Royal Tourist (1905–1909) 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 ...
racehorse who won the
American Classic
''American Classic'' is the 57th studio album by American country music artist Willie Nelson, released on August 25, 2009. It focuses on the American popular songbook and standard jazz classics, and includes guest appearances by Norah Jones and ...
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 ...
in 1908 and who later that year set a
World Record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
time in winning the Winters Handicap at
Emeryville Race Track in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
.
Background
Bred and raced by
Harry Payne Whitney
Harry Payne Whitney (April 29, 1872 – October 26, 1930) was an American businessman, thoroughbred horse breeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family.
Early years
Whitney was born in New York City on April 29, 1872, as the eldest son ...
, Royal Tourist's sire was the unraced British import, Sandringham, a son of the outstanding runner and nine-time
Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland
The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current champion is Frankel, who ...
,
St. Simon. His dam was Leisure, who was also the dam of the 1914 Preakness Stakes winner,
Holiday. Leisure's sire was
Meddler, the
leading sire in North America in 1904 and 1906.
Racing career
Racing at age two under trainer
John Rogers, on September 10, 1907 Royal Tourist earned his first win in the
Autumn Stakes at
Sheepshead Bay Race Track with a stakes record time of 1:11 flat for six furlongs. He went on that year to win the
Oakdale Handicap at
Aqueduct Racetrack. As a three-year-old in 1908, Royal Tourist's race conditioning was handled by
Jack Joyner who took over as trainer of the Whitney racing stable on the death of John Rogers in February. In the pre
U.S. Triple Crown era, Royal Tourist was not entered in the
Kentucky Derby but on June 2, 1908, under jockey
Eddie Dugan, he won what is now the second leg of the Triple Crown series, the Preakness Stakes, contested at the time at a distance of 1
1/
16 miles at
Gravesend Race Track
Gravesend Race Track at Gravesend in Brooklyn, New York was a Thoroughbred horse racing facility that opened in 1886 and closed in 1910. The track was built by the Brooklyn Jockey Club with the backing of Philip and Michael Dwyer, two wealthy raci ...
.
Harry Whitney sold Royal Tourist in the early fall of 1908 to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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an
Charles R. Ellison. The owner of a number of successful horses, Ellison had won the 1903 Kentucky Derby with
Judge Himes and finished second in 1906 with the very good filly, Lady Navarre. Ellison sent Royal Tourist to race in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
where in November he set a new
World Record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
of 1:44 1/5 for 1
1/
16 miles on dirt in the Winters Handicap at Emeryville Race Track in
Oakland, California
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
. The colt wintered in California and continued to race there in 1909.
Royal Tourist died of a fever while still in training at the Hamilton (Ont.) racetrack stables on September 27, 1909.
Pedigree
References
{{Preakness Stakes Winners
1905 racehorse births
1909 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in Kentucky
Racehorses trained in the United States
Horse racing track record setters
Preakness Stakes winners
Whitney racehorses
Thoroughbred family A5