General Assembly (1976–2005) 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 ...

. He was bred and raced by the prominent husband-and-wife team of Bertram and Diana Firestone, of

Upperville, Virginia Upperville is a small unincorporated town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States, along U.S. Route 50 fifty miles from downtown Washington, D.C., near the Loudoun County line. Founded in the 1790s along Pantherskin Creek, it was originally ...

. General Assembly was out of the mare Exclusive Dancer, daughter of

Native Dancer Native Dancer (March 27, 1950 – November 16, 1967), nicknamed the ''Gray Ghost'', was one of the most celebrated and accomplished Thoroughbred racehorses in American history and was the first horse made famous through the medium of television. ...

. His sire was the 1973 U.S. Triple Crown champion

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 ...

. General Assembly was trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

LeRoy Jolley LeRoy S. Jolley (January 14, 1938 – December 18, 2017) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse trainer. The son of horse trainer Moody Jolley, LeRoy Jolley had been around horses all his life and at age nineteen received a New York Stat ...

. At age two, the colt won the

Hopeful Stakes The Hopeful Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, the Hopeful is the first Grade I stakes for two-year-olds each season and historically ...

and the Saratoga Special Stakes; he ran second to Spectacular Bid in both the Champagne Stakes and the

Laurel Futurity 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 r ...

. Racing at age three in 1979, in the U.S. Triple Crown series General Assembly ran second in the

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 ...

and fifth 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 ...

to winner Spectacular Bid. In the Belmont Stakes, he finished seventh behind upset winner

Coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

. General Assembly won the

Vosburgh Stakes The Vosburgh Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Run at the end of September/early October, it is open to horses three-years-old and up of either gender. A Grade II sprint race, it is rac ...

and ran second again to Spectacular Bid in the Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap. He then earned the most important victory of his career with a 15-length win in the

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 "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds acco ...

, in which he set a Saratoga track record for the mile and a quarter which stood until 2016.

As a sire

General Assembly was retired to stud duty beginning in 1980 at his owner's breeding operation in

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In 1986 he returned to the United States to stand in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

; in 1993 was sent to breeders in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, and in 1995 to a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

breeding farm. Although General Assembly was never the successful stallion his regal bloodline promised, he sired 31 stakes-race winners. One of his best-known offspring was Steady Flame, who raced at two in Ireland and then was sent to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

; there he won the

Hong Kong Champions & Chater Cup Hong Kong Champions & Chater Cup is a Hong Kong Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late May or early June at Sha Tin Racecourse. A Group One race that offers a purse of HK$12,000,000, it is run on turf over a distance of 2400 meters (prior ...

, was a champion sprinter in 1989-91 and champion older miler in 1990 and

Presidium A presidium or praesidium is a council of executive officers in some political deliberative assembly, assemblies that collectively administers its business, either alongside an individual President (government title), president or in place of one ...

. His stud farm, Gestüt Olympia in

Alpen, Germany Alpen is a municipality in the district of Wesel, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Alpen is situated in the Lower Rhine region, located between the Ruhr area and the border with the Netherlands. Adjacent cities are Rheinberg, Xanten. ...

announced that the 29-year-old General Assembly had been

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 ...

in March 2005 due to heart and circulatory problems. Bloodline: Discovery (1931–1958) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse. Discovery was inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 1969. The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame said that he was "considered one of the greatest horses of the 20th century." Discovery won 27 races from 1933 to 1936. As the chart below shows, the pedigree of the champion racehorse General Assembly includes two lines from Discovery. Discovery was an ancestor of both Secretariat and Exclusive Dancer. One line goes from Discovery to Miss Disco 1944 to Bold Ruler 1954 to Sire (father), Secretariat 1970. The other line goes from Discovery to Geisha 1943 to Native Dancer 1950 to Dam (mother), Exclusive Dancer 1967.General Assembly Horse Pedigree (pedigreequery.com)

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist

External links

Video of General Assembly's 1979 Travers Stakes record-setting win
1976 racehorse births 2005 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Virginia Racehorses trained in the United States Horse racing track record setters Thoroughbred family 10-a