Angle Light (April 18, 1970 – unknown) was an American

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 ...

racehorse who defeated the champion

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...

in the 1973

Wood Memorial Stakes The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memorial ...

Background

Angle Light was bred by Howard B. Noonan and

Runnymede Farm Runnymede Farm is an American horse breeding farm located outside Paris, Kentucky on U.S. Route 27, the Paris-Cynthiana Road. It is said to be the longest continuously running Thoroughbred horse farm in Kentucky, established in 1867 by American ...

and was purchased and raced by Edwin Whittaker. He was sired by 1964 Belmont Stakes winner Quadrangle, out of the

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than fo ...

Pilot Light. He was trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Lucien Laurin Lucien Laurin (March 18, 1912 – June 26, 2000) was a French-Canadian jockey and Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse trainer. He was best known for training Secretariat (horse), Secretariat, who won the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Sta ...

Racing career

Angle Light remains best known for winning the April 21, 1973,

at Aqueduct Racetrack in

Ozone Park, Queens Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens, New York, United States. It is next to the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, a popular spot for Thoroughbred racing and home to the Resorts W ...

, New York

Stablemate,

, the reigning

American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when the '' Daily Racing F ...

and early favorite to win that May's Kentucky Derby, entered the race as a better than even-money favorite. However, unknown to most race fans, Secretariat had contracted a minor

illness A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

in the weeks before the Wood; an abscess was found under his lip hours before the race. Angle Light, a true speed horse who never won a race without an early lead, ran wire-to-wire under

Jacinto Vásquez Jacinto Vásquez (born January 4, 1944 in Panama) is a retired Hall of Fame thoroughbred jockey. He rode two Kentucky Derby winners, Foolish Pleasure in 1975 and the filly Genuine Risk in 1980. He was also the regular jockey for the champion fi ...

, with Sham finishing second and Secretariat in third

Angle Light finished tenth in the 1973 Kentucky Derby, ensuing Kentucky Derby won by Secretariat.

Retirement

Angle Light retired from racing with a record of 4-4-3 in 21 starts and earned $194,986. He is the only horse to defeat both Secretariat and Sham in the same race. After his retirement from racing, Angle Light stood as a stallion at Blue Ridge Farm in Virginia. He died at Flag's Up Farm.

Sources

* Nack, William. ''Secretariat: The Making of a Champion'' (2002) Da Capo Press
Angle Light's pedigree and partial racing stats

Information on Angle Light at Runnymede Farm

Video at YouTube of Angle Light winning the 1973 Wood Memorial Stakes
{{reflist 1970 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 8-c