Deputed Testamony (May 7, 1980 – September 18, 2012) 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

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 ...

. Deputed Testamony is the last of eight

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

-breds to win the Preakness Stakes and is one of only eleven colts from the state to win a Triple Crown race. Upon the death of Danzig Connection in 2010, he became the last living thoroughbred to win a Triple Crown race during the decade of the 1980s. Deputed Testamony died on September 18, 2012, aged 32.

Background

Bred and raced by Bonita Farm and Francis P. Sears, Deputed Testamony was trained by J. William Boniface of Bonita Farm. His sire was Traffic Cop and his dam was Proof Requested. Damsire Prove It was a multiple stakes winner whose victories included the prestigious

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 ...

(1961) and

Hollywood Gold Cup The Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes is a Grade I American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles on the dirt held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California in May. The race currently offers a purse of $400,000 ...

(1962).

Early racing career

The colt made seven starts at age two, notably winning the one mile Play The Palace Stakes at the

Meadowlands Racetrack The Meadowlands Racetrack (currently referred to as Meadowlands Racing & Entertainment) is a horse racing track at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The track hosts both thoroughbred racing and harness ...

in track record time. In his three-year-old season, Deputed Testamony did not run in the Kentucky Derby. Leading up to his win in the Preakness Stakes, the second leg U.S. Triple Crown series, he won the Keystone Stakes at Pennsylvania's Keystone Racetrack and the

Federico Tesio Stakes The Federico Tesio Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland over a distance of miles on the dirt for three-year-old horses. Run during the latter part of April/early May, the race can be a st ...

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 ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Later racing career

After defeating Kentucky Derby winner

Sunny's Halo Sunny's Halo (February 11, 1980 – June 3, 2003) was a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1983 Kentucky Derby. In 1986, Sunny's Halo was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. Background Foaled at Oshawa, Ontario, Sunny's Halo wa ...

in the Preakness at Pimlico, Deputed Testamony finished sixth to winner Caveat in the third leg of the Triple Crown: the Belmont Stakes at

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City. The population was 35,265 at the 2 ...

. Racing at Bowie Race Track in Maryland, the colt won the Governor's Cup Handicap and scored his second

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 ...

win of the year in 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 ...

Monmouth Park Racetrack Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. At age four in 1984, Deputed Testamony returned to race two more times, winning both starts. In his second win, at Pimlico Race Course, he set the second track record of his career in the 1¹/16 mile City of Baltimore Handicap but came out of it with an injury that ended his racing career. According to Boniface, his trainer, Deputed Testamony never raced on any kind of medication during his career. The contrast between his "hay, oats, and water" regimen and a controversy involving other horses in the 1983 Preakness (where some out-of-state trainers sued to be allowed to race their horses on

Lasix Furosemide is a loop diuretic medication used to treat fluid build-up due to heart failure, liver scarring, or kidney disease. It may also be used for the treatment of high blood pressure. It can be taken by injection into a vein or by mouth ...

, which was banned in Maryland at the time) was the subject of a feature article in

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 ...

following his victory. The Deputed Testamony Stakes, held in February 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 ...

Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River. While the city limits are entirely in northern Prince George's County, outlying developments extend into Anne Arunde ...

, since 1985, is named after him.

As a sire

Syndicated and 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 ...

at his Bonita Farm, Deputed Testamony sired progeny that met with modest racing success. However, he is the damsire of: * Whitmore's Conn - won the Grade I Sword Dancer (2003) and had back-to-back wins in the Grade III

Bowling Green Handicap The Bowling Green Stakes is a Grade II American thoroughbred horse race for horses age four years old and older over a distance of miles on the turf held annually in late July at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. History The i ...

(2002–2003). *

Bellamy Road The Bellamy Road was the first major U.S. federal highway in early territorial Florida. Land travel and transportation in Florida prior to its acquisition by the United States was by foot over trails. The Spanish used existing Native American ...

- George Steinbrenner's winner of the Grade I

Wood Memorial Stakes The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memorial ...

(2005) In 2004, Deputed Testamony was pensioned at Bonita Farm.

Breeding

References