thoroughbred horse racing
Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...
The Finn
The Finn (1912–1925) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that is best remembered as the winner of the 1915 Belmont Stakes. He won six other stakes races that year and was retroactively recognized as the American Champion three-year-old colt ...
and was out of the mare Miss Kearney (by Planudes). Bred by the famous horseman
John E. Madden
John Edward Madden (December 28, 1856 – November 3, 1929) was a prominent American Thoroughbred and Standardbred owner, breeder and trainer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He owned Hamburg Place Stud in Lexington, Kentucky ...
, Zev was owned by the
Rancocas Stable
Rancocas Farm was an American thoroughbred horse racing stud farm and racing stable located on Monmouth Road ( County Road 537) in the Jobstown section of Springfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey.
Pierre Lorillard IV
The farm was foun ...
Sinclair Oil
Sinclair Oil Corporation was an American petroleum corporation, founded by Harry F. Sinclair on May 1, 1916, the Sinclair Oil and Refining Corporation combined, amalgamated, the assets of 11 small petroleum companies. Originally a New York cor ...
, who was a central figure in the
Teapot Dome scandal
The Teapot Dome scandal was a bribery scandal involving the administration of United States President Warren G. Harding from 1921 to 1923. Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyomi ...
and served time in prison.
Sinclair named the horse in honor of his friend and personal lawyer, Colonel James William (also known as J.W.) Zeverly.
The following year, he was the dominant three-year-old in America, winning a number of important
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 ...
stakes races under jockey
Earl Sande
Earl Harold Sande (November 13, 1898 – August 19, 1968) was an American Hall of Fame jockey and thoroughbred horse trainer.
Early life in South Dakota
Born in Groton, South Dakota, Earl Sande started out as a bronco buster in the early 1900s b ...
. Included in his victories were the
Lawrence Realization Stakes
The Lawrence Realization Stakes was an American horse race first run on the turf in 1889. The race, for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts, geldings and fillies, was last run in 2005.
History
Inaugurated at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track at Gravese ...
and the most prestigious race in the United States, the Kentucky Derby, for which David J. Leary was credited as trainer, as he was for the
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 ...
, which was run before the Kentucky Derby in 1923. Zev encountered problems in the Preakness and finished 12th but came back to win the Derby and then the Belmont Stakes.
On October 20, 1923, one of the most significant
match race
A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.
In sailboat racing it is differentiated from a fleet race, which almost always involves three or more competitors competing against each other, and team racing where teams consi ...
Papyrus
Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...
After successfully campaigning as a four-year-old, Zev retired as racing's all-time leading money earner, surpassing
Man o' War
Man o' War (March 29, 1917 – November 1, 1947) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as the greatest racehorse of all time. Several sports publications, including ''The Blood-Horse'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ESPN, and t ...
's record.
Stud career
At stud, he proved less successful than he had on the track, at best siring two minor stakes winners (Zevson and Zida).
In 1983, Zev was inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. In ''
The Blood-Horse
''BloodHorse'' is a multimedia news organization covering Thoroughbred racing and breeding that started with a newsletter first published in 1916 as a monthly bulletin put out by the Thoroughbred Horse Association.