Desert Vixen (1970–1982) 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 ...

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 ...

. She was the leading American

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

of her generation, winning 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 ...

at the ages of both three and four. She was later inducted into the U. S. Racing Hall of Fame.

Racing career

Desert Vixen began racing at age two and met with limited success, winning only one of her five starts. At age three, Desert Vixen was the dominant filly in her class, winning eight straight races including a number of important

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 and tying the Belmont Park track record held by

Canonero II Cañonero II (April 24, 1968 – November 11, 1981) was a Venezuelan champion Thoroughbred race horse that may be best remembered for winning the first two legs of the 1971 U.S. Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. After t ...

in the Beldame Stakes. She broke the stakes record in the 1973

Gazelle Handicap The Gazelle Stakes (formerly Gazelle Handicap until 2004) is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, New York. It is a Grade III event run over a distance of miles on dirt that is open to three-yea ...

which had been set by

Susan's Girl Susan's Girl (1969–October 18, 1988) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, bred and owned by Fred W. Hooper. She was the first American filly to earn over $1,000,000. Racing career Racing as a two-year-old in 1971, Susan's Girl came up agains ...

the previous year.''New York Times'' September 4, 1973 article titled "Desert Vixen Sets Record in Belmont's Gazelle"
Retrieved June 30, 2018 Her performance earned her the 1973

Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old Filly An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...

. At age four, Desert Vixen started slowly but then earned three important wins in her eleven races. One of her three second-place finishes came when she raced on

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

for the first time in her career in the prestigious

Washington, D.C. International The Baltimore Washington International Turf Cup is an American Grade III invitational horse race run over one mile. Inaugurated in 1952, it was raced at Laurel Park Racecourse on the turf in Laurel, Maryland, at a distance of miles (12 furlongs ...

. In that Grade I race, she finished behind winner

Admetus In Greek mythology, Admetus (; Ancient Greek: ''Admetos'' means 'untamed, untameable') was a king of Pherae in Thessaly. Biography Admetus succeeded his father Pheres after whom the city was named. His mother was identified as Periclymene or ...

but ahead of the superstar filly

Dahlia Dahlia (, ) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. A member of the Asteraceae (former name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its garden relatives thus include the sunflower, ...

, who had won the race in 1973. Desert Vixen won her second

Beldame Stakes The Beldame Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares three-years-old and up. Inaugurated in 1939, it was run as a handicap prior to 1960. The race is held annually near the beginning of October at Belmont Park and curre ...

by 11½ lengths and tied the

Atlantic City Race Course The Atlantic City Race Course (ACRC), formerly the Atlantic City Race Track, was a Thoroughbred horse race track located in the Mays Landing section of Hamilton Township, in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The track is located off the ...

track record in winning the Matchmaker Handicap. Her 1974 performances earned her a second

as U.S. Champion Older Female Horse.

Stud record

As a broodmare, Desert Vixen produced

Real Shadai {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Real Shadai , image = , caption = Real Shadai at Shadai Stallion Station in 2000. , sire = Roberto , grandsire = Hail To Reason , dam = Desert Vixen , damsire = In Reality , sex = Stallion , foaled = 19 ...

, the

leading sire in Japan The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of racehorses in Japan for each year since 1924. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season. ---- * 1924 - Ebor (1) * 1925 - Ebor (2) * 1926 - ...

in 1993. In 1979, Desert Vixen was inducted into 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 ...

. She died in 1982 and is buried at Breckinridge Farm in

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 ...

External links

Desert Vixen's pedigree and racing stats

References

{{reflist 1970 racehorse births 1982 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Florida Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Thoroughbred family 2-c Godolphin Arabian sire line