Calvin (1872–1879) 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 ...

racehorse, winner of the 1875

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nickname ...

. Besides the Belmont, Calvin won two other stakes races as a two and three year old horse. He was euthanized in 1879 after contracting tetanus.

Background

Calvin was foaled in 1872, and was a

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model ...

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

sired by Tipperary. He was bred by Price McGrath. Tipperary was sired by Ringgold and his dam was Roxana by the imported stallion Chesterfield.Hogan ''Index to Stakes Winners'' p. 686 Calvin's dam was Lucy Fowler, who was sired by imported Albion. Lucy's dam was an unnamed mare sired by imported Leviathan. Calvin was a full brother to the

stakes winner ''Stakes Winner'' is a horse racing arcade video game developed by Saurus, with additional support from AM Factory, and originally published by SNK on September 27, 1995. In the game, players compete with either AI-controlled opponents or against ...

Aaron Pennington, who was foaled in 1871. Lucy was also the dam of the stakes winning Tom Bowling, who was sired by

Lexington Lexington may refer to: Places England * Laxton, Nottinghamshire, formerly Lexington Canada * Lexington, a district in Waterloo, Ontario United States * Lexington, Kentucky, the largest city with this name * Lexington, Massachusetts, the oldes ...

and was foaled in 1870.Hogan ''Index to Stakes Winners'' p. 313

Racing career

As a two-year-old, Calvin won the 1874

July Stakes The July Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and geldings. It is run on the July Course at Newmarket over a distance of 6 furlongs (1,207 metres), and it ...

. During his three-year-old year, Calvin won the ninth running of the Belmont Stakes in 1875 at Jerome Park Racetrack in a time of 2 minutes 40 seconds. He carried pounds in the race, and won $4,450 () for his owner.New York Racing Association "Belmont Stakes" ''The Belmont Stakes'' The race was run on June 12 over a distance of miles () on a fast track. Calvin did not lead from the start, but instead came from behind to have a six-length lead at one point before fading a bit before the finish.Sowers ''Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes'' p. 18 Calvin won by two lengths from the second-placed finisher

Aristides Aristides ( ; grc-gre, Ἀριστείδης, Aristeídēs, ; 530–468 BC) was an ancient Athenian statesman. Nicknamed "the Just" (δίκαιος, ''dikaios''), he flourished in the early quarter of Athens' Classical period and is remembe ...

; the third place went to Milner. Both Calvin and Aristides were owned by H. Price McGarth. Calvin's trainer was U.S. Racing Hall of Fame Ansel Williams.New York Racing Association "1875 Belmont" ''The Belmont Stakes'' The winning jockey was Robert Swim. Besides his win in the Belmont, Calvin also won the 1875 Jersey Derby, where he beat future Hall of Fame horse

Tom Ochiltree Tom Ochiltree (1872–1897), was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1875 Preakness Stakes and several other major stakes. In 1877, he lost in one of the most famous match races of the nineteenth century – a race that had been so ...

again, who was unplaced in the Belmont behind Calvin.

Death

Calvin contracted

tetanus Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'', and is characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually ...

in April 1879 from a nail penetrating his hoof and had to be euthanized.Staff "Horse notes" ''The New York Herald'' Calvin sired no stakes winners.Hogan ''Index to Stakes Winner'' p. 553

Citations

References

* * * * {{Use mdy dates, date=August 2017 1872 racehorse births 1879 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in Kentucky Belmont Stakes winners Thoroughbred family A28 Byerley Turk sire line