and sire. Bred and owned by Mrs. Henry Carnegie Phipps, Bold Ruler was born at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky. Unfortunately, a series of illnesses and injuries plagued Bold Ruler for most of his career. It was said that he was never completely sound. Nonetheless, Bold Ruler won his first five races as the leading two-year-old of 1956. In 1957, he won the Flamingo Stakes in track-record time at Hialeah Park. Also trained by 'Sunny' Jim Fitzsimmons, Bold Ruler lost the Kentucky Derby that year, but went on to win the Preakness Stakes with jockey Eddie Arcaro.

The tenacity of Bold Ruler as a racehorse and sire helped him fight the greatest battle of his career in 1970. But it was one he was destined to lose. Diagnosed with a cancerous tumor, his owners were determined not to let the horse suffer.

Bold Ruler was euthanized on July 12, 1971 and buried in the Claiborne Farm cemetery with other great champions. He had sired 82 stakes winners.

Hard work often pays off at the race track. Such was the case with Carry Back, a Maryland-bred stallion without a fancy pedigree. His sire was named 'Saggy' and his dam named 'Joppy', a mating of odd names that eventually produced a champion simply named Carry Back.

Eventually Carry Back was shipped to Florida where he scored victories in the Flamingo Stakes and the Florida Derby in 1961. That same year, despite drawing post position 14, Carry Back went to the Kentucky Derby as the odds on favorite under jockey John Sellers. He won the race by three-quarters of a length in a time of 2:04.

He backed up his Kentucky Derby success with a victory in the Preakness, but struggled in the Belmont, losing by nearly 15 lengths behind the winner.

Carry Back entered stud duty in Ocala 1963. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1975.

Northern Dancer will always be remembered as a Canadian bred, who won both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 1964. But his prowess as a stallion and his extraordinary career in the breeding shed made the horse a legend.

Owned by Canadian industrialist and founder of Woodbine Racecourse, E. P. Taylor, Northern Dancer swept the Triple Crown prep races with victories in the Flamingo Stakes, Florida Derby and Blue Grass Stakes. Despite his record, Northern Dancer was sent off as the second choice in the 1964 Kentucky Derby.

Under a strong ride by jockey Bill Hartack, the Canadian colt prevailed by a neck to win the Derby in then record time, a mark only surpassed by the great Secretariat nine years later. Two weeks later, Northern Dancer proved his greatness again with a victory in the Preakness Stakes.

Northern Dancer returned to Canada as a hero, winning the Queen's Plate by seven and a half lengths. As a stallion, Northern Dancer's stud fee soared to one million dollars when the stallion was 20 years old. As a sire, he is responsible for 146 stakes winners. Euthanized in 1990, his legacy continues through the accomplishments of his descendants, including his dams and sires.

Seattle Slew entered the 1977 Triple Crown campaign as the only undefeated horse to win all three races in the 20th Century. Although he did not win all of his career starts, Seattle Slew won all of his races prior to the Kentucky Derby in 1977.

In the name of Pearson's Barn, the colt was purchased at the 1975 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale for $17,500. Sent to Florida, Seattle Slew won the Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah Park in 1977. Under the guidance of trainer Billy Turner, 'Slew' continued his unmatched victories by winning six more consecutive races that same year, including the Triple Crown.

Seattle Slew received racing highest honors including Horse of the Year, the Eclipse Award as best champion three-year old of 1977 and best older male in 1979. He was elected to the Racing Hall of Fame in 1981.

'Slew' ended his racing career in 1979, with an easy victory in the Stuyvesant Handicap and was retired with 14 wins out of 17 starts, and earnings in excess of $1.2 million. The Seattle Slew colt, A.P. Indy, whose $2.9 million price tag was the highest in 1990 for a yearling, still commands one of the highest stud fees in racing.

As the 1970's came to an end, following in the footsteps of Secretariat, Seattle Slew and Affirmed, the racing "gods made one more attempt to create the perfect racehorse."*

Spectacular Bid, who was as close to the perfect racehorse as any before and after him, was not the most handsome horse, nor the most well-bred, but he could do almost anything on the racetrack. During his career, his versatility and speed enabled him to break seven track records, winning 26 of 30 starts.

The son of Bold Bidder, Spectacular Bid sold for $37,000 as a yearling. A champion at two, three and four, he won races at 15 different racetracks in nine different states. Commonly known as 'The Bid', the horse racked up victories in the Hutcheson Stakes, the Florida Derby, the Flamingo Stakes and the Blue Grass Stakes. An epic showdown between Spectacular Bid and California champion Flying Paster never materialized in the 1979 Kentucky Derby with 'The Bid' cruising home by two and three quarter lengths. It was a similar scenario in the Preakness. But his next race was a different story, thanks to a loose safety pin in the horse's stall.

'The Bid' struggled home in third place, as it became obvious that the horse was not himself. A deep infection in his hoof was eventually discovered, treated and cured. Although denied the Triple Crown, 'The Bid' went on to a champion career as a four year old. He was retired to Claiborne Farm in Kentucky in 1981 due to an old sesamoid injury. He eventually was moved to Milfer Farm in New York, where "he was pampered and treated like a king… just as the racing gods intended."*