Platter (foaled 1941 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 ...

) 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 ...

Champion racehorse. He is best known for his performances as a two-year-old in 1943, when he was the best American colt of his generation.

Background

He was bred and raced by George D. Widener Jr., and conditioned for racing by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Bert Mulholland,

Racing career

In 1943 he won the

Pimlico Futurity The Laurel Futurity is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late September at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Run over a distance of miles on turf, at one time it was a Grade I stakes race on dirt, and one of the riches ...

and the

Walden Stakes The Walden Stakes is a discontinued Thoroughbred horse race run from 1906 through 1948 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Raced on dirt, the event was open to two-year-olds horses of either sex. The race was named in honor of Maryland-b ...

under jockey

Conn McCreary Conn N. McCreary (June 17, 1921 - June 29, 1979) was a United States Hall of Fame jockey and trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing who won four American Classic Races. Riding career Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Conn McCreary began his professio ...

and was voted

American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt The American Champion Two-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 the '' Daily Racing F ...

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 ...

. The rival Turf & Sports Digest Magazine poll was topped by Occupy. As a three-year-old, an injury kept Platter out of racing until early May in an allowance race test. The colt did not run in the 1944 Kentucky Derby but finished second to

Pensive Pensive (February 5, 1941 – May 20, 1949) was a bright chestnut Thoroughbred racehorse that in 1944 won the first two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown. Pensive also began only the second sire line "hat trick" in the Kentucky Derby, as his son P ...

in the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series, 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 () o ...

. He was injured in the Belmont Stakes and had to be pulled up.

Stud career

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 ...

duty, Platter met with limited success. Of his limited number of offspring, Platan met with the most success in racing, notably winning the 1953

Lawrence Realization Stakes The Lawrence Realization Stakes was an American horse race first run on the turf in 1889. The race, for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts, geldings and fillies, was last run in 2005. History Inaugurated at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track at Gravese ...

and 1955

Arlington Handicap The Arlington Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged four years old over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the turf held annually in late May or early June at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. T ...

References

{{reflist 1941 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 11-g Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses