Granville (1933–1951) was an American Hall of Fame

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 ...

racehorse. He was the leading American colt of his generation, winning the Belmont Stakes and being voted Horse of the Year.

Background

Owned and bred by prominent horseman William Woodward, Sr. at his

Belair Stud Belair Stud was an American thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm founded by Provincial Governor of Maryland Samuel Ogle in 1747 in Collington, Prince George's County, Maryland, in Colonial America. Colonial period Queen Mab and ...

Bowie, Maryland Bowie () is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 58,329. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous c ...

, Granville was sired by U.S. Triple Crown winner

Gallant Fox Gallant Fox (March 23, 1927 – November 13, 1954) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the second winner of the American Triple Crown. In a racing career which lasted from 1929 to 1930, Gallant Fox won 11 of his 17 races includ ...

and out of the mare Gravita.

Racing career

1935: two-year-old season

Racing at age two under future Hall of Fame trainer

Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons James Edward "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons (July 23, 1874 – March 11, 1966) was a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Early life Born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn in 1874, Fitzsimmons began his career in 1885 working at a racetrack as a stable boy. Aft ...

, Granville won one of seven starts with his most noteworthy finish in a major race coming in the Champagne Stakes, in which he finished third.

1936: three-year-old season

The following year, in the run-up to the 1936 Kentucky Derby, Granville finished a strong second to Teufel in the

Wood Memorial Stakes The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memorial ...

. In the Derby, won by

Bold Venture ''Bold Venture'' was a syndicated radio series starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall that aired from 1951 to 1952. Morton Fine and David Friedkin scripted the taped series for Bogart's Santana Productions. Synopsis Salty seadog Slate S ...

, shortly after the start Granville threw jockey

James Stout James Stout (May 6, 1914 - July 12, 1976) was an American Hall of Fame thoroughbred horse racing jockey who won four Triple Crown races. Known as "Jimmy," he began working at a racetrack as a stable boy then in 1930 became a professional jock ...

and as such finished last in the fourteen-horse field. He then finished second by a nose to Bold Venture 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 () o ...

. In the Belmont Stakes in June, he won by a nose in a photo finish from Mr. Bones. Granville also won the 1936

Arlington Classic The Arlington Classic Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three year old horses over a distance of miles on the turf held annually in late May at Arlington Park race track near Chicago. History The event was inaugurat ...

at 1¼ miles plus much longer races, such as the 1⅝ mile

Lawrence Realization Stakes The Lawrence Realization Stakes was an American horse race first run on the turf in 1889. The race, for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts, geldings and fillies, was last run in 2005. History Inaugurated at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track at Gravese ...

, and he defeated the great

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

by eight lengths in the 1¾ mile

Saratoga Cup The Saratoga Cup was an American Thoroughbred horse race open to horses of either sex age three and older although geldings were not eligible from 1865 through 1918. Between 1865 and 1955 it was hosted by Saratoga Race Course, in Saratoga Springs ...

. He was named American Horse of the Year in a poll of journalists conducted by ''Turf and Sport Digest'' magazine.

Stud record

Retired from racing after an ankle injury, Granville finished the year with seven wins and three seconds in his eleven starts and was voted U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt and the most prestigious honor in American Thoroughbred racing, Horse of the Year. Sent to horse breeding duty at his owners' stud farm, he was less than successful as a sire, with his last issue foaled in 1949.

Honors

In 1997, Granville was inducted in the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Pedigree

References

Granville at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

Granville's pedigree and partial racing stats
{{Belmont Stakes Winners 1933 racehorse births 1951 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Maryland Racehorses trained in the United States Belmont Stakes winners American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Thoroughbred family 2-e