Codex (February 28, 1977 – August 20, 1984) 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 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 ...

who won the 1980

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 ...

. He was foaled in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

out of the Minnesota Mac mare, Roundup Rose, sired by the 1969

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 ...

Arts And Letters Arts and Letters (April 1, 1966 – October 16, 1998) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Arts and Letters was a chestnut horse owned and bred by American sportsman and philanthropist Paul Mellon, and tra ...

."Codex"
Thoroughbred Database, Pedigree Online, accessdate 17 September 2010

Triple Crown races

Trained by

D. Wayne Lukas Darrell Wayne Lukas (born September 2, 1935 in Antigo, Wisconsin) is an American horse trainer and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. He has won twenty Breeders' Cup races, received five Eclipse Awards for his accomplishments, and his horses ha ...

, Codex was considered the dominant 3-year-old colt in California after winning the 1980

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of $400,000. It is on ...

and

Hollywood Derby The Hollywood Derby is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late November/early December. Now held at Del Mar racetrack in San Diego, California, until 2014 it was held at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. T ...

. The horse's owner, John Nerud, believed

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

races could harm a horse and did not allow Lukas to nominate Codex for the 1980

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 ...

. Lukas initially declined to nominate Codex for the 1980 Preakness Stakes but the horse was entered accidentally by Lukas' 22-year-old son, Jeff, who worked as the assistant trainer. Codex, ridden by

Ángel Cordero Jr. Ángel Tomás Cordero Jr. (born: November 8, 1942) is one of the leading Thoroughbred horse racing jockeys of the late 20th-century and the first Puerto Rican to be inducted into the United States' Racing Hall of Fame. He led all jockeys in win ...

, beat the

-winning filly, Genuine Risk by 4 lengths in the 1980

, becoming Lukas' first

-race winner. The victory was challenged by Genuine Risk's owners on grounds of deliberate interference by Cordero. Television replays showed Cordero swing Codex wide and possibly brush against Genuine Risk. One of Codex's lawyers, Arnold M. Weiner, displayed photos showing the horses almost feet apart in contrast to the television footage. After testimony by dozens of witnesses, the Maryland Racing Commission ruled that any contact was incidental and allowed the result to stand. The controversy increased media attention on the upcoming

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 ...

as a rivalry between Codex and Genuine Risk. At the 1980 Belmont Stakes in sloppy conditions, Codex finished in seventh place. to

Temperence Hill Temperence Hill (March 1977 – June 2003) was a Champion American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Temperence Hill was a bay horse bred in Kentucky by Dr. Albert F. Polk, Jr.'s Oriskany Farm. He was sired by Stop The Music out of the Etonia ...

; Genuine Risk finished second.

Retirement

Codex was retired after a career of six wins in fifteen starts. Codex produced three good crops of foals before being found in his stall, paralyzed. On August 20, 1984, he was

euthanized Animal euthanasia ( euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditi ...

. From Codex's 1982 (first) crop came Tartan Stable's Coup de Fusil who emulated her sire by winning three straight

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 ...

races. From his 1983 crop, came the Grade I winner Badger Land. The 1984 (last) crop was highlighted by Lost Code, who won several Grade 1 races.

Breeding

References

{{Preakness Stakes Winners 1977 racehorse births 1984 racehorse deaths Preakness Stakes winners Racehorses bred in Florida Racehorses trained in the United States American Grade 1 Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 9-c Chefs-de-Race