George Smith (foaled April 30, 1913) 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 ...
racehorse and was the winner of the 1916
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 ...
.
Background
George Smith was a black colt by the imported British
stallion
A stallion is an adult 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, "cre ...
Out of Reach and out of the imported British
mare
A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, 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 th ...
Consuelo II. His grandsire,
Persimmon
The persimmon () is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus '' Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Chinese and Japanese kaki persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki''. In 2022, China produced 77% of the world's p ...
, was a son of the great
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Culture, language and peoples
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
* ''English'', an Amish ter ...
racer and sire
St. Simon.
George Smith was named after noted turfman
George E. Smith
George Elwood Smith (May 10, 1930 – May 28, 2025) was an American scientist, applied physicist, and co-inventor of the charge-coupled device (CCD). He was awarded a one-quarter share in the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for "the invention of an ...
, also known as "Pittsburg Phill", who was once an owner of the colt's dam. The horse was bred by Fred Forsythe and Jack Chinn and was foaled at their Fountain Bleu Farm in
Harrodsburg, Kentucky
Harrodsburg is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 9,064 at the 2020 census.
Although Harrodsburg was formally established by the Virginia House of Burgesses after Boo ...
. George Smith was purchased as a yearling for $1,600 by Ed Mcbride, who trained him as a yearling and raced him as a two-year-old.
Racing career
George Smith was a promising two-year-old, winning many major stakes races, including the
Victoria Stakes
The Victoria Stakes is a thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Held in mid June, it has been raced on Polytrack since 2006 over a distance of five furlongs. In 2015 it was changed to six furlongs. O ...
at
Old Woodbine Race Course
Greenwood Raceway (originally Woodbine Race Course) was a horse racing facility in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
History Woodbine Race Course
Inaugurated in 1874 as Woodbine Race Course at the foot of Woodbine Avenue and Lake Ontario, it was owned ...
in
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
. He was then bought by noted Eastern horseman
John Sanford for $22,500 as a two-year-old.
The
1916 Kentucky Derby
The 1916 Kentucky Derby was the 42nd running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 13, 1916.
Full results
*Winning Breeder: Jack P. Chinn & Frederick A. Forsythe; (KY)
*Horses St. Isidore, Bulse, and Huffaker scratched before the r ...
was run on a clear day with a field of 9 horses. George Smith was ridden by
American Racing Hall of Fame jockey
Johnny Loftus
John Patrick Loftus (October 13, 1895 – March 23, 1976) was an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. and was the clear contender of the race from the start. The only competition for the win came from Star Hawk, who lost the race by a neck after a rally in the home stretch.
Bowie Handicap at Pimlico Race Course">Bowie_Handicap_(Pimlico).html" ;"title="}
In 1918, George Smith won the
Bowie Handicap at Pimlico Race Course by defeating two other Kentucky Derby winners. The 1917 winner, Omar Khayyam (horse)">Omar Khayyam
Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīshābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131) (Persian language, Persian: غیاث الدین ابوالفتح عمر بن ابراهیم خیام نیشابورﻯ), commonly known as Omar ...
, ran third. In addition, the 1918 Preakness Stakes">Exterminator (horse)">Exterminator, ran third. In addition, the 1918 Preakness Stakes winner War Cloud finished twelfth.
George Smith was retired from racing at age five and stood at stud at Sanford's Hurricana Stock Farm near Amsterdam, New York. He was a disappointing sire, producing few notable offspring. On August 5, 1926, Sanford donated George Smith and another stallion called Nassovian to the Breeding Bureau of
. By the following year, George Smith was in the possession of the
, where he sired military horses for his remaining years. For the majority of his remount service, he was stationed at the Lookover Stallion Station in
.