Royal Tourist (1905–1909) 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 who won the

American Classic ''American Classic'' is the 57th studio album by American country music artist Willie Nelson, released on August 25, 2009. It focuses on the American popular songbook and standard jazz classics, and includes guest appearances by Norah Jones 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 ...

in 1908 and who later that year set a

World Record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

time in winning the Winters Handicap at Emeryville Race Track in

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Background

Bred and raced by

Harry Payne Whitney Harry Payne Whitney (April 29, 1872 – October 26, 1930) was an American businessman, thoroughbred horse breeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family. Early years Whitney was born in New York City on April 29, 1872, as the eldest son ...

, Royal Tourist's sire was the unraced British import, Sandringham, a son of the outstanding runner and nine-time

Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current champion is Frankel, who ...

, St. Simon. His dam was Leisure, who was also the dam of the 1914 Preakness Stakes winner, Holiday. Leisure's sire was Meddler, the leading sire in North America in 1904 and 1906.

Racing career

Racing at age two under trainer John Rogers, on September 10, 1907 Royal Tourist earned his first win in the Autumn Stakes at Sheepshead Bay Race Track with a stakes record time of 1:11 flat for six furlongs. He went on that year to win the Oakdale Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack. As a three-year-old in 1908, Royal Tourist's race conditioning was handled by Jack Joyner who took over as trainer of the Whitney racing stable on the death of John Rogers in February. In the pre U.S. Triple Crown era, Royal Tourist was not entered in the Kentucky Derby but on June 2, 1908, under jockey Eddie Dugan, he won what is now the second leg of the Triple Crown series, the Preakness Stakes, contested at the time at a distance of 1¹/16 miles at

Gravesend Race Track Gravesend Race Track at Gravesend in Brooklyn, New York was a Thoroughbred horse racing facility that opened in 1886 and closed in 1910. The track was built by the Brooklyn Jockey Club with the backing of Philip and Michael Dwyer, two wealthy raci ...

. Harry Whitney sold Royal Tourist in the early fall of 1908 to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

an Charles R. Ellison. The owner of a number of successful horses, Ellison had won the 1903 Kentucky Derby with Judge Himes and finished second in 1906 with the very good filly, Lady Navarre. Ellison sent Royal Tourist to race 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 ...

where in November he set a new

of 1:44 1/5 for 1¹/16 miles on dirt in the Winters Handicap at Emeryville Race Track in

. The colt wintered in California and continued to race there in 1909. Royal Tourist died of a fever while still in training at the Hamilton (Ont.) racetrack stables on September 27, 1909.

Pedigree

References

{{Preakness Stakes Winners 1905 racehorse births 1909 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Horse racing track record setters Preakness Stakes winners Whitney racehorses Thoroughbred family A5