Xtra Heat (March 3, 1998—December 2022) 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 ...

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, an ...

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 ...

and

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

. Despite competing almost exclusively at sprint distances, she was named

American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ...

at 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 ...

s for 2001. She was inducted into the

National Museum of Racing & Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

in 2015.

Background

Xtra Heat was a bay mare bred in Kentucky by Pope McLean. She was by far the most successful horse sired by the

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 ...

winner Dixieland Heat. During her racing career she was owned by Kenneth Taylor, Harry Deitchman, and her trainer, John Salzman, Sr.

Racing career

In 2001, Xtra Heat set a new track record for six

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...

s at

Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Ol ...

. Although she ran second by a neck in the 2001

Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older. Run on dirt Corrected grade for Santa Anita sprintover a distance of 6 Furlongs ( mile), the race has been held annually si ...

to winner

Squirtle Squirt {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Squirtle Squirt , image = , caption = , sire = Marquetry , grandsire = Conquistador Cielo , dam = Lost The Code , damsire = Lost Code , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1998 , country = United States , c ...

, her performances that year earned Xtra Heat the

. Xtra Heat was retired after campaigning in 2003, having won 26 of her 35 lifetime starts and with earnings in excess of $2.3 million. On November 3, 2002, following the Breeders' Cup, Xtra Heat was auctioned at the Fasig-Tipton November Select Sale. She failed to sell when bidding "stalled" at $1.7 million and was returned to her owners. But on November 5, 2002, it was announced that the ClassicStar partnership (consisting of S. David Plummer, Tony Ferguson, Thom Robinson, and John Parrot) purchased Xtra Heat privately. The price was not disclosed.

Breeding career

Xtra Heat produced 14 foals, 12 of which have raced. Among her successful foals are the

Gone West Gone West (March 10, 1984 – September 7, 2009) was an American Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse. Bred by William O. Reed, he was a son of the influential sire Mr. Prospector. His dam, Secrettame, was a daughter of 1973 United States Tripl ...

-sired Southwestern Heat, winner of the Sonny Hine Stakes at

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

, and the

Elusive Quality Elusive Quality (January 27, 1993 – March 14, 2018) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was a record-setting sprinter on the racetrack and the leading sire in North America of 2004. He sired the 2004 Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones. ...

-sired Elusive Heat, who won a restricted stakes race at Saratoga.

Death

In March 2023 Woodford Thoroughbreds announced that Xtra Heat died the previous December at the age of 24.

Pedigree

{{Pedigree , name = Xtra Heat , f = Dixieland Heat , m = Begin , ff =

Dixieland Band Dixieland Band (1980 – April 7, 2010) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Background Dixieland Band was bred by Bayard Sharp, a prominent and highly respected Delaware horseman and president of The Blood-Horse Inc. Out of th ...

, fm = Evening Silk , mf = Hatchet Man , mm = Crimson Charla , fff =

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...

, ffm = Mississippi Mud , fmf =

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, fmm = Fight On , mff = The Axe , mfm = Bebopper , mmf =

Crimson Satan Crimson Satan (1959–1982) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Background Crimson Satan was a chestnut horse bred and raced by Peter W. Salmen Sr.'s Crimson King Farm at Lexington, Kentucky. His dam was Salmen's Argentine-bred mar ...

, mmm = Wood Nymph , ffff =

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...

, fffm =

Natalma Natalma (March 26, 1957 – January 29, 1985) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the dam (mother) of the most important sire, and sire of sires, of the late 20th Century, Northern Dancer. She also established a highly inf ...

, ffmf = Delta Judge , ffmm = Sand Buggy , fmff = Sword Dancer , fmfm = Kerala , fmmf = Dark Star , fmmm = Forward March , mfff = Mahmoud , mffm = Blackball , mfmf =

Tom Fool Tom Fool (March 31, 1949 – August 20, 1976) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1953 American Horse of the Year and was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame. He sired the champion racehorses Buckpasser and Tim Tam. B ...

, mfmm = Bebop , mmff = Spy Song , mmfm = Papila , mmmf = Deerlands , mmmm = Hukilau }

References