Mad Play (foaled 1921 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 to ...

) was an American-bred

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. Bred by

August Belmont, Jr. August Belmont Jr. (February 18, 1853 – December 10, 1924) was an American financier. He financed the construction of the early history of the IRT subway, original New York City subway (1900–1904) and for many years headed the Interborough R ...

, he was sired by

Fair Play Fair play or Fairplay usually refers to sportsmanship. Fair play or Fairplay may also refer to: Media * ''Fair Play'' (1925 film), an American silent film * ''Fair Play'', a 1972 TV movie starring Paul Ford * ''Fair Play'' (2014 film), a Czech ...

, who also sired

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 ...

, out of a

Rock Sand Rock Sand (1900–1914) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and sire. In a career which lasted from the spring of 1902 until October 1904 he ran twenty times and won sixteen races. He was a leading British two-year-old of his generation, ...

mare, Mad Cap. He was a full brother to 1921 U.S. Champion Older Male Horse

Mad Hatter The Hatter is a fictional character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' and its 1871 sequel ''Through the Looking-Glass''. He is very often referred to as the Mad Hatter, though this term was never used by Ca ...

Race career

Mad Play was trained by

Sam Hildreth Samuel Clay Hildreth (May 16, 1866 – September 24, 1929) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer and owner.Earl Sande Earl Harold Sande (November 13, 1898 – August 19, 1968) was an American Hall of Fame jockey and thoroughbred horse trainer. Early life in South Dakota Born in Groton, South Dakota, Earl Sande started out as a bronco buster in the early 1900s b ...

. As a three-year-old, Mad Play came in third 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 () on ...

and second in the

Dwyer Stakes The Dwyer Stakes is an American Grade III stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred racehorses held annually at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, Long Island, New York. Run in early July, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced over a ...

, but is best known for winning the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

as the favorite to win by 1½ lengths, making it a third win for his owner, Harry Sinclair, of

Rancocas Stable Rancocas Farm was an American thoroughbred horse racing stud farm and racing stable located on Monmouth Road ( County Road 537) in the Jobstown section of Springfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey. Pierre Lorillard IV The farm was foun ...

. He then won the

Brookdale Handicap The Brookdale Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid summer from 1887 through 1910 at Gravesend Race Track in Brooklyn, New York and from 1914 through 1933 at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens. Open to horses age three ...

, the Continental Handicap, and the Yorktown Handicap. He placed third in the

International Special The International Specials of 1924 were a series of three Thoroughbred horse races held in September and October at three different race tracks in the United States. They were called "International" because the race included the champion from France ...

No. 3 that year at

Latonia Race Track Latonia Race Track on Winston Avenue in Latonia, Kentucky, Latonia (Covington, Kentucky, Covington) Kentucky, six miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio, was a Thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing facility opened in 1883. The track hosted ...

in Convington, Kentucky, losing to

Sarazen Sarazen (1921–1940) was an American National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame Eclipse Award, Champion Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. Owned by Phil T. Chinn, Colonel Phil T. Chinn's Himyar Stud, Sarazen won his first three ...

. At four, he won the Long Beach Handicap, Brooklyn Handicap, the

Queens County Handicap The Queens County Handicap is an American Ungraded Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the second week of December at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. Open to horses age three years and older, it is contested on dirt at a distance ...

, the

Empire City Handicap The Empire City Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race inaugurated on October 22, 1900, as part of the opening day racecard at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York. Sometimes referred in newspaper reports as the Empire City Stakes ...

, the Chicago Special and the Saratoga Cup Hanicap to be the leading handicapper with a 13-7-3-3 record.

Retirement

Upon retirement Mad Play, was found to be completely sterile. He was put back into training in 1928 and raced until 1933.

Resources

Pedigree & Part Stats

References

1921 racehorse births Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in Kentucky Belmont Stakes winners Belmont family Thoroughbred family 4-r Godolphin Arabian sire line {{Racehorse-stub