Devil's Bag (1981–2005) was an American

champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, ...

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 ...

who was syndicated as a two-year-old for US$36 million, the highest price for any 2-year-old in racing history.

Background

Bred by

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

E. P. Taylor Edward Plunket Taylor, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989) was a Canadian business tycoon, investor and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred race horses, and a major force behind the evolution of the Canadian horse-racing ...

at his

Windfields Farm (Maryland) Windfields Farm in Chesapeake City was Maryland's leading stud farm for Thoroughbred horses before it closed in 1988. Overview Windfields Farm was owned by Canadian businessman E. P. Taylor, who bought the Maryland property in 1964 at the recom ...

, Devil's Bag was out of the

mare 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 ...

Ballade and sired by

Halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * Halo (franchise), ...

, making him a full brother to both the

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The ...

inductee

Glorious Song {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Glorious Song , image = , caption = , sire = Halo , grandsire = Hail To Reason , dam = Ballade , damsire = Herbager , sex = Filly , foaled = 1976 , country = Canada , colour = Bay , breeder = E ...

and Arlington Classic winner and very successful sire

Saint Ballado Saint Ballado (1989-2002) was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred race horse, best known as the sire of Horse of the Year Saint Liam and champion Ashado. Saint Ballado was the leading sire in North America of 2005. Background Saint Ballado was bred i ...

. Devil's Bag was purchased as a yearling for $325,000 at the 1982 Keeneland July Selected Yearling Sale by the Hickory Tree Stable of James and Alice Mills.

Racing career

1983: two-year-old season

Conditioned for racing by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Woody Stephens Woody Stephens (September 1, 1913 – August 22, 1998) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame trainer. Biography Born Woodford Cefis Stephens in Stanton, Kentucky, he had a younger brother named William Ward Stephens who also b ...

, Devil's Bag was ridden by

Eddie Maple Edward Retz "Eddie" Maple (born November 8, 1948, in Carrollton, Ohio) is a retired American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. One of eight siblings, he is an older brother to jockey Sam Maple, who won more than 2,500 races. Maple began ridi ...

. The colt won all five starts at age two by an average of five and a half lengths and was voted the

American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when the ''Daily Racing F ...

of 1983. His wins included the seven-

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use i ...

Cowdin Stakes The Cowdin Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually from 1923 through 2005 at Aqueduct Racetrack and at Belmont Park which at one time was a Grade 1 event. Background The Cowdin was first run in 1923 as the Junior Champion Sta ...

in a stakes record time of 1:21.40 at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Raci ...

. He set another stakes record at Belmont Park in winning the one-mile Champagne Stakes by six lengths, breaking Seattle Slew's 1976 record time. In his final race as a two-year-old, Devil's Bag won the 1¹/16 mile

Laurel Futurity Stakes The Laurel Futurity is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late September at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Run over a distance of miles on turf, at one time it was a Grade I stakes race on dirt, and one of the riche ...

by five and a quarter lengths in a time of 1:42.20 that broke the track record set by Spectacular Bid. Scheduled to run in December's

Remsen Stakes The Remsen Stakes is an American Grade II race for Thoroughbred horse race run annually near the end of November at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The one and one-eighths mile race is open to two-year-olds and currently offers a purse of ...

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park and Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack located within New York City limits. Its racing ...

, while in training the colt stepped on a stone. Although the injury was very minor, his handlers chose not to race him again that year. On December 20, 1983, it was announced that a syndicate led by Seth Hancock's

Claiborne Farm Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred horse breeding operation near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910 by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Stud in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever since. ...

paid $36 million for Devil's Bag, the highest price for any 2-year-old in racing history, and the third highest for any race horse ever. Hancock said that the colt would be retired to stud at Claiborne Farm after his three-year-old racing season with his 1985 fee set at $1 million for his first

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

year.

1984: three-year-old season

Devil's Bag was the winterbook favorite for the U.S. Triple Crown series. Such was his fame that a January 2, 1984, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' magazine article led with: "Devil's Bag, the next Secretariat." Devil's Bag made his three-year-old debut on February 20, 1984, at

Hialeah Park Race Track The Hialeah Park Race Track (also known as the Hialeah Race Track or Hialeah Park) is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East 2 ...

, scoring a seven-length win

However, on March 7 he suffered the first loss of his career in the 1⅛ mile Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah Park. After taking the lead heading for home, Devil's Bag suddenly slowed down and finished fourth. A March 12 article in ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

'' called it "one of the most stunning surprises in recent racing history, for no 3-year-old since

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ameri ...

, in 1973, had stirred the imagination more than Devil's Bag." On April 19, Devil's Bag returned with a fifteen-length victory in the seven-furlong Forerunner Stakes at Keeneland Race Course and then won his next start on April 28 at

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...

in the one-mile Derby Trial Stakes. He was the pre-race favorite for the May 5

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-yea ...

. Then, on May 1, trainer Woody Stephens announced that Devil's Bag would not run in the Derby but that he might start in the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs ...

On May 7, it was announced that veterinarian Dr. Alex Harthill had discovered a small fracture in Devil's Bag's right front knee and that the colt would be retired from racing.

Stud career

Devil's Bag sired more than forty stakes race winners. His best known runners were: * Twilight Agenda (b. 1986) - raced for

Walter Haefner Walter Haefner (13 September 1910 – 19 June 2012) was a Swiss businessman and a thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder in Ireland. As a young man Haefner went to work in the auto industry as an employee of the Swiss division of General ...

in Ireland and the United States. Career earnings of US$2,177,843 *

Devil His Due Devil His Due (April 18, 1989 – May 22, 2017) was a multimillionaire American Thoroughbred racehorse and successful sire. Bred in Kentucky by Peter E. Blum and raced under the Blue Ribbon Farm banner, he had a record of 41: 11-12-3 with caree ...

(b. 1989) - a multiple Grade I winner with career earnings of $3,920,405 *

Taiki Shuttle Taiki Shuttle (, foaled March 23, 1994; died August 17, 2022) was an American-bred, Japanese-trained thoroughbred race horse and stallion. He won races at the highest level both home and abroad, most notably winning the Mile Championship (twice) ...

(b. 1994) - 1998

Japanese Horse of the Year The Japanese Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in Japanese thoroughbred horse racing. It is awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association (JRA). Since 1987 the honor has been part of the JRA Awards. This award originally started as ...

Japan Racing Association Hall of Fame The Horse Racing Hall of Fame ( ja, 競馬の殿堂) is a Japanese horse racing memorial hall which was installed on September 2, 1985 at the JRA Horse Racing Museum, Fuchu, Tokyo. It was founded by Japan Racing Association to honor the achievem ...

* Buy the Sport (b. 2000) - 1st Gazelle H.(G1,9F), International Trial S.(GB-L,8FT), 3rd Beldame S.(G1,9F), 03'BC Distaff 6th At age twenty-four, Devil's Bag was

euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from el, εὐθανασία; "good death") is the act of killing an animal or allowing it to die by withholding extreme medical measures. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditio ...

on February 3, 2005, after he broke his right hind leg in his stall. He was buried in Claiborne Farm's Marchmont cemetery."Devil's Bag euthanized"

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. February 4, 2005.

References

{{reflist

External links

Video at YouTube of Devil's Bag record breaking win in the 1983 Champagne Stakes
1981 racehorse births 2005 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Maryland Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners Du Pont racehorses Thoroughbred family 12-c