Middleground (April 22, 1947 – February 16, 1972) "Grave Matters Farm Index North America" (horse graves), Thoroughbred Heritage, 2005, webpage:

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 ...

who won the 1950

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 Belmont Stakes and came second 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 ...

. He was named the 1950

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

and Champion Three-Year-Old Male.

Racing career

Middleground was ridden throughout his career by 16-year-old apprentice jockey Bill Boland, and he was trained by

Max Hirsch Maximilian Justice "Max" Hirsch (July 12, 1880 - April 3, 1969) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born in Fredericksburg, Texas, and raised Roman Catholic, Hirsch became one of the most successful trainers in Thoroug ...

, both future U.S. Hall of Fame inductees. As a two-year-old in 1949, Middleground 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 came third in the

Arlington Futurity The Arlington-Washington Futurity is a Listed horse race for Thoroughbred two-year-olds. It is scheduled to run at a distance of one mile on the turf at Arlington Park, Arlington Heights, Illinois every fall and as at 2020 offers a purse of $100, ...

. The following year, Middleground started the year with second-place finishes both the

Withers Stakes The Withers Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three years old horses over the distance of miles on the dirt scheduled annually in February at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. The event currently carries a purse o ...

and Wood Memorial. He then won the

, only the second horse to win it with an apprentice jockey after his sire Bold Venture who won with jockey Ira Hanford. Five time Kentucky Derby winning jockey

Eddie Arcaro George Edward Arcaro (February 19, 1916 – November 14, 1997), was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Tri ...

had the chance to ride Middleground, but he chose to ride

Hill Prince Hill Prince (1947–1970) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the leading American two-year-olds of 1949, alongside Oil Capitol and Middleground. In 1950, he ran fifteen times, winning races including the Preakness Stakes, W ...

instead, who finished second. After the Kentucky Derby, Middleground finished second to Hill Prince after a rough trip in the

, and won the Belmont Stakes. As a three-year-old he also won the

Leonard Richards Stakes The Barbaro Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race once run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton, Delaware. It is now run in October. Previously known as the Leonard Richards Stakes, in 2007 it was renamed in honor ...

. In the 1950 Jerome Handicap, Middleground broke a bone in his foot and was retired.

Retirement and stud career

Middleground was retired to stud at King Ranch in 1951. He sired 101 winners and 7 stakes winners in his stud career, including Resaca, Chistosa, and Here and There. He died in 1972, and the gravesite is on the

King Ranch King Ranch is the largest ranch in the United States. At some it is larger than the state of Rhode Island and country of Luxembourg. It is mainly a cattle ranch, but also produced the Triple Crown winning racehorse Assault. The ranch is lo ...

, in

Kingsville, Texas Kingsville is a city in the southern region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Kleberg County, Texas, Kleberg County. Located on the U.S. Route 77 in Texas, U.S. Route 77 corridor between Corpus Christi, Texas, Corpus Christi and Ha ...

. In 2000, he was inducted into the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Pedigree

Notes

References

Middleground's pedigree and racing stats
1947 racehorse births 1972 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Texas Racehorses trained in the United States Kentucky Derby winners Belmont Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 4-m {{racehorse-stub