Risen Star (March 25, 1985 – March 13, 1998) 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 ...

who won 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 ...

and

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 ...

in 1988.

Background

The dark bay colt was the son of the great

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

winner

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winne ...

and out of the mare Ribbon. Bred by

Arthur B. Hancock III Arthur Boyd Hancock III (born February 22, 1943, in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American owner of Thoroughbred racehorses, the owner of Stone Farm, a 2,000 acre (8 km2) horse breeding operation in Paris, Kentucky, and a composer of Bluegrass ...

and Leone J. Peters, Risen Star was bought by

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

ns Ronnie Lamarque and Louie Roussel III at the 1987 Calder Two-Year-Olds In Training sale. He was trained by Roussel, a devout Roman Catholic who was stricken by

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

but recovered. Ten percent of Risen Star's winnings were donated to the "Little Sisters of the Poor," a Roman Catholic order of nuns.

Racing career

As a two-year-old Risen Star was lightly raced, winning the Minstrel Stakes at Louisiana Downs. Risen Star started his sophomore season by winning the

Grade 2 Grade 2 may refer to: * Grade 2, the second year of primary education. * Grade 2 horse races, the second tier in worldwide horse racing. * Grade 2, the English punk band. Grade II may refer to: * Grade II listed buildings that are of special inter ...

Louisiana Derby The Louisiana Derby is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Run in late March, the race is open to horses, age three, willing to race miles on the dirt. It currently o ...

under jockey

Shane Romero Shane may refer to: People * Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress * Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946) * iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer * Shane (name), a masculine given name and a sur ...

. Then, two weeks prior to the Kentucky Derby he had another Grade 2 victory in the

Lexington Stakes The Lexington Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually in April during at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky during their spr ...

in which he was ridden by

Jacinto Vasquez Jacinto is a Spanish and Portuguese name meaning Hyacinth, which can refer to Saint Hyacinth, a Roman martyr (Hyacinth and Protus), or the Hyacinth flower itself. Common English nicknames for "Jacinto" are "Chinto" and "Jesse". Jacinto has onl ...

. He went into the prestigious

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 ...

as the morning-line third choice. All the colts in the Derby laid off the pace, their jockeys believing that the front-running grey filly Winning Colors would tire at the end of the race. But she didn't tire, and won the race by a neck going wire to wire. Under

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 ...

Eddie Delahoussaye Edward J. Delahoussaye (born September 21, 1951) is a retired American Thoroughbred jockey from New Iberia, Louisiana. He began his career in 1968 and ten years later became the top American jockey with 384 wins. He has won the Kentucky Derby ...

, Risen Star was forced to the outside on the backstretch where he stayed until making a charge at the head of the stretch. He was too late to make up all the lost ground to the front runner and finished third. Two weeks later in the

, Risen Star and Delahoussaye won the second leg of the Triple Crown, turning the tables on his filly rival Winning Colors to win by 1 lengths over Brian's Time, Winning Colors, and local favorite

Private Terms Private Terms (April 6, 1985 – January 22, 2010) was a millionaire American Thoroughbred racehorse and successful stallion. He was the son of Private Account, who in turn was the son of the great Damascus. Bred in Kentucky by Stuart Janney, Jr. ...

. With his sire (

) and grandsire (

Bold Ruler Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 11, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 American Horse of the Year, Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign t ...

), three successive generations won the Preakness Stakes, a feat accomplished only one other time.Kauai King (USA)
/ref> In the

, the third leg of the Triple Crown, Risen Star and Delahoussaye pulled away from the field to win by 14 lengths with a final time of 2:26. It is the fourth fastest Belmont Stakes behind Hall of Famers

A.P. Indy A.P. Indy (March 31, 1989 – February 21, 2020) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic on his way to American Horse of the Year honors in 1992. His time in the Belmont Stakes tied Easy Goer for ...

Easy Goer Easy Goer (March 21, 1986 – May 12, 1994) was an American Champion Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse known for earning American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors in 1988 and defeating 1989 American Horse of the Year Sunday Silence in th ...

, and

. Because of his two Classic victories, Risen Star won the second $1,000,000 Chrysler Triple Crown Bonus that was awarded to the three-year-old with the best finishes in the three races.

Retirement

An injury that occurred in the Belmont forced Risen Star into early retirement. He won the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...

as 1988's top three-year-old. By winning the Eclipse, he became the first third-generation Eclipse Award winner in the same category (his sire Secretariat won in 1973 and his grandsire

won in 1957). Risen Star was retired to stud and went on to sire the millionaire

Grade One Grade 1 may refer to: *First grade, the first school year of primary education. *A Grade 1 Graded stakes race horse race * ''Grade One'' (TV series), a 2014 Chinese TV variety show *Grade 1 listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed b ...

winner

Star Standard Star Standard (April 22, 1992 – December 9, 1997) was a millionaire American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred in Kentucky by Highclere, Inc. & Louis Roussel III and raced under the William Condren banner as his owner. He was sired by top stalli ...

, as well as German runner Risen Raven. Risen Star died on March 13, 1998 at Walmac International, where he is buried. A top Kentucky Derby prep race, the

Risen Star Stakes The Risen Star Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses at a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the dirt run annually in February, usually during the President's Day weekend at Fair Grounds Race Course i ...

, is named in his honor. it is held annually at

Fair Grounds Race Course Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC. As early as 1838 Bernard de Marigny, Ju ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Breeding

References

Risen Star's pedigree and partial racing stats
{{Belmont Stakes Winners 1985 racehorse births 1998 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners Preakness Stakes winners Belmont Stakes winners Hancock family American Grade 1 Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 9-c