Great Communicator (1983–1990) 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 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 ...

best known for winning the 1988

Breeders' Cup Turf The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current ...

. Owned by George Ackel and trained by his son

Thad Thad is a masculine given name, often a short form (hypocorism) of Thaddeus. It may refer to: *Thad Allen (born 1949), United States Coast Guard admiral * Thad Altman (born 1955), American politician * Thad Balkman (born 1971), American politician ...

, Great Communicator was a grandson of the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

sire

Bold Ruler Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 12, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 American Horse of the Year, Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign t ...

, an eight-time

Leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading Father, sire of Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to Stallio ...

whose progeny includes the legendary

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 horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...

. Thad Ackel had never started a horse in the Breeders’ Cup before he and jockey Ray Sibille won the Turf with Great Communicator in 1988. Great Communicator suffered a breakdown in 1990 at the Carleton F. Burke Handicap in

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious race ...

and was

euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from ; "good death") is the act of killing an animal humanely, most commonly with injectable drugs. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditions or diseases, lack of resources to con ...

Pedigree

References

Great Communicator's pedigree and partial racing stats

External links

Great Communicator's pedigree and partial racing stats
1983 racehorse births 1990 racehorse deaths Horses who died from racing injuries Thoroughbred family 1-a Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Breeders' Cup Turf winners {{Racehorse-stub