Vagrant, (May 17, 1873 – c.1890) 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 that is best known for his 1876
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 ...
win. Vagrant was the first of nine
gelding
A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, makin ...
s to win the Kentucky Derby and was a
white-stockinged bay colt sired by
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
out of the mare Lazy (by Scythian (GB)). Virgil was notable for breeding successful nineteenth century race horses and stood at
Milton H. Sanford's Preakness Stud
Preakness Stud was the Thoroughbred horse racing and breeding operation established by Medway, Massachusetts businessman Milton H. Sanford in the Preakness section of Wayne, New Jersey at what today is the corner of Valley Road and Preakness Av ...
in
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
. Vagrant is related, through his sire, to two other early Kentucky Derby winners,
Hindoo (1881) and
Ben Ali (1886).
Racing career
While Virgil was still a little known sire, Vagrant was sold for just $250 to Thomas J. Nichols at the Preakness Stud 1874 yearling sale. A promising two-year-old, Vagrant won the 1875 Belle Meade Stakes, Alexander Stakes and
Sanford Stakes
The Sanford Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the third week of July at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. A six furlong sprint race, the Grade III event is open to two-year-old horses.
Inaug ...
while owned by Thomas J. Nichols, and sharing the title of
U.S. Champion 2-Year-Old Colt with
Parole
Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...
that year.
As a three-year-old, Vagrant won five of his six starts at up to a mile, and was clearly the top juvenile of 1876. That year, Vagrant won the
Phoenix Hotel Stakes by 50 yards and also won the Grand Exposition Stakes in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.
Phoenix_Stakes_
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After the Phoenix Stakes (United States)">Phoenix Stakes
The Phoenix Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it is sc ...
win and before the Kentucky Derby, millionaire William Backhouse Astor, Jr.">William B. Astor, Jr. purchased Vagrant for $7,000, an impressive figure for a thoroughbred of that era.
The second Kentucky Derby was run on a fast track with a field of 11 horses.