Big Spruce
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Big Spruce
Big Spruce (1969–2001) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was an outstanding middle to longer distance runner on both dirt and grass called "one of North America's leading runners in the early 1970s" by the ''Thoroughbred Times'' Background Big Spruce was bred by Maxwell H. Gluck at his Elmendorf Farm in Kentucky and trained for Gluck by Lefty Nickerson. Racing career Big Spruce won races in New York and California, including two Grade 1 events. As a three-year-old, he won the 1972 Lexington Handicap at Belmont Park then in 1973, he defeated future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Cougar II to win the San Luis Rey Handicap at Santa Anita Park and captured the first of his two consecutive editions of the Gallant Fox Handicap at Belmont Park. He ran second to Secretariat in the U.S. Triple Crown champion's last race, the Canadian International at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. That same year, he also finished second to U.S. Racing Hall of Fame filly Dahlia in the ...
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Herbager
Herbager (1956 – 25 March 1976) was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire in both France and the United States. Background Herbager was sired by Vandale, a stayer who won the 1946 Prix du Conseil Municipal and whom Herbager helped make the 1959 Leading sire in France. His dam was Flagette (by Escamillo), who was inbred 2x2 to St. Leger winner Firdaussi, meaning both her parents were sired by him. During his racing career he was owned by Simone Del Duca and trained by Pierre Pelat. Racing career Herbager made two starts at age two, finishing second once and winning the Prix Seraphine. At age three, he was the best colt in his age group in France, winning important races including the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and the Classic French Derby in which he earned a Timeform rating of 136. In the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, he sustained a serious leg injury but finished only two lengths from the winner. This injury ended his racing career. Stud record Herbager wa ...
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Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to the east; Tennessee to the south; and Missouri to the west. Its northern border is defined by the Ohio River. Its capital is Frankfort, and its two largest cities are Louisville and Lexington. Its population was approximately 4.5 million in 2020. Kentucky was admitted into the Union as the 15th state on June 1, 1792, splitting from Virginia in the process. It is known as the "Bluegrass State", a nickname based on Kentucky bluegrass, a species of green grass found in many of its pastures, which has supported the thoroughbred horse industry in the center of the state. Historically, it was known for excellent farming conditions for this reason and the development of large tobacco plantations akin to those in Virginia and North Carolina i ...
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Filly
A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, the world of horse racing sets the cutoff age for fillies as five. Fillies are sexually mature by two and are sometimes bred at that age, but generally, they should not be bred until they themselves have stopped growing, usually by four or five.Ensminger, M. E. ''Horses and Horsemanship: Animal Agriculture Series.'' Sixth Edition. Interstate Publishers, 1990. p. 149-150 Some fillies may exhibit estrus as yearlings. The equivalent term for a male is a colt. When horses of either sex are less than one year, they are referred to as foals. Horses of either sex between one and two years old may be called yearlings. See also * Filly Triple Crown * Weanling A weanling is an animal that has just been weaned. The term is usually used to ...
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Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor of the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration of 9,765,188 people (as of 2021) surrounding the western end of Lake Ontario, while the Greater Toronto Area proper had a 2021 population of 6,712,341. Toronto is an international centre of business, finance, arts, sports and culture, and is recognized as one of the most multicultural and cosmopolitan cities in the world. Indigenous peoples have travelled through and inhabited the Toronto area, located on a broad sloping plateau interspersed with rivers, deep ravines, and urban forest, for more than 10,000 years. After the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase, when the Mississauga surrendered the area to the British Crown, the British established the town of York in 1793 and later designat ...
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Woodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack is a race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group, Woodbine Racetrack manages and hosts Canada's most famous race, the King's Plate. The track was opened in 1956 with a one-mile oval dirt track, as well as a seven-eights turf course. It has been extensively remodeled since 1993, and since 1994 has had three racecourses. History The current Woodbine carries the name originally used by a racetrack which operated in southeast Toronto, at Queen Street East and Kingston Road, from 1874 through 1993. (While the Old Woodbine Race Course was at the south end of Woodbine Avenue, the current Woodbine is nowhere near it.) In 1951, it was operated by the Ontario Jockey Club (OJC) and held the prestigious King's Plate, but it competed with several other racetracks in Ontario and was in need of modernization. During the 1950s, the OJC, under the leadership of Canadian industrialist and hor ...
