Housebuster (foaled March 7, 1987, in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

– May 15, 2005) 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 ...

racehorse and sire. He was sired by

graded stakes race A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level (I, II, III or listed) is the ...

winner Mt. Livermore and was out of the Great Above mare Big Dreams. Bred by Blanche P. Levy and owned by her son, Robert, Housebuster was originally trained by Ronald Benshoff before being turned over to "Jimmy" Croll. From the outset he was trained as a sprinter, with no race longer than a mile. Housebuster won 15 of his lifetime 22 starts, often by wide margins. He won the

Jerome Handicap The Jerome Stakes is a stakes race for thoroughbred horses run each January at Aqueduct Racetrack. Open to three year olds, the race is run at one mile and carries a purse of $150,000. It is a Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying race, with the wi ...

by 13 lengths, the Grade III

Lafayette Stakes The Lafayette Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, it is contested on Polytrack synthetic dirt over a distance of seven furlongs. There is a La ...

by 11, and the " DeFrancis Dash" by 5, beating

Breeder's Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older. Run on dirt Corrected grade for Santa Anita sprintover a distance of 6 Furlongs ( mile), the race has been held annually s ...

champ Safely Kept. In the 1990

Metropolitan Handicap The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8 fu ...

, he placed second by a neck to U.S. Horse of the Year

Criminal Type Criminal Type (1985–2005) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He won two Eclipse Awards in 1990. Background A descendant of Nearco, he was bred at the famed Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky and owned in partnership with Jurg ...

, beating Hall of Fame

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 ...

Champion

Easy Goer Easy Goer (March 21, 1986 – May 12, 1994) was an American Champion Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse known for earning American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors in 1988 and defeating 1989 American Horse of the Year Sunday Silence in t ...

while receiving 14 pounds in weight. Housebuster made the last start of his racing career a winning one on September 28, 1991 in the

Vosburgh Stakes The Vosburgh Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Run at the end of September/early October, it is open to horses three-years-old and up of either gender. A Grade II sprint race, it is ...

at Belmont Park. His outstanding record earned him the

for the 1990 American Champion Sprint Horse and again in 1991. He became the first horse to win the sprint title in successive years since Great Above's Hall of Fame dam Ta Wee did it in 1969-70. In 2013, Housebuster was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York.

At stud

Retired due to an injury in the 1991

, Housebuster was originally sent in 1992 to Jonabell Farm to stand at stud and sired several good runners. However, as his fee dropped, he was sold and sent to Japan in 1998. He returned to the U.S. in 2001 and stood at The Blue Ridge Farm in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

from 2002-2004 before being moved to O'Sullivan Farms in

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

in 2005. He died there on May 15, 2005. Some of Housebuster's progeny who became

winners include 2002

Hong Kong Horse of the Year Horse of the Year is the most prestigious honor in Thoroughbred horse racing given by racing organizations in a variety of countries around the world. In Hong Kong, the voting for Horse of the Year is organized by the Hong Kong Jockey Club as par ...

Electronic Unicorn,

Bahamian Pirate Bahamian Pirate (3 March 1995 – February 2017) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was a specialist sprinter who produced his best form on soft ground and was trained for most of his racing career by David "Dandy" Nicholls in Yorkshi ...

, Morluc, and Midnight Bet.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist

External links

Pedigree & Partial Stats
1987 racehorse births 2005 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees American Grade 1 Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 13