Bates Motel (May 17, 1979 – October 12, 2004) 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 c ...

racehorse who was voted an

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

in 1983 for

American Champion Older Male Horse The title of American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of ...

Background

Bred by Jacqueline Getty Phillips and her son, Michael D. Riordan, Bates Motel was foaled in

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 ...

and was sent by his breeder/owners in October 1980 to the annual auction at Newmarket in England. Because there were no buyers willing to meet the reserve price which they had set at about US$80,000, his owners decided to race him in the United States. Named for the Bates Motel in the 1960

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

film '' Psycho'', the colt was conditioned by English-born trainer

John Gosden John Harry Martin Gosden (born 30 March 1951) is a British racehorse trainer. He has trained over 3,000 winners worldwide, including winners of the Breeders' Cup Classic, the Derby, the Arc, the King George, the Eclipse, and over 600 winners ...

Racing career

Based in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, he did not race at age two. He was a minor stakes winner at three and as a four-year-old had a championship year in 1983 during which he counted among his victories three

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

stakes, including California's richest and most prestigious race for older horses, the

Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up and was once considered the most important race for old ...

. During the year, a share of the horse was sold to the prominent Kentucky

breeder A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist, or ...

John R. Gaines John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, the then-owner of Gainesway Farm near Lexington.

Stud record

Retired to stud duty beginning with the 1984 season, among his offspring, Bates Motel sired multiple stakes winner Packett's Landing, Private School, and Rare Blend, plus

Canadian Oaks The Woodbine Oaks is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Inaugurated in 1956, it is the premier event for Canadian-foaled three-year-old fillies and the first leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara s ...

winner Blondeinamotel and Batuka, a

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vian Horse of the Year and Champion Three-Year-Old filly. He also was the sire of the mare Barbarika, dam of Sherriff's Deputy, who in turn was the dam of two-time

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

Curlin Curlin (foaled March 25, 2004, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who was the American Horse of the Year in both 2007 and 2008. He retired in 2008 as the highest North American money earner with over US$10.5 ...

. Pensioned in 2003, Bates Motel was humanely euthanized at Gainesway Farm on October 12, 2004, due to the infirmities of old age.BloodHorse.com - November 5, 2004
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Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1979 racehorse births 2004 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners Thoroughbred family 9-f