Coastal (foaled April 6, 1976 at Claiborne Farm 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

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 best known for winning the 1979 Belmont Stakes.

Background

He was sired by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Majestic Prince Majestic Prince (March 19, 1966 – April 22, 1981) was a Thoroughbred racehorse. One of the leading North American horses of his generation, he won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 1969. Background In September 1967, Majestic Prince ...

out of the mare Alluvial, who was in turn was sired by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame stallion Buckpasser. He was a half-brother, through Alluvial, to

Slew o' Gold Slew o' Gold (April 19, 1980 – October 14, 2007) was an American thoroughbred racehorse who was voted the 1983 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Three-Year-Old Male Horse and the 1984 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse. Backgroun ...

. He was owned by

William Haggin Perry William Haggin Perry (December 5, 1910 - November 12, 1993) was an American owner and breeder of thoroughbred racehorses. Early life Perry was the son of Henry Pierrepont Perry, a Wall Street stockbroker, and Edith Lounsbery, who was the daughte ...

and trained by David A. Whiteley.

Racing career

In 1979, the three-year-old Coastal did not run in the Kentucky Derby and

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 ...

having made his first start in April as a result of a serious eye injury which had cut short his racing at age two. Prior to entering the mile and one-half Belmont Stakes, Coastal had raced only three times that year. He won all three under Ruben Hernandez, but at distances of six then seven

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 hor ...

s followed by the

Peter Pan Stakes The Peter Pan Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds over a distance of miles (nine furlongs) run annually during the second week of May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. History The race is run in honor o ...

at a mile and one-eighth. Without another race at least at a mile and an eighth or more, his owner eventually deceided to pay the supplemental nomination fee and run the colt in the Belmont Stakes. Coastal and Hernandez then won the Belmont in a huge upset over

Spectacular Bid Spectacular Bid (February 17, 1976 – June 9, 2003) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1979 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and holds the world record for the fastest 1 1/4 miles on the dirt. He won 26 of his 30 r ...

, who placed third, becoming the first supplemental entry to ever win the race. Coastal next won the

Dwyer Stakes The Dwyer Stakes is an American Grade III stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred racehorses held annually at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, Long Island, New York. Run in early July, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced over a ...

on July 7, 1979 and the

Haskell Invitational Handicap The Haskell Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run over a distance of miles on the dirt held annually in July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. The event is a signature event at Monmouth ...

on August 4. He would finish second to

Affirmed Affirmed (February 21, 1975 – January 12, 2001) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the eleventh winner of the American Triple Crown. Affirmed was well known for his famous rivalry with Alydar, whom he met ten times, includi ...

in the

Woodward Stakes The Woodward Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race and is one of the premier races for older thoroughbred horses in the United States. It is named for prominent racehorse owner William Woodward. The race was first run in 1954 at Aqueduct Rac ...

and third in the

Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap The Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap was a Thoroughbred horse race first run in September 1973 at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. A Grade 1 race for horses 3 years old and up, it was raced over a distance of miles on a dirt track. The race c ...

behind Spectacular Bid and General Assembly. Then, in the

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 ...

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 ...

, in a stretch battle with rivals Spectacular Bid and Affirmed, he again placed third, with Affirmed winning the race.

Retirement

Coastal was retired to stud at Claiborne Farm in Kentuck. In 1988, he was sent to Mick Goss' Summerhill Stud in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. He sired graded stakes winners Cherry Jubilee, Dangers Hour, Little Brianne, and Canadian multiple stakes winner Triple Wow. Pensioned in the spring of 2003, Coastal died on September 29, 2005.

Pedigree

References

External links

Pedigree and partial statistics

Video at YouTube of Coastal winning the 1979 Belmont Stakes
{{Belmont Stakes Winners 1976 racehorse births 2005 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Belmont Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 9-f