Holiday (foaled in 1911) 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 c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

best known for winning the 1914

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 () on ...

. Owned by Mrs. Archibald Barklie, he was sired by

Broomstick A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...

. Holiday was out of the mare Leisure, a daughter of Meddler.

Early racing career

Holiday was a slow developing horse that took four attempts to break his maiden in New York. Late in his two-year-old season he placed second in the Greenfield Stakes at Gravesend Race Track on

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

in south

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Preakness Stakes

Holiday, described as "a good-looking little bay gelding" will best be remembered for his win in the $2,500 1914 Preakness Stakes at

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 ...

run on Thursday, May 21. Holiday went off as the second longest shot at 9–2 in the field of six three-year-olds. In that race Holiday led from the start and led passing the stands for the first time clocking the first quarter in :23-2/5. He continued a very fast pace around the club house turn and down the back stretch recording fractions of :48-2/5 and 1:13-2/5. Coming into the home stretch his three length lead diminished to a single length. Holiday was tiring badly but held on to win by 3/4 of length from second choice Brave Cunarder with another 1-1/2 lengths back to Defendum for third. Holiday finished the classic in a final time of 1:58 flat under jockey

Andy Schuttinger Andrew Schuttinger (July 13, 1892 – March 5, 1971) was an American jockey, trainer and owner in the sport of thoroughbred horse racing. A highly successful jockey, Andy Schuttinger won numerous important races including the Travers Stakes, J ...

for the one and one eighth mile race. Holiday was the last gelding to win the race until

Prairie Bayou Prairie Bayou (March 4, 1990 – June 5, 1993) was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse owned and bred by Loblolly Stable of Lake Hamilton, Arkansas. Named for a bayou between Little Rock and Hot Springs in Arkansas, he was sired by L ...

won in 1993.

Late racing career

Later in his three-year-old season Holiday won the Williamsbridge Handicap at Morris Park Racecourse in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

. In the early part of his four-year-old season Holiday was wintered at Fair Grounds Race Course in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. During his stay at Fair Grounds he won an allowance race and placed second in the Thanksgiving Handicap.

Breeding

References

{{Preakness Stakes Winners 1911 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Preakness Stakes winners Thoroughbred family A5