Market Wise (foaled 1938 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 ...

) was an American Champion

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.

Background

Bred by Cary T. Grayson, Market Wise was out of On Hand, and his sire was the 1933 Kentucky Derby winner, Brokers Tip. He was purchased by New York contractor Louis Tufano for $1,000. He was trained by George W. Carroll.

Racing career

1940 & 1941: early career

Market Wise raced in 1940 at age two with little success. Going into the April 26, 1941,

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 ...

, the then three-year-old had earned only $4,975, but he upset the favorite, King Cole, to win with a come-from-behind stretch drive. Flush with over $16,000 in winnings from the race, owner Louis Tufano hired a private

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a dri ...

to transport his horse to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

to run in the

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

. Market Wise ran third to winner

Whirlaway Whirlaway (April 2, 1938 – April 6, 1953) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fifth winner of the American Triple Crown. He also won the Travers Stakes after his Triple Crown sweep to become the first and only horse to w ...

in the 1941 Kentucky Derby and second to him 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 ...

. He later defeated Whirlaway in the 1941

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 s ...

while setting a new American record for two miles. The colt went on to win the

Gallant Fox Handicap The Gallant Fox Handicap is a discontinued Thoroughbred horse race in New York City which was run annually from 1939 through 2009. Hosted by the now defunct Jamaica Race Course in Jamaica, Queens from inception through 1957, it was then moved to ...

and on September 6 set a new Aqueduct Racetrack track record in winning the 1⅛ mile

Edgemere Handicap The Edgemere Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race. Inaugurated in 1901 at the old Aqueduct Racetrack, it was open to horses of all ages and contested on dirt at a distance of one mile and seventy yards. The following year the distance ...

. On October 30, 1941, Market Wise earned his most important win of the year in the

Pimlico Special The Pimlico Special is a Grade 3 American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles ( furlongs) held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland in mid May. The race currently offers a purse of $300,000. ...

under regular jockey Wendell Eads. Two weeks later, on the same

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 ...

, he won the one and five eights mile Governor Bowie Handicap in track-record time. In the balloting for 1941

American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse The American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ''Turf & Sport ...

honors, Market Wise finished second to U.S. Triple Crown winner, Whirlaway.

1942: four-year-old season

Sent to Florida for the 1941-1942 winter season, Market Wise finished fourth in the January 1942 Kendall Purse at seven

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hor ...

s. Hampered by a foot injury, he then finished third in the Hialeah Stakes. In February 1942, he beat a top field in the important

McLennan Handicap McLennan, MacLennan and Maclennan are surnames derived from the Scottish Gaelic . Notable people with the surname include: McLennan spelling * Andrew McLennan, New Zealand musician and songwriter better known as Andrew Snoid * Andrew Robert McLe ...

Hialeah Park Race Track The Hialeah Park Race Track (also known as the Hialeah Race Track or Hialeah Park) is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East ...

. He won again a week later on February 29 and then finished off the board as the heavy favorite in the March 8th Widener Challenge Cup Handicap, the most important race for older horses during the Florida winter season. Returning north for the summer racing season, Market Wise defeated Whirlaway in the 1942 Suburban Handicap.

1943: five-year-old season

Market Wise raced at age five in 1943. On the way to being voted American Co-Champion Older Male Horse, he won the

Massachusetts Handicap The Massachusetts Handicap, frequently referred to as the "MassCap", was a flat thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and up held annually at Suffolk Downs in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was an ungraded stakes race run ...

and the

Narragansett Special The Narragansett Special was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Narragansett Park in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. At the time of its inaugural running in 1934, the Narragansett Special offered a purse of $32,500 added money making it ...

. In the Massachusetts Handicap in July, Market Wise carried top weight of 126 pounds and won with an "amazing last-minute burst" in a stakes record of 1:52.6 despite sustaining a "spread foot". Two months later in the Narragansett Special, he produced a powerful late run to catch Air Master in the closing stages, with Thumbs Up third and Shut Out fourth. He returned to the winners' circle limping badly after sustaining a quarter crack. In December, Market Wise, described as "Mr. Rags to Riches," topped the annual poll of writers and broadcasters conducted by '' Turf and Sports Digest'' magazine for the title of American Champion Older Male Horse with 176 points, ahead of Thumbs Up (171), Shut Out (154), and

Devil Diver Devil Diver (1939–1961) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was twice voted American Champion Older Male Horse. Background Devil Diver was foaled at Mrs. Payne Whitney's Greentree Stable in Lexington, Kentucky. A bay colt by S ...

(138).https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zwQtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0tMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4570,2715028&dq=handicap+champion+market-wise&hl=en The rival ''

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of raceh ...

'' award went to Devil Diver.

Stud record

Retired to

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay ba ...

, Market Wise met with modest success as a stallion. In addition to multiple stakes winner Wise Margin, he sired the very speedy To Market, a colt who in 1952 set two track records for 1¼ miles with a time of 2:01.40 in both the

at Suffolk Downs in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and the

Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap The Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap is a Grade III race for thoroughbred horses run at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, Illinois each year. The Hawthorne Gold Cup trophy has always been made of solid gold. The Hawthorne Gold Cup is currently a G ...

Hawthorne Race Course Hawthorne Race Course is a racetrack for horse racing in Stickney/Cicero, Illinois, near Chicago. The oldest continually run family-owned racetrack in North America, in 2009 the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating syst ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. To Market sired Hurry to Market, the 1963 American Co-Champion Two-Year-Old Colt.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1938 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Virginia Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses Thoroughbred family 22-c