Play On (born in 1981) 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 who was the son of Stop the Music and grandson to Hail to Reason. He is best remembered for winning the 1984

Withers Stakes The Withers Stakes is a 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. The event currently carries a purse ...

and placing second three weeks later in the $400,000 Grade 1

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 ...

Gate Dancer Gate Dancer (1981–1998) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as a winner of an American Classic Race, the Preakness Stakes, and for his part in a three-horse finish in the inaugural running of the Breeders' Cup Classic. Bred in F ...

.Play On's pedigree and partial racing stats
/ref>

Racing career

Play On competed in six races over seven months in 1984 as a three-year-old. He broke his maiden at Aqueduct Racetrack in his second attempt and followed that up with a second in allowance company. In his fourth lifetime start, his connections decided to take a big step up in class and entered him in a graded stakes race: the one-turn, one-mile

, which he won in 1:36.40 under jockey

Jean-Luc Samyn Jean-Luc Samyn (born November 6, 1956 in Bailleul, Nord, France) is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. The son of a pastry chef, Jean-Luc Samyn was one of three children. At age thirteen, he went to work for the stable of trainer ...

at Aqueduct Racetrack. Three weeks later, his trainer took a shot at the second jewel of the Triple Crown. The

is run at a mile and three sixteenths on dirt at

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 ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. In that race, Play On was listed as the fourth favorite in a field of ten colts at 8:1 odds. The prohibitive odds-on favorite was

Swale Swale or Swales may refer to: Topography * Swale (landform), a low tract of land ** Bioswale, landform designed to remove silt and pollution ** Swales, found in the formation of Hummocky cross-stratification Geography * River Swale, in North ...

, 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 ...

winner. Play On broke from the outside in the tenth post position and settled in mid-pack. Around the clubhouse turn and down the backstretch, Fight Over, Taylor's Special, and

led while Play On was reserved behind the leaders in fifth. Going into the final turn, Play On moved inside and took over third, one length behind

and Fight On. Down the stretch, Gate Dancer pulled away to win by 1 1/2 lengths over Play On, who finished strongly under jockey

to place second by four lengths over a tiring Fight On. Heavy favorite

weakened going into the final turn and faded to finish a non-threatening seventh, eight lengths back. After his strong performance in the

, Play On was sold to interests in Venezuela and entered a stud career there.

References

{{reflist
Play On's pedigree and partial racing stats
1981 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 1-x Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States