Old England (1899–1908) 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 ...

best known for winning the 1902

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 ...

. Owned and trained by Green B. Morris, he was sired by Goldfinch. Old England was out of the mare Queen Bess, a daughter of Marden.

Preakness Stakes

The twenty-seventh running of the

took place on Tuesday, May 27, 1902, at Gravesend Race Track on

Coney Island, New York Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

. On that day Old England went off as the second favorite at odds of 9–5 in the field of seven. In that race he broke well with a good start in third place under jockey Lee Jackson. Rounding the first turn, Old England moved forward into first place by one length. The pace of the race was somewhat fast that day with the first quarter in :24-3/5 and the half in :48-3/5. As the race progressed, Old England stayed in front by a single length down the entire backstretch and around the final turn. Near the top of the lane two challengers made a charge at Old England but in the last sixteenth of a mile Namtor faded and dropped off while Major Daingerfield pulled up to Old England's side and fought with him all the way to the wire. In the end, Old England prevailed by a scant nose. Major Daingerfield finished second having outdistanced third-place finisher Namtor by six lengths. The final time for the one mile and 70 yard race on dirt was 1:45-4/5 over a fast track. Old England won almost 70% of the total purse of $3,000 netting earnings $2,240.

Racing career

Old England started racing late in his two-year-old season. In 1901 he won his maiden and won and placed in allowance races at tracks around New York. Throughout his three-year-old season Old England compiled one of the best racing records in the first quarter of the century. In the early part of 1902 he won the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

and

Seagate Stakes The Seagate Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1899 through 1907 at New York's Brighton Beach Race Course then for a final time in 1910 with a drastically reduced purse at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New Yor ...

while placing second in the

Withers Stakes The Withers Stakes is a Graded stakes race, Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three years old horses over the distance of miles on the dirt scheduled annually in February at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York (state), New York. T ...

Aqueduct Race Track Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park and Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack located within New York City limits. Its racing ...

. After his

win he continued to have success by winning stakes races. Old England went on to win the Broadway Stakes at a mile and one sixteenth at Gravesend Race Track on

. He won a six furlong sprint in the Toboggan Handicap at Aqueduct in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

. He also won the Crotona Handicap and ran third in the

Equality Stakes The Equality Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1902 thru 1909 at Sheepshead Bay Race Track at Sheepshead Bay, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it was raced over a distance of one mile on dirt. Historica ...

. At age four Old England had a strong runner-up finish to

William C. Whitney William Collins Whitney (July 5, 1841February 2, 1904) was an American political leader and financier and a prominent descendant of the John Whitney family. He served as Secretary of the Navy in the first administration of President Grover Clev ...

's Gunfire in the Metropolitan Handicap at one mile 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 ...

on Memorial Day weekend. His death was reported to The Jockey Club in April 1908.

Breeding

References

{{Preakness Stakes Winners 1899 racehorse births 1908 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Preakness Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 1-k