Great Communicator (1983–1990) is 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 ...

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 curre ...

. 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 sire

Bold Ruler Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 11, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign that included wins in the Preakness Stakes and Trenton Handicap, in whic ...

, an eight-time

Leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred 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 stallions which are based i ...

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 racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ameri ...

. 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 races ...

and 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 ...

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