Chateaugay (horse)
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Chateaugay (February 29, 1960 – May 9, 1985) was an American
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
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racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...
who won two of the three U.S. Triple Crown races. Bred at Darby Dan Farm near
Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...
by his prominent owner, John W. Galbreath, Chateaugay was a son of Swaps, the 1956 U.S. Horse of the Year and a Racing Hall of Fame inductee.


Racing career


1962: two-year-old season

Racing at age two for future U.S. Hall of Fame trainer James P. Conway, Chateaugay showed limited promise, winning two of five starts but without a victory in a stakes race.


1963: three-year-old season


Prep races

At age three, the colt began to develop and after winning the
Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is ru ...
at
Keeneland Race Course Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...
was sent to compete in America's most prestigious race, the
Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...
.


Triple Crown races

The 1963 edition of the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown series, saw 120,000 patrons gather at
Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...
for a race that featured three Thoroughbred stars. ''
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'' magazine reported jockey
Eddie Arcaro George Edward Arcaro (February 19, 1916 – November 14, 1997) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Triple ...
as saying: "I can't remember a Derby creating so much excitement." Leading up to the race, Rex C. Ellsworth's undefeated Candy Spots had won 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 ...
and the
Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of . It is one of t ...
. At the same time, a Greentree Stable colt named No Robbery had won 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 he too came into the Derby undefeated. Then there was Harry F. Guggenheim's 1962 U.S. 2-Year-Old Champion Colt and 1963 Flamingo Stakes winner, Never Bend. By post time, bettors had made Candy Spots the 3-2 favorite, No Robbery the second choice at 5-2, and Never Bend the third pick at odds of 3-1. Even though he came into the race undefeated at three (3-3) including a win in April's Blue Grass Stakes, Chateaugay was nearly ignored amid the hype surrounding the three star horses and was sent off at 9-1 odds. When the gate opened, Never Bend quickly took the lead and by the mile mark No Robbery had moved into second place along the inside rail with Candy Spots sitting third. After running in sixth place through the first three-quarters of a mile, coming out of the backstretch Chateaugay moved to the far outside and raced into fourth place behind the three leaders. As they turned for home, jockey Braulio Baeza spotted an opening between the second- and third-place horses. He raced through it to pull alongside Never Bend and then moved ahead to win the race by lengths. In the
Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...
at
Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of O ...
in
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, Chateaugay again faced both Candy Spots and Never Bend. Five days before the race, he got away from his exercise rider and equaled Pimlico's track record, working a mile in 1:37 3/5. Bettors made Candy Spots the favorite. As they had in the Derby, Never Bend charged out to an early lead with Candy Spots sitting in third. Once again, Chateaugay was far back, running seventh in the eight-horse field. As they turned onto the homestretch Chateaugay made his move and soon caught and passed Never Bend, who had fallen behind the now front-running Candy Spots. This time, Chateaugay could not catch the leader and finished second, lengths back. As a result of major renovations in progress at New York's
Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...
, the 1963
Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...
was run at
Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack within ...
. As he had been in the Derby and Preakness, Candy Spots was the betting favorite. Sent off at 9-2 odds, Chateaugay repeated his running style from the previous two Classics and was well back of the leaders. Once again, while other horses began to tire during the mile race, in the stretch, Chateaugay passed Candy Spots and pulled away to win by a widening lengths.


Later races

Chateaugay went on to capture the 1963 Jerome Handicap but finished third in the Dwyer and
Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Midsummer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds accor ...
.


Later career

He was raced at age four and five with limited success before being retired to
stud Stud may refer to: 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 in San Francisco * ...
duty at Darby Dan Farm. His progeny met with modest racing success with perhaps his best being the colt True Knight, who won several stakes races including the
Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...
and
Suburban Handicap The Suburban Stakes (also known Suburban Handicap) is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is now run at the mile distance on dirt for a $350,000 pu ...
s.


Stud record

In 1971, Chateaugay became the first Kentucky Derby winner to be sold to
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ese interests. From 1972 until his death in 1985, he stood at a breeding farm in Japan, where he sired the 1981 Champion juvenile colt, Hokuto Flag.


Pedigree


In popular culture

*In Ken Grimwood's novel '' Replay'', the main character is stuck in a
time loop The time loop or temporal loop is a plot device in fiction whereby Character (arts), characters re-experience a span of time which is repeated, sometimes more than once, with some hope of breaking out of the cycle of repetition. Time loops are co ...
and makes his first bet (of which he already knows the outcome), on Chateaugay in the 1963 Kentucky Derby. *In the TV show ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
'', Season 3 Episode 3, Roger Sterling throws a Kentucky Derby party for the 1963 edition of the race.


References


Chateaugay's pedigree and partial racing stats


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081222101830/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,830438,00.html "Sweet Revenge" ''Time''. May 24, 1963. About the Preakness Stakes. * {{Belmont Stakes Winners 1960 racehorse births 1985 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Kentucky Derby winners Belmont Stakes winners American Champion racehorses Thoroughbred family 16-h