Wintergreen (1906–1914) 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 that is best known for winning the 1909

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

and for being the first horse bred in Ohio to win the Derby. Wintergreen was bred and trained by Jerome "Rome" Respess at his Ohio stud farm. Respess was a multimillionaire owner of a brewing company and also owned Wintergreen's sire, Dick Welles — named after Richard H. Welles, later the father of

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

. Higham, Charles, ''Orson Welles: The Rise and Fall of an American Genius''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985 Wintergreen raced from ages two to seven years old but did not win any stakes races before or after the Kentucky Derby but was a stakes performer for most of his career. Wintergreen was killed April 10, 1914, in a fire that consumed barn #18 at the Latonia Race Track in Covington, Kentucky, just across the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

from

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. He had been gelded some years previously and was racing for D. Fisk.

Pedigree

References

{{Kentucky Derby Winners 1906 racehorse births Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in Ohio Kentucky Derby winners 1914 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 4