Busanda (1947–1968) 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 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 ...

best remembered as the dam of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Buckpasser Buckpasser (1963–1978) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1966 Horse of the Year. His other achievements include 1965 Champion Two-Year-Old, 1966 Champion Three-Year-Old, 1966 Champion Handicap Horse, and 1967 Champi ...

Background

Busanda was sired by 1937 U.S. Triple Crown champion

War Admiral War Admiral (May 2, 1934 – October 30, 1959) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fourth winner of the American Triple Crown. He was also the 1937 Horse of the Year and well known as the rival of Seabiscuit in the 'Matc ...

, a son of

Man o' War Man o' War (March 29, 1917 – November 1, 1947) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as the greatest racehorse of all time. Several sports publications, including ''The Blood-Horse'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ESPN, and t ...

, who was ranked first in the Blood-Horse magazine list of the top 100 U.S. Thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century. Busanda's dam, Businesslike, was sired by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Blue Larkspur and out of the extremely important broodmare La Troienne. Businesslike was owned by Colonel E. R. Bradley at the time of Busanda's conception. When Bradley died in August 1946, Businesslike was sold to

Ogden Phipps Ogden Phipps (November 26, 1908 – April 21, 2002) was an American stockbroker, court tennis champion and Hall of Fame member, thoroughbred horse racing executive and owner/breeder, and an art collector and philanthropist. In 2001, he was induct ...

, who became Busanda's breeder of record. Busanda's name is an acronym for the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, which was a Navy bureau that Phipps had served in during World War II. Busanda was conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons, who handled a large string of horse for the

Phipps family The Phipps family of the United States is a prominent American family that descends from Henry Phipps Jr. (1839–1930), a businessman and philanthropist. His father was an English shoemaker who immigrated in the early part of the 19th century ...

. In some of her races, though, Fitzsimmons' assistant Bartholomew Sweeney is recorded as the trainer.

Racing career

In an era when most Thoroughbreds were raced frequently and for two to three years, Busanda made sixty-five starts during four seasons of competition. At age two, her best showing was a third-place finish to winner Bed o'Roses in the Selima Stakes at

Laurel Park Racecourse Laurel Park, formerly Laurel Race Course, is an American thoroughbred racetrack located just outside Laurel, Maryland which opened in 1911. The track is miles in circumference. Its name was changed to "Laurel Race Course" for several decades un ...

. Although as a three-year-old in 1950 she won the important

Alabama Stakes The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it cu ...

, it was at age four in 1951 when she had her best campaign. That year, her performances included wins against male horses when she captured the New Castle and

Suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

handicaps as well as the Saratoga Cup. In 1952, in addition to her second straight Saratoga Cup, she won the

Diana Handicap The Diana Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race. Named for the mythological goddess Diana, the race is run each year at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Inaugurated in 1939, it is open to fillies and mares age three and u ...

before being retired to

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than f ...

duty.

Retirement

Bred to U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Tom Fool Tom Fool (March 31, 1949 – August 20, 1976) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1953 American Horse of the Year and was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame. He sired the champion racehorses Buckpasser and Tim Tam. Bac ...

, in 1963 Busanda produced the colt

, who was the 1966

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

and a 1970 U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee.

Pedigree

References

Busanda 's pedigree and partial racing stats
;Specific 1947 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 1-x Godolphin Arabian sire line {{Racehorse-stub