Vanlandingham (foaled April 28, 1981, in

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 ...

) was an American

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

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.

Background

Owned by

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

businessman John Ed Anthony, Vanlandingham was bred and raced by the

Loblolly Stable Loblolly Stable was a Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing stable in Lake Hamilton, Arkansas owned by businessman John Ed Anthony and his former wife Mary Lynn. The stable's first top runner was Cox's Ridge who won important races in 1977 an ...

. He was conditioned for racing by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey, who told ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'' in an October 14, 1985, article that the colt suffered from tender feet that stung him.

Racing career

1984: three-year-old season

Racing at age three, Vanlandingham broke the

Oaklawn Park Oaklawn Plantation may refer to: * Oaklawn (Huntsville, Alabama), listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) * Oaklawn Plantation (Leon County, Florida) *Oaklawn Plantation (Natchez, Louisiana) The Oaklawn Plantation is a historic ...

track record in winning the March 1984 Rebel Handicap. Sent to the Kentucky Derby, the colt fractured a

pastern The is a part of the leg of a horse between the fetlock and the top of the hoof. It incorporates the long pastern bone (proximal phalanx) and the short pastern bone (middle phalanx), which are held together by two sets of paired ligaments to fo ...

in his right foreleg during the race and finished sixteenth. The injury kept him out of racing for the next thirteen months.

1985: Championship year

In 1985, Vanlandingham won

Grade I In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

races on both dirt and

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 agricult ...

. After he won the Suburban Handicap and the

Jockey Club Gold Cup The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It has traditionally been the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the s ...

, his owner supplemented him for a fee of $360,000 to the November 2

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October ...

. Running at Aqueduct Racetrack that year, Vanlandingham finished seventh in the eight-horse field. Fourteen days later, the horse made his first start on grass at

Laurel Park Racecourse Laurel Park, formerly Laurel Race Course, is an American thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred racetrack located just outside Laurel, Maryland which opened in 1911. The track is miles in circumference. Its name was changed to "Laurel Race Course" fo ...

and, with jockey

Don MacBeth Donald MacBeth (August 29, 1949 – March 1, 1987) was a Canadian Hall of Fame jockey in North American Thoroughbred racing. Born in Red Deer, Alberta, Macbeth rode horses at Alberta racetracks before going to race in the United States. Among ho ...

aboard, won the prestigious Washington, D.C. International Stakes over a field of American and international turf stars. Vanlandingham's 1985 performances earned him 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 American Champion Older Male Horse, plus he finished third in the balloting behind

Proud Truth Proud Truth (1982–2005) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He is most notable for his win in the 1985 Breeders' Cup Classic. Background Proud Truth was bred by Dorothy Galbreath, wife of prominent horseman John W. Galbreath, at their Da ...

and winner Spend A Buck for American Horse of the Year honors.

1986: five-year-old season

Returning to racing in 1986 at age five, in his first start of the year Vanlandingham equaled the

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park, owned by The Stronach Group, is a Thoroughbred race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Thoroughbred horse racing occurs year-round, defined by three distinct race meets ...

track record while winning the Canadian Turf Handicap. After finishing off the board in the March 2

Santa Anita Handicap The Santa Anita Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade I race for horses four years old and up and was once considered the most important race for o ...

, he sustained a career-ending injury to his left front pastern while competing in the April 6

Razorback Handicap The Razorback Handicap is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for four-year-olds and older at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually in February at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The event c ...

at Oaklawn Park.

Stud record

Retired to

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 ba ...

duty, Vanlandingham met with modest success as the sire of 151 winners of 508 races. After standing in the United States, he was sent to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

in 1996.

References

{{reflist 1981 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Horse racing track record setters Eclipse Award winners Thoroughbred family 4-f