Round Table (April 6, 1954 – June 13, 1987) 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 ...

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

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 ...

. He is considered the greatest

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricultu ...

horse in American racing history.

Background

Round Table was foaled at

Claiborne Farm Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred horse breeding operation near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910 by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Stud in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever since. ...

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 to ...

, on the night of April 6, 1954.

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 ...

was foaled at the same farm, on the same night, and both stallions won

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 ...

honors in their respective careers, returning to Claiborne to stand at stud. He was trained by

Moody Jolley Moody S. Jolley (March 23, 1910 – February 4, 1976) was an American thoroughbred horse racing owner, breeder and trainer. His son, LeRoy, trained Ridan and other horses owned by the family. Career He began his professional training career i ...

Racing career

Round Table's most significant win as a two-year-old came in October 1956, when he won the

Breeders' Futurity Stakes The Breeders' Futurity Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. Currently offering a purse of $500,000, the race is open to two-year-old horses and is run ...

Keeneland Race Course Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for i ...

. On February 9, 1957,

owner Arthur B. Hancock Jr. sold Round Table after his second start of the three-year-old season to

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

oilman Travis M. Kerr. The sale agreement included Round Table standing at

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 bar ...

at Claiborne when his racing career was over with Claiborne receiving twenty percent of his breeding income. Racing at age three, with Kerr having hired

William Molter William Molter (June 2, 1910 – April 2, 1960) was an American National Champion and Hall of Fame horse trainer in the sport of Thoroughbred racing. A native of Fredericksburg, Texas, Molter began his career in horse racing as a jockey at race ...

as his trainer, Round Table won the

Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is run ...

at Keeneland in track record time. He then finished third to Calumet Farm's

Iron Liege Iron Liege (March 11, 1954 – December 14, 1972) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1957 Kentucky Derby. Background Iron Liege was a bay horse bred and owned by Calumet Farm. He was sired by Calumet's leading s ...

in 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 ...

, with the heavily favored

finishing 4th. After the Derby, Round Table was shipped back to race in California. Round Table started a streak where won eleven consecutive races, including the

Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $400,000. ...

and

United Nations Handicap The United Nations Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and older run over a distance of one and three-eighth miles on the turf held annually in July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. The event ...

which later became Grade I stakes races. He was the leading money winner of 1957 and won the first of his three straight U.S. Champion Turf Horse titles. In 1958, Round Table dominated American Thoroughbred racing. He began the year by capturing the races that are now known as the Strub Series at

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

, becoming the first horse to win the

Malibu Stakes The Malibu Stakes is a race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses of either gender held each December at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. The race is at a distance of seven furlongs '' and is the first leg of Santa Anita Park's Strub Seri ...

, the

San Fernando Stakes The San Fernando Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to four-year-old horses, it is contested on at a distance of miles (8.5 furlongs) on Pro-Ride synthetic ...

and the Santa Anita Maturity, now the Strub Stakes. He ended the season as the winner of every racing award available to him, including Horse of the Year. Five years old in 1959, he won 9 of his 14 races and his third Champion Turf Horse title. In the January 24, 1959

San Marcos Handicap The San Marcos Stakes is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late January or early February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to horses aged four and older, it is raced on turf over a distance of one and o ...

race on turf, Round Table carried 132 pounds when he broke the

course and United States record with a time of 1:58 2/5 for a mile and one-quarter on turf. It marked the fifth time in his career that Round Table had run a mile and one-quarter under two minutes. An astonishing feat, the closest to that number for any other horse in history to run that distance under the two minute mark was just two times. Round Table's lifetime earnings were $1,749,869, and he was the third American Thoroughbred to earn more than a million dollars, after

Citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of ...

and

Nashua Nashua may refer to: * Nashaway people, Native American tribe living in 17th-century New England Places In Australia: * Nashua, New South Wales In the United States: * Nashua, California * Nashua, Iowa * Nashua, Minnesota * Nashua, Kansas City ...

. Of his 66 starts, he won 43, placed in 8 and showed in 5, and set or equaled 14 track records during his career, including one world record and two U.S. records.

Stud record

Retired at the end of the 1959 racing season to stand at

at Claiborne Farm, Round Table was the

leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to stallions which are based in N ...

in 1972. He sired 83 stakes winners including He's A Smoothie,

Baldric A baldric (also baldrick, bawdrick, bauldrick as well as other rare or obsolete variations) is a belt worn over one shoulder that is typically used to carry a weapon (usually a sword) or other implement such as a bugle or drum. The word may ...

Apalachee The Apalachee were an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, specifically an Indigenous people of Florida, who lived in the Florida Panhandle until the early 18th century. They lived between the Aucilla River and Ochlockonee River,Bobby ...

Artaius Artaius is a Celtic epithetXavier Delamarre (2003). ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise.'' Paris: Editions Errance, p.56 applied to the Roman god Mercury during the Romano-Celtic period. It is known from a single inscription from Beaucroissan ...

Cellini Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...

, Advocator,

Flirting Around Flirting Around (5 February 1971–1993) was a Kentucky-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A specialist sprinter, he showed some promise when winning one of his three races as a two-year-old. In the following year he esta ...

King's Bishop King's Bishop (1969–1981) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background King's Bishop was a bay horse bred in Kentucky by Warner L. Jones, Jr. He was sired by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Round Table. He was out of the mare Sp ...

, and Poker, who was the damsire of two Hall of Fame inductees,

Seattle Slew Seattle Slew (February 15, 1974 – May 7, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who became the tenth winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown (1977). He is one of only ...

and

Silver Charm Silver Charm (foaled February 22, 1994) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and 1998 Dubai World Cup (all of which he is the oldest surviving winner). He stood at stud in both Americ ...

. His daughter Isolt was the dam of

Sir Tristram Sir Tristram (IRE) (7 April 1971 – 21 May 1997) was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who stood at stud in New Zealand, where he sired an extraordinary 45 Group One winners, including three Melbourne Cup winners. His progeny earned him 17 ...

whose progeny earned him 17 official Leading Australasian sire premierships, plus nine broodmare sire titles. Among his descendants are Horse of the Year winners

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 ...

and Mineshaft. His worldwide reputation both in racing and as a sire was so great that when

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

visited

in 1984, she asked to see the 30-year-old horse. Her father,

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...

, bred Round Table's dam, Knight's Daughter. Round Table died at the age of 33 on June 13, 1987. He is buried in the equine cemetery at Claiborne Farm.

Pedigree

References

* McEvoy, John. ''Round Table: Thoroughbred Legends'' (2002)

Eclipse Press Blood-Horse Publications is an American multimedia publishing house focused on horse-related magazines headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. It began in 1916 through its flagship magazine, ''The Blood-Horse''. From 1961 to 2015, Blood-Horse Publica ...

Round Table at the United states' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

Video profile at YouTube of Round Table
{{Authority control 1954 racehorse births 1987 racehorse deaths American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Racehorses bred in Kentucky United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees United States Champion Thoroughbred Sires Hancock family Thoroughbred family 2-f Chefs-de-Race Horse racing track record setters