Duke of Magenta (1875–1899) was one of the most successful

racehorses 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 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in the 19th century.

Background

Foaled in 1875 at the Woodburn Stud near Lexington, Kentucky, he was owned by

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

tobacco tycoon George L. Lorillard and trained by

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

R. Wyndham Walden Robert Wyndham Walden (August 2, 1844 – April 28, 1905) was one of the most successful American trainers in thoroughbred horse racing during the last quarter of the 19th century. He was inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame ...

. Duke of Magenta was one of the last sons of the

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 ...

sire Lexington.

Racing career

In 1878, Duke of Magenta won 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 () o ...

, the

Withers Stakes The Withers Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three years old horses over the distance of miles on the dirt scheduled annually in February at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The event currently carries a purse ...

, the Belmont Stakes, and the

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds acco ...

, a feat accomplished since by only two other colts:

Man o' War Man o' War (March 29, 1917 – November 1, 1947) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as the greatest racehorse of all time. Several sports publications, including ''The Blood-Horse'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ESPN, and t ...

and Native Dancer. Excluding the Withers, he is also one of only seven horses to have won the Preakness, Belmont, and Travers. In Duke of Magenta's day, the Derby was a recently established race not yet considered important by East Coast breeders. Duke of Magenta died on September 20, 1899, at the farm of J. McCloud in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Honors

In 2011, Duke of Magenta was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Pedigree

Sire line tree

*Duke of MagentaByerley Turk Line
/ref>
/ref>Duke of Magenta
/ref> **Young Duke **Leo **Duke of Kent **Eric

References

{{short description, 19th-century American Thoroughbred racehorse 1875 racehorse births 1899 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Belmont Stakes winners Preakness Stakes winners United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Thoroughbred family A11 Byerley Turk sire line