The Native Dancer Stakes is an American

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

run annually at

Laurel Park Racecourse Laurel Park, formerly Laurel Race Course, is an American thoroughbred racetrack located just outside Laurel, Maryland which opened in 1911. The track is miles in circumference. Its name was changed to "Laurel Race Course" for several decades unt ...

Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River. While the city limits are entirely in northern Prince George's County, outlying developments extend into Anne Arunde ...

. Raced in early January, it is open to horses age three and older and is contested on dirt over a distance of mile. Its current purse is $75,000. From 1966 to 2002, the race was known as the Native Dancer Handicap. It has been run at four different distances; for the first eleven years (from 1966 to 1976), the race was run at 6 furlongs, from 1977 to 1984 and in 2005 it was raced at a distance of miles; in 1985 and from 2006 through 2010 the race was contested at its present distance of 1 mile; and from 1986 through 2003, it was run at a distance of miles. The race was originally run at

Bowie Race Track The Bowie Race Track was a horse racing track located just outside the city limits of Bowie, Maryland. The one mile oval racetrack, known as Prince George's Park, was opened October 1, 1914 under the auspices of the Southern Maryland Agricultural ...

from 1966 through 1984.2007 Maryland Jockey Club Media Guide, page 173 on March 3, 2007. The race is named in honor of

Alfred G. Vanderbilt Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Sr. (October 20, 1877 – May 7, 1915) was a wealthy American businessman, and a member of the Vanderbilt family. A sportsman, he participated in and pioneered a number of related endeavors. He died in the sinking of ...

Native Dancer Native Dancer (March 27, 1950 – November 16, 1967), nicknamed the ''Gray Ghost'', was one of the most celebrated and accomplished Thoroughbred racehorses in American history and was the first horse made famous through the medium of television. ...

. Native Dancer was the huge gray son of two of thoroughbred's top racing horses of the decade in Polynesian and

Geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female ...

. He was named ''Horse of the Year'' as a two-year-old and then named a repeat winner as a four-year-old. He also won the titles of ''Champion 2-year-old, Champion 3-year-old and Champion older horse'' in three consecutive years. Native Dancer won 21 of 22 races and earned $785,240. His 18 stakes victories included 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 ...

, 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 ...

and 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 ...

. Native Dancer's only loss was in the

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 ...

. Following a trip in which he was bumped three times, he finished second, a head behind Dark Star. Upon his retirement, Native Dancer entered into stud at Vanderbilt's

Sagamore Farm Sagamore Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding farm on Belmont Avenue in Reisterstown, Maryland. Established in 1925, it was owned by Isaac Edward Emerson of Baltimore, who assembled the property as a gift for his daughter, Margaret. A ...

Glyndon, Maryland Glyndon is an unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1871 by Dr. Charles A. Leas, the village is located in the northwest section of Baltimore County and is primarily a residential suburb of metropolitan ...

, where he remained until his death in 1967. He was buried at Sagamore and was the sire of 45 stakes winners including

Raise a Native Raise a Native (April 18, 1961 – July 28, 1988) was an undefeated Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse that was named 1963 champion two-year-old colt in the Turf and Sport Digest poll and was the highest rated juvenile in the Experimental Free ...

(grandsire to

Mr. Prospector Mr. Prospector (January 28, 1970 – June 1, 1999) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who became an outstanding breeding stallion and notable sire of sires. A sprinter whose career was cut short by repeated injuries, he won seven of his 14 starts, i ...

Alydar Alydar (March 23, 1975 – November 15, 1990) was an American Thoroughbred race horse and sire. A chestnut colt, he was most famous for finishing a close second to Affirmed in all three races of the 1978 Triple Crown. With each successive ...

Natalma Natalma (March 26, 1957 – January 29, 1985) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the dam (mother) of the most important sire, and sire of sires, of the late 20th Century, Northern Dancer. She also established a highly infl ...

and

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 ...

Records

Speed record: * 6 furlongs - 1:09.00 - Tap The Tree (1974) * 1 mile - 1:34.80 - Throng (2008) * miles - 1:40.20 - Jims Third Bolero (2005) * miles - 1:48.40 - Gulf Reckoning (1996) Most wins by an owner: * 2 - Jack Owens (1986, 1987) Most wins by a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

: * 3 -

Edgar Prado Edgar S. Prado (Lima, June 12, 1967) is a Peruvian-born American jockey, a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. His big break came in 1997 when he won 536 races, making him the fourth rider in history to win 500 races in ...

(1991, 1992, 1995) * 3 - Vincent Bracciale Jr. (1974, 1981, 1983) Most wins by a trainer: * 3 -

Michael Trombetta Michael J. Trombetta (born October 26, 1966, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American Thoroughbred horse trainer who began his training career in 1989 and who was the Maryland Trainer of the Year in 2005. Trombetta gained a national profile when Sw ...

(2006, 2013 & 2014)

Winners of the Native Dancer Stakes since 1966

A # designates that the race was run in two divisions in 1978 and 1982.

References

{{Reflist
Native Dancer Stakes at Pedigree Query
Open middle distance horse races Ungraded stakes races in the United States Laurel Park Racecourse Bowie Race Track Horse races in Maryland Recurring sporting events established in 1966

Records

Winners of the Native Dancer Stakes since 1966

See also

References