Master Derby (April 24, 1972 – January 22, 1999) 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 ...
best known for winning the
1975 Preakness Stakes
The 1975 Preakness Stakes was the 100th running of the $210,000 Grade 1 Preakness Stakes thoroughbred horse race. The race took place on May 17, 1975, and was televised in the United States on the CBS television network. Master Derby, who was j ...
.
Background
He was bred by Robert E. Lehmann at his Golden Chance Farm in
Paris, Kentucky
Paris is a home rule-class city in Bourbon County, Kentucky. It lies northeast of Lexington on the Stoner Fork of the Licking River. Paris is the seat of its county and forms part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. As ...
. Master Derby 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 ...
Madam Jerry, and sired by Lehmann's 1970
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 ...
winner,
Dust Commander
Dust Commander (February 8, 1967 – October 7, 1991) was an American Thoroughbred race horse.
Background
The name "Dust Commander" is derived from his dam, Dust Storm, and his sire, Bold Commander. A descendant of Nearco, Dust Commander was ...
.
Racing career
1974: Two-year-old season
Conditioned for racing by trainer
Smiley Adams
William Ernest "Smiley" Adams (October 4, 1935 – June 19, 2003) was an American trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses who trained Master Derby to win the 1975 Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series. In what was the 100 ...
, at age two Master Derby made twelve starts, finishing either first or second in all of them. His best stakes race results were wins in the Grade 3 Kindergarten Stakes, a sprint race at
Keystone Racetrack
Parx Casino and Racing (formerly Philadelphia Park Racetrack and Casino) is a thoroughbred horse racing venue and the largest casino gaming complex in Pennsylvania. Parx is located in Bensalem Township in Bucks County, northeast of the city of Ph ...
Liberty Bell Park Racetrack Liberty Bell Park was an American race track in Northeast Philadelphia that held harness racing and Thoroughbred horse racing from 1963 until 1986.
The site, northeast of the intersection of Knights and Woodhaven Roads, was derived from several ...
. He also earned a second-place finish in the important 1974
Breeders' Futurity Stakes
The Breeders' Futurity Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early October at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. Currently offering a purse of $500,000, the race is open to two-year-old horses and is ru ...
and the
Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes
The Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the last week of November at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. A Grade II event, the race is open to two-year-olds willing to race one and one-sixtee ...
.
1975: Three-year-old season
Racing as a three-year-old, Master Derby began his season with two straight losses in six-furlong sprints but then won the much longer 1 1/16 miles Louisiana Derby Trial Stakes and the 1⅛ miles
Louisiana Derby
The Louisiana Derby is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Run in late March, the race is open to horses, age three, willing to race miles on the dirt. It currently o ...
. Aimed for 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 ...
, from his base in Louisiana his handlers shipped him to
Keeneland Race Course
Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for its ...
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 ...
, where jockey
Darrel McHargue
Darrel G. McHargue (born September 26, 1954 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is a retired American Champion jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. One of five children from a family not connected to horse racing, he was first introduced to riding as a ...
Blue Grass Stakes
The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is run ...
.
With McHargue as his rider in the 1975 U.S. Triple Crown races, Master Derby ran fourth in the Kentucky Derby to the heavily favored winner
Foolish Pleasure
Foolish Pleasure (March 23, 1972 – November 17, 1994) was an American bay Thoroughbred race horse who won the 1975 Kentucky Derby.
Background
Foolish Pleasure was a bay horse bred at Williston, Florida by Waldemar Farms, Inc. He was owned by J ...
, then won 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 ...
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...
, and
Oaklawn Handicap
The Oaklawn Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in April at Oaklawn Park Race Track in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
A Grade II event raced on dirt, since 1984 it has been contested over a distance of miles (9 furlongs). It use ...
s, and ran second in the
Metropolitan Handicap
The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile", is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile (8 furl ...
to Hall of Fame inductee
Forego
Forego (April 30, 1970 – August 27, 1997) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won eight Eclipse Awards including Horse of the Year, Champion Handicap Horse and Champion Sprinter.
Background
Foaled at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentuck ...
.
Stud record
Retired to
stud
Stud may refer to the following terms:
Animals
* Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding
** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred
Arts and entertainment
* Stud (band), a British progressive rock group
* The Stud (bar), a gay bar ...
duty, Master Derby met with some success as a sire. The most notable of his progeny in racing was the Grade I winner Uptown Swell, who earned just under $1 million for owner
Virginia Kraft Payson
Virginia Kraft Payson (February 19, 1930 – January 9, 2023) was an American thoroughbred owner and breeder, big-game hunter, and journalist. She wrote for ''Sports Illustrated'' under the name of Virginia Kraft for 26 years, starting with its f ...
. However, his daughter Doff The Derby produced
Generous
Generous is an adjective form of generosity.
Generous may also refer to:
* Generous (horse), an Irish thoroughbred racehorse
* "Generous" (song), a 2017 song by Olivia Holt
* Generous Stakes, an American thoroughbred horse race
* Matt Generous ...
, whose 1991
Group One
Group One, Group 1, Grade I or G1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. In Europe, the level of races for Thoroughbred racing is determined using the Pattern race system introduce ...
victories in England and Ireland included the
Epsom
Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. ...
and Irish Derbys and whose earnings helped make Master Derby the 1991
Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland The list below shows the leading sire of broodmares in Great Britain and Ireland for each year since 1899. This is determined by the amount of prize money won during the year in Great Britain and Ireland by racehorses that were foaled by a daught ...
.
In 1992, Master Derby was inducted into the
Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame The Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame was created in 1971 by the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United S ...
.
In January 1999, due to the infirmities of old age, the twenty-seven-year-old Master Derby was humanely
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 ...
at Notjustanother Farm in
Chino, California
Chino ( ; Spanish for "Curly") is a city in the western end of San Bernardino County, California, United States, with Los Angeles County to its west and Orange County to its south in the Southern California region. Chino is adjacent to Chin ...