Alsab (1939–1963) was an American

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Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

Background

Alsab was bred in Kentucky by Thomas Piatt. His sire was Good Goods, and his dam was Winds Chant. Buyers were not interested in him, and Alsab was sold in 1940 for only $700 to Albert Sabath. He was named after his new owner.

Racing career

As a two-year-old, Alsab won the Washington Park Futurity, Champagne Stakes, and

Mayflower Stakes The Mayflower Stakes was one of the premiere juvenile stakes in New England. Run at Suffolk Downs, the Mayflower was held from Suffolk's inauguration in 1935 to 1988, when Suffolk was purchased from the Ogden Corporation. Run from furlongs to abo ...

. In his three-year-old season, he was ridden by Basil James. He finished second to

Shut Out Shut Out may refer to: * Shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as ...

in the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

and then won the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

. In the third leg of the Triple Crown he finished second to Shut Out in the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

. On September 19, 1942, Alsab defeated the 1941 U.S. Triple Crown Champion

Whirlaway Whirlaway (April 2, 1938 – April 6, 1953) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fifth winner of the American Triple Crown. He also won the Travers Stakes after his Triple Crown sweep to become the first and only horse to ...

in a

match race A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head. In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams consis ...

Narragansett Park Narragansett Park was an American race track for Thoroughbred horse racing in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Beginnings On May 18, 1934, Rhode Island voters approved a measure legalizing parimutuel betting by an almost 3 to 1 margin. The following day, ...

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Falls ...

.Lawrence Journal-World - September 21, 1942
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Assessment and awards

Alsab was voted the 1941 U.S. Champion Two-Year-Old Colt. He also won 1942 U.S. Champion Three-Year-Old Colt honors. In the

Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century ''BloodHorse'' is a multimedia news organization covering Thoroughbred racing and breeding that started with a newsletter first published in 1916 as a monthly bulletin put out by the Thoroughbred Horse Association.

, Alsab was voted #65. In 1976, he was inducted in the United States'

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 Av ...

Pedigree

References

Alsab's pedigree and partial racing stats
1939 racehorse births 1963 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Preakness Stakes winners American Champion racehorses United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Thoroughbred family 27-a {{Racehorse-stub