Peter Pan (1904–1933) was an American Thoroughbred

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 ...

, bred and raced by prominent horseman,

James R. Keene James Robert Keene (February 8, 1838 - January 3, 1913) was a Wall Street stockbroker and a major thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder. Biography He was born in London, England in 1838. He was fourteen years of age when his family imm ...

. As winner of 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 ...

, the

Brooklyn Derby 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 ...

and the Brighton Handicap, he was later inducted into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

. His progeny included many famous American racehorses, including several winners of 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 ...

and the Preakness Stakes.

Background

Bred and raced by prominent horseman,

, Peter Pan was out of the mare Cinderella whose sire was Hermit, the 1867 winner of

England's England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

most important race, The Derby. Peter Pan was sired by Commando, a 1901 American Classic Race winner who in turn was a son of Domino, the

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

of 1893. Peter Pan was conditioned by future Hall of Fame trainer

James G. Rowe, Sr. James Gordon Rowe Sr. (1857 – August 2, 1929) was an American jockey and horse trainer elected to the Hall of Fame for Thoroughbred Horse racing. He won the Belmont Stakes twice as a jockey and 8 times as a trainer. He had 34 champion horses t ...

Racing career

At age 2, Peter Pan won four of his eight starts including the prestigious 1906

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 ...

. In 1907, Peter Pan won six of his nine starts with two seconds, one of which was in the spring in the Withers Stakes. As the prestigious U.S. Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing had not at that time been established, the 3-year-old Peter Pan was not entered in the

or the Preakness Stakes. However, he won the then 1⅜ miles

, a race that is now the third leg of the Triple Crown series. In winning the Belmont, he defeated Frank Gill who had beaten him in the Withers Stakes. In 1907, Peter Pan also won the important

, the Standard Stakes at Gravesend Race Track, as well as the Advance and the Tidal Stakes at

Sheepshead Bay Race Track Sheepshead Bay Race Track was an American Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay, New York. Early history The racetrack was built by a group of prominent businessmen from the New Yo ...

. Shortly after winning the Brighton Handicap he suffered a tendon injury and was retired to

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

duty at his owner's Castelton Stud. In a review of Peter Pan's win in the 1907 Brighton Handicap in front of 40,000 fans, the '' New York Telegraph'' was quoted as saying the horse "accomplished a task that completely overshadowed any previous 3-year-old performance in turf history."

Honors

Following its creation, Peter Pan was inducted in the

in 1956, as were his sire Commando and grandsire Domino, as well as his granddaughter Top Flight.Peter Pan's profile at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
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Stud record

Peter Pan stood at his owner's

Castleton Stud Castleton Lyons near Lexington, Kentucky, is an American horse-racing stable and breeding business best known by the name Castleton Farm. History The farm was established in 1793 when Virginian John Breckinridge, a future U.S. senator and attor ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

then was sold for US$100,000 in 1912 to a breeding farm in France. Brought back to the United States, he was sold to Harry Payne Whitney and stood at Brookdale Farm in Lincroft, New Jersey until 1915 when he became the foundation sire for the new Whitney Farm in

. Peter Pan died in December 1933 at the age of twenty-nine and was buried at the Whitney Farm in Lexington (now part of the

Gainesway Farm Gainesway Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding business in Lexington, Kentucky. It was originally called Greentree Farms. The 1,500 acre (6 km²) property has been home to stallions such as Youth and Exceller and numerous others w ...

Progeny

Peter Pan's progeny includes: * Black Toney (1911) - Foundation sire for Idle Hour Stock Farm, among the U.S. top twenty sires on ten occasions * Pennant - sire of Hall of Fame inductees Equipoise & Jolly Roger / 1924 U.S. Co-Champion Two Year Old Filly

Maud Muller "Maud Muller" is a poem from 1856 written by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892). It is about a beautiful maid named Maud Muller. One day, while harvesting hay, she meets a judge from the local town. Each is smitten with the other. The judge t ...

/ 1938 Preakness Stakes winner Dauber * Puss In Boots (1913) - 1915 U.S. Champion Two Year Old Filly * Vexatious (1916) - 1919 Champion Three Year Old Filly * Prudery (1918) - 1920 U.S. Champion Two Year Old Filly & 1921 Champion Three Year Old Filly * Tryster (1918) - U.S. Champion Two Year Old Colt Damsire of notable horses such as: * Bostonian (1924) - won 1927 Preakness Stakes * Whiskery (1924) - won 1927

, Champion Three Year Old Colt *

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

(1925) - won 1928 Preakness Stakes * Top Flight (1929) - U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, 1931 U.S. Champion Two Year Old Filly & 1932 Champion Three Year Old Filly Grandsire of notable horses such as: * Black Gold (1921) - Hall of Fame inductee, 1924 Kentucky Derby winner * Equipose (1928-1938) - National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame inductee, Two Time Horse of the Year (1932,1933) *

Brokers Tip Brokers Tip (March 16, 1930 – July 14, 1953), by Black Toney out of the French mare Forteresse, was a Thoroughbred racehorse and the only horse in history whose sole win was in the Kentucky Derby. Kentucky Derby His Derby win went down in hi ...

(1930) - 1933 Kentucky Derby winner *

Bimelech Bimelech (February 27, 1937 – 1966) was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won two Triple Crown races and was a Champion at both age two and three. He was ranked #84 among U.S. racehorses of the 20th century. After retiring to stud, he si ...

(1937) - Hall of Fame inductee, 1940 Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner

Pedigree

References

Peter Pan's pedigree and partial racing stats
{{Belmont Stakes Winners 1904 racehorse births 1933 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses Belmont Stakes winners United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees United States Champion Thoroughbred Sires Thoroughbred family 2-o Chefs-de-Race