Louis Quatorze (foaled March 13, 1993, died Feb. 17, 2017) 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 ...

and

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

best known for winning the

1996 Preakness Stakes The 1996 Preakness Stakes was the 121st running of the Preakness Stakes thoroughbred horse race. The race took place on May 18, 1996, and was televised in the United States on the ABC television network. Louis Quatorze, who was jockeyed by Pat Da ...

. He was sired by Sovereign Dancer, who in turn was a son of 1964

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 ...

and

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 ...

winner

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...

out of the mare On To Royalty.

Early racing career

Trained by

Nick Zito Nicholas Philip Zito (born February 6, 1948, in New York City, New York) is an American Thoroughbred horse trainer. Zito began his career as a hot walker and worked his way up to a groom, to an assistant trainer, and to a trainer. His first top ...

, he had four starts at age two in 1995 and won two races while placing second in the other two starts. In the late summer, Louis Quatorze came in second in the seven-furlong

Hopeful Stakes The Hopeful Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, the Hopeful is the first Grade I stakes for two-year-olds each season and historically has ...

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actua ...

to Hennessy. In mid-September 1995, he finished second in the seven-furlong Futurity Stakes at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

Maria's Mon Maria's Mon (April 24, 1993 – September 14, 2007) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that was the champion two-year-old colt in 1995 and produced two Kentucky Derby winners. Maria's Mon was foaled in Kentucky on April 24, 1993 at the farm ...

. During the winter, he was freshened for a long time and didn't come back to the track until March. At age three, Louis Quatorze won an allowance race at

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

in March, giving Zito enough confidence in him to take on stakes winners in a graded race. In April 1996, Louis Quatorze shipped to

Keeneland Race Course Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for its ...

and raced in the grade two $700,000

Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is run ...

, where he placed second in a field of seven. He was beaten only by eventual

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

Skip Away Skip Away (April 4, 1993 – May 14, 2010), was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1998 Horse of the Year, 1996 Champion Three-Year-Old, and 1997 and 1998 Champion Handicap Horse. He won 10 Grade One races for $9,616,360 in ...

. All three of the top finishers in the Blue Grass moved on to Louisville on the first Saturday of May and competed in the

. In the Derby itself, Louis Quatorze broke badly and got caught in traffic early, running in twelfth position. He finished sixteenth of nineteen.

Preakness Stakes

Zito and his owners, William J. Condren and Georgia E. Hofmann, believed there was a legitimate reason for Louis Quatorze's loss in the Derby, so they entered him in the

on the third Saturday in May 1996 at

Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Ol ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. In the race, Zito and jockey

Pat Day Patrick Alan "Pat" Day (born October 13, 1953, in Brush, Colorado) is a retired American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991 an ...

had a specific plan to take Louis Quatorze to the lead and see if he could settle or slow the pace. At post time, Louis Quatorze went off as the fifth choice at 9–1 in the field of twelve stakes winners. He broke from gate six and shot straight to the lead and angled to the middle of the track away from the rail to avoid traffic. Day thought the pace was moderate, setting fractions of :23 flat and :46-1/5 for the first quarter and half. Near the end of the back stretch, he led

, Victory Speech and the rest of the field in a record 1:09-4/5 for three quarters of a mile. At the top of the stretch, second favorite Skip Away made a run at Louis Quatorze, closing to within a length. Louis Quatorze pulled away to win in the time of 1:53-2/5, which was thought to equal the stakes record at the time until Secretariat was belatedly recognized with the record of 1:53. The track record of 1:52-2/5 belongs to

Farma Way Farma Way (April 2, 1987 – November 18, 1999) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire foaled in Kentucky. As a four-year-old in 1991 he was one of the leading racehorses in North America, winning the Santa Anita Handicap, Pimlico S ...

. Skip Away finished 3 1/4 lengths back in second, three lengths in front of Belmont winner Editor's Note and Derby runner-up Cavonnier.

Later racing career

Later that year, Louis Quatorze won the

Jim Dandy Stakes The Jim Dandy Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race. The Grade II race has been held annually since 1964 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race is open to horses age three over one and one-eighth miles on the dirt. ...

, came in second in the

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American 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 according to internation ...

and ran third in the

Jockey Club Gold Cup The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the sp ...

. In November, he placed second to

Alphabet Soup Alphabet soup may refer to: *A common dish made from alphabet pasta *Alphabet soup (linguistics), a metaphor for an abundance of abbreviations or acronyms * Alphabet Soup (ultimate frisbee), a mixed European ultimate frisbee team *Alphabet Soup (ho ...

in the Breeder's Cup Classic, defeating

Cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...

, who came in third.

Retirement

Louis Quatorze stood at Murmur Farm in

Darlington, Maryland Darlington is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in northeastern Harford County, Maryland, United States.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 then ...

winners Repent, Choctaw Nation, and Bushfire.

Pedigree

References

TB Times Stallion Register Louis Quatorze

Preakness Fastest Times

{{Preakness Stakes Winners 1993 racehorse births 2017 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in Kentucky Preakness Stakes winners American Grade 1 Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 3-m