Venetian Way (March 23, 1957 – October 17, 1964) was an American

Thoroughbred racehorse 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 ...

best known for winning the

1960 Kentucky Derby The 1960 Kentucky Derby was the 86th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 7, 1960. Full results References

Kentucky Derby races, 1960 1960 in horse racing, Kentucky Derby 1960 in sports in Kentucky, Derby 1960 in ...

Background

Venetian Way was a chestnut horse bred 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 to ...

by John W. Greathouse. He was purchased by

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

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

businessman Isaac Blumberg who raced him under the ''nom de course'' of Sunny Blue Farm. Venetian Way was trained by Victor Sovinski of

Kankakee, Illinois Kankakee is a city in and the county seat of Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. As of 2020, the city's population was 24,052. Kankakee is a principal city of the Kankakee-Bourbonnais-Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area. It serves as an ...

. He was named after a street in Miami Beach.

Racing career

At age two, Venetian Way made nine starts winning four times. Of his eleven starts at age three, he earned three more wins. Leading up to the 1960 U.S. Triple Crown series, Venetian Way ran second to

Bally Ache Bally Ache (February 3, 1957 – October 28, 1960) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Preakness Stakes in 1960 but died later that year. In her book ''American Classic Pedigrees (1914–2002)'', author Avalyn Hunter wrote that Ba ...

in the

Florida Derby The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Saturd ...

. He was sent off as the third

parimutuel betting Parimutuel betting or pool betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vigorish" are deducted, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winnin ...

choice in the Kentucky Derby behind favorite

Tompion {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Tompion , image = , caption = , sire = Tom Fool , grandsire = Menow , dam = Sunlight , damsire = Count Fleet , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1957 , country = United States , colour = Brown , breeder = ...

and second choice, Bally Ache.

1960 Triple Crown

In the 1960 Kentucky Derby- the "drugstore Derby"- Venetian Way beat Bally Ache. Venetian Way was a sore horse who responded admirably to butazolidin, legal in Kentucky at the time. When Venetian Way ran in the Preakness two weeks later without the help of butazolidin (pain-killing drugs are not legal in Maryland), he did not finish in the money while the sound-legged Bally Ache won. The performance of Venetian Way with and without butazolidin and other similar cases convinced the Kentucky State Racing Commission that drugs were unfair to the horse and to the public. Ridden in the Kentucky Derby by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

Bill Hartack William John Hartack Jr. (December 9, 1932 – November 26, 2007), born in Colver, Pennsylvania, was a Hall of Fame jockey. Colver is in the northwestern part of Cambria Township, 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Ebensburg, the county seat. ...

, Venetian Way remained within striking distance, then passed Bally Ache as they came around the final turn heading into the homestretch and won going away by 3½ lengths. In the ensuing 1960 Preakness Stakes, Venetian Way finished fifth to winner Bally Ache. Trainer Vic Sovinski was unhappy with how Hartack was riding the colt while training for the Belmont, and he sacked him. Venetian Way ran second behind

Celtic Ash Celtic Ash (1957–1978) was an English-bred Thoroughbred racehorse raised in Ireland who is best known for winning the 1960 Belmont Stakes. Background Celtic Ash was a bay horse bred by Lord Harrington. He was out of the mare Ash Plant and sire ...

, who was ridden by Hartack, in the longest of the Triple Crown races, the 1½ mile

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

Stud record

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 bar ...

for the 1961 season, Venetian Way was not successful as a sire.

In popular culture

*In the

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

novel

11/22/63 ''11/22/63'' is a novel by Stephen King about a time traveller who attempts to prevent the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy, which occurred on November 22, 1963 (the novel's titular date). It is the 60th book published b ...

, Jake Epping, the novel's protagonist, claims his largest successful bet was on Venetian Way in the 1960 Kentucky Derby.

Pedigree

References

Venetian Way's 1960 Kentucky Derby
{{Kentucky Derby Winners 1957 racehorse births 1964 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Kentucky Derby winners Thoroughbred family 4-m