Crimson Satan (1959–1982) 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 ...

Champion racehorse.

Background

Crimson Satan was a chestnut horse bred and raced by Peter W. Salmen Sr.'s Crimson King Farm at

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

. His dam was Salmen's Argentine-bred mare Papila, and his sire was Charles Fisher's good runner Spy Song.

Racing career

Trained in his two-year-old season by Gordon Potter, Crimson Satan earned 1961 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors. At age three, Crimson Satan competed in each of the U.S. Triple Crown races. He finished sixth 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 ...

, seventh in 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 ...

, and a close third 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 ...

. In an overall difficult year, the colt won the 1962 Clark Handicap but was disqualified from his win in the

Jersey Derby The Jersey Derby is a $60,000 American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in late July/early August at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. Since 1993, it has been raced on grass at a distance of miles. A Jerse ...

and set back to third. He won the June 23

Leonard Richards Stakes The Barbaro Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race once run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton, Delaware. It is now run in October. Previously known as the Leonard Richards Stakes, in 2007 it was renamed in honor ...

at Delaware Park Racetrack, but the win was negated following a positive drug test. As a result, trainer Potter was suspended for the remainder of 1962, and Charles Kerr took over as the trainer of Crimson Satan in September 1962. Racing at age four in 1963, Crimson Satan earned five wins and five seconds in major stakes races at tracks across the United States. While racing in California, where he won the San Fernando Stakes and Charles H. Strub Stakes, he was handled by Kerr's assistant, J. W. King. He also had wins in Chicago's

Washington Park Handicap The Washington Park Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first week of September at Arlington Park Racetrack in Arlington Heights, Illinois. A Grade III event open to horses age three and older, it is contest ...

and Boston's Massachusetts Handicap and set a new track record of 1:40 3/5 on dirt in winning the Michigan Mile and One Sixteenth Handicap at Detroit. In October 1963, Martin Fallon took over as trainer but after disappointing results, Crimson Satan was retired in early 1964.

Stud record

Crimson Satan stood at stud at his birthplace in Lexington, Kentucky. Although a successful sire of numerous stakes winners such as Brilliant Sandy and Krislin, he is best remembered as the damsire of the 1990 Breeders' Cup Mile winner

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

as well as multiple Graded stakes winners Terlingua and Mt. Livermore. Bred to Nijinsky, Crimson Satan's daughter Crimson Saint produced Laa Etaab, who sold at the 1985 Keeneland yearling sale for $7,000,000. Crimson Satan died in 1982 and is buried at Crimson King Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. Grave Matters at Thoroughbred Heritage
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References

{{reflist
Crimson Satan's pedigree and partial racing stats
1959 racehorse births 1982 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses Thoroughbred family 26