Stymie (April 4, 1941 − 1962) was an American

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Background

Stymie, a chestnut horse with a narrow white blaze was bred by Max Hirsch and was born on King Ranch in Texas. As a young horse, Stymie possessed so terrible a disposition that his ability to race was hampered; his trainer did not see much in him. Therefore, two of Stymie's first three starts were

claiming race In Thoroughbred racing, a claiming race is a type of horse race in which the horses are all for sale at a specified claiming price until shortly before the race. They were known as selling races until 1924 after which they were relabeled claiming ...

s. On June 2, 1943, Stymie was bought by Hirsch Jacobs, one of the time's leading trainers. Jacobs claimed the horse for $1,500 for his wife Ethel Jacobs. Stymie raced ten more times before winning again. At that point, his record consisted of seven wins out of fifty starts.

Racing career and wins

At age two, Stymie lost every race he ran in except one. He also placed in the Ardsley Handicap and showed in the Thomas K. Lynch Memorial Handicap. At age three, he lost most of his races. However, he came in second in the

Wood Memorial Stakes The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memor ...

and third in the Gallant Fox Handicap, Westchester Handicap, Riggs Handicap, Pimlico Cup Handicap, Flamingo Stakes, and Shevlin Stakes. In 1945, the US government shut down racing for four months. Stymie was given a seven-month rest. He then won the Brooklyn Handicap, Butler Handicap, Westchester Handicap, Pimlico Cup, Riggs Handicap, Saratoga Cup, Continental Handicap, and Grey Lag Handicap. In addition, he came in second in the Suburban Handicap, Queens County Handicap, and Yonkers Handicap, and finished third in the Pimlico Special, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Whitney Stakes, and Merchants' and Citizens' Handicap. At age five, he won the Gallant Fox Handicap (beating the winner of the

Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse racing, horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse races i ...

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), New York Handicap, Grey Lag Handicap, Manhattan Handicap, Edgemere Handicap, Whitney Stakes, and Saratoga Cup. He also placed in the Brooklyn Handicap, Dixie Handicap, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Monmouth Handicap, and Pimlico Special, and showed in the Suburban Handicap, Butler Handicap, Saratoga Handicap and Sussex Handicap. At age six, Stymie won the Gold Cup, Gallant Fox Handicap, Massachusetts Handicap, Aqueduct Handicap, Metropolitan Handicap, Sussex Handicap, and Questionnaire Handicap, placed in the Brooklyn Handicap, Butler Handicap, Edgemere Handicap, Manhattan Handicap, and Queens County Handicap, and finished third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Whitney Stakes. When he was seven, he won the Aqueduct Handicap, Metropolitan Handicap, and Sussex Handicap, took second in the Suburban Handicap, Dixie Handicap, and Queens County Handicap, and was third in the Brooklyn Handicap and Excelsior Handicap. In his last year at eight, he was second in the New York Handicap. In the 1948 Monmouth Handicap suffered a fractured sesamoid bone in his right foreleg. He returned in 1949 to continue his career as an eight year old but did not win in five starts.

Career starts and wins

Out of 131 lifetime starts, Stymie won 35, placed in 33, and showed in 28. His career winnings were $918,485. That made him, at the time, the richest race horse in America. At Suffolk Downs on July 7, 1947, Stymie became the first horse ever to eclipse the $700,000 earnings mark. He was so heavily bet that a minus show pool of $25,887 was created that day, and the tote board briefly jammed due to the flood of money wagered on him.

Legacy

A grandson of Equipoise and inbred to Man O' War, Stymie died in 1962. He was elected to the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

in 1975. In '' The Blood-Horse'' magazine ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, he is ranked #41. Jacobs, who died in 1970, was elected as a trainer to the

in 1958. He and his wife named their Sparks, Maryland, breeding operation Stymie Manor.

References

Featuring Hirsch Jacobs
* * Champions The Lives, Times, and Past Performances of America's Greatest Thoroughbreds,

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of rac ...

1941 racehorse births 1962 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in Texas United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Thoroughbred family 1-h {{In popular culture, section, date=October 2023

Television

* '' The Phil Silvers Show'', " Bilko's Prize Poodle": Bilko,

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly 60 years. He achieved major popularity w ...

mentions Stymie: "One of the greatest race horses of all time, Stymie, was sold for peanuts!"