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Canadian International Stakes
The Canadian International Stakes is a Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and up on Turf. It is held annually in October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The current purse is Since its creation in 1938, the race has undergone many changes including the conditions, track surface, distance, location, and name. The first renewal was run as the Long Branch Championship, held at the Long Branch Racetrack in Etobicoke. and was restricted to Canadian-bred three-year-olds. In 1939, it was renamed the Canadian International Stakes and was restricted to Canadian-owned horses. In 1940, the race was opened to horses of all ages, though the owner still had to be a Canadian resident. In 1954, the eligibility was revised to ages three and up with no residence restriction. The race name was modified slightly from 1966 to 1980 when it was known as the Canadian International Championship Stakes. From 1981 through to 1995 the race was known as the Ro ...
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United States Triple Crown Of Thoroughbred Racing
In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three races were inaugurated in different years, the last being the Kentucky Derby in 1875. The Triple Crown Trophy, commissioned in 1950 but awarded to all previous winners as well as those after 1950, is awarded to a horse who wins all three races and is thereafter designated as a Triple Crown winner. The races are traditionally run in May and early June of each year, although global events have resulted in schedule adjustments, such as in 1945 and 2020. The first winner of all three Triple Crown races was Sir Barton in 1919. Some journalists began using the term ''Triple Crown'' to refer to the three races as early as 1923, but it was not until Gallant Fox won the three events in 1930 that Charles Hatton of the ''Daily Racing Form'' put the t ...
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Secretariat (horse)
Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown, setting and still holding the fastest time record in all three races. He is regarded as one of the greatest racehorses of all time. He became the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and his record-breaking victory in the Belmont Stakes, which he won by 31 Horse length, lengths, is widely regarded as one of the greatest races in history. During his racing career, he won five Eclipse Awards, including American Horse of the Year, Horse of the Year honors at ages two and three. He was nominated to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1974. In the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century, List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century, Secretariat is second only to Man o' War. At age two ...
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Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races including both the Santa Anita Derby and the Santa Anita Handicap as well as hosting the Breeders' Cup in 1986, 1993, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019, and 2023. Since 2011, the Stronach Group are the current owners. History The original Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park was originally part of "Rancho Santa Anita", which was owned originally by former San Gabriel Mission Mayor-Domo, Claudio Lopez, and named after a family member, "Anita Cota". The ranch was later acquired by rancher Hugo Reid, a Scotsman. The property's most widely known owner would be multimillionaire Lucky Baldwin, a successful businessman in San Francisco who greatly enhanced his wealth through an investment in the famous Comstock Lode. Baldwin became a ...
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Cougar II
Cougar II (1966–1989) was a Chilean Thoroughbred racehorse who also competed in the United States, where he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Cougar was noted for his late running style and versatility, winning major stakes races on both dirt and turf. Following his relocation from Chile to the United States, he was registered as ''Cougar II.'' Background Cougar was sired by Tale of Two Cities, a son of Tehran, winner of the 1944 St. Leger Stakes and the Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland. He was muscular with a long tail that touched the ground, uncommon for most horses of this time. Racing career Cougar raced in the late 1960s in Chile and was brought to the United States in 1970. He lost his first two U.S. starts but then won a race on the dirt followed by one on the turf. On future Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Whittingham's advice, Mary F. Jones then purchased the horse from Joe Hernandez for $125,000. Conditioned by Whittingham, ...
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National Museum Of Racing And Hall Of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Avenue near Saratoga Race Course, at which time inductions into the hall of fame began. Each spring, following the tabulation of the final votes, the announcement of new inductees is made, usually during Kentucky Derby Week in early May. The actual inductions are held in mid-August during the Saratoga race meeting. The Hall of Fame's nominating committee selects eight to ten candidates from among the four Contemporary categories (male horse, female horse, jockey and trainer) to be presented to the voters. Changes in voting procedures that commenced with the 2010 candidates allow the voters to choose multiple candidates from a single Contemporary category, instead of a single candidate from each of the four Contemporary categories. For examp ...
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Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racing Association, as are the Aqueduct Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course. The group was formed in 1955 as the Greater New York Association to assume the assets of the individual associations that ran Belmont, Aqueduct, Saratoga, and the now-defunct Jamaica Race Course. Belmont Park is typically open for racing from late April through mid-July (known as the Spring meet), and again from mid-September through late October (the Fall meet). It is widely known as the home of the Belmont Stakes in early June, regarded as the "Test of the Champion", the third leg of the Triple Crown. Along with Saratoga Race Course in Upstate New York, Keeneland and Churchill Downs in Kentucky, and Del Mar and Santa Anita in California, Belmont is considered on ...
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