Elwood (foaled 1901 in
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
) 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 that is best remembered for winning the
1904 Kentucky Derby and for being the first horse both bred and owned by a woman to win the Derby.
Pedigree
Elwood was a bay colt sired by Free Knight out of the mare Petticoat (by
Alarm
An alarm device is a mechanism that gives an audible, visual or other kind of alarm signal to alert someone to a problem or condition that requires urgent attention.
Alphabetical musical instruments
Etymology
The word ''alarm'' comes from t ...
). Free Knight finished third in the
1886 Kentucky Derby. By the time Elwood won the Derby in 1904, Free Knight had been sold for $45 and was used as a farm horse in southern Kentucky.
Elwood was bred by
Emma Holt Prather at Faustiana Stud in
Maryville, Missouri
Maryville is a city and county seat of Nodaway County, Missouri, United States. Located in the "Missouri Point" region, As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,633. Maryville is home to Northwest Missouri State University and Northwes ...
and was bought in 1902 by Charles Durnell while on a horse buying trip to
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...
, where the yearling was being trained. Durnell named the horse Elwood after his mother's maiden name.
Racing career
Elwood was a mediocre racehorse during his two-year-old and early three-year-old season, racing mostly in small stakes and a few $300
claiming races in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. He was second in the Competition Stakes and Youngster Stakes as a two-year-old and in the 1904 California Ascot Derby, which was run on a very muddy track that year.
/sup>
Elwood was raced in Charles Durnell's wife's name. Lasca Durnell entered the colt in the Kentucky Derby without her husband's knowledge. For the Derby, the Durnells traveled with Elwood by railroad car from California to Kentucky, but Derby spectators did not think the "Missouri mule" would win. /sup> The thirtieth Kentucky Derby was run on a fast track with a field of five contenders. /sup> Elwood won at 15-1 odds over the favored colt, Proceeds, to win $4,850 in one of the greatest upsets recorded at the Derby to that date. /sup>
Elwood went on to win the 1904 Latonia Derby
The Latonia Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1883 through 1937 at Latonia Race Track in Latonia, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, for its first 52 years the Latonia Derby was contested at a mile and a half t ...
but was 15th of 16 in the more prestigious 1904 American Derby
The American Derby is a Thoroughbred horse race in the United States run annually at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The inaugural American Derby was held at Chicago's old Washington Park Race Track on the city's South Side and ra ...
.
Elwood was gelded
A gelding is a castrated male horse or other equine, such as a pony, donkey or a mule. Castration, as well as the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male equine to be calmer and better-behaved, making th ...
at some point during his four-year-old season but did race, with marginal success, until he was six years old in California. In 1907, Charles Durnell was banned from racing horses and had to sell 20 horses, including Elwood, from his Burlingame Stables. By 1910, Elwood was being used as a saddle horse in California.
Pedigree
References
{{Kentucky Derby Winners
1901 racehorse births
Racehorses bred in Missouri
Racehorses trained in the United States
Kentucky Derby winners
Thoroughbred family 5-g