Platter (foaled 1941 in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

) 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 ...

Champion

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 ...

. He is best known for his performances as a two-year-old in 1943, when he was the best American colt of his generation.

Background

He was bred and raced by

George D. Widener Jr. George Dunton Widener Jr. (March 11, 1889 – December 8, 1971) was an American thoroughbred racing owner and horse breeding, breeder. He raised 102 Stakes race, stakes winners, won the Travers Stakes a record-tying five times, and was the first p ...

, and conditioned for racing by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer

Bert Mulholland Winbert F. "Bert" Mulholland (August 27, 1883 - July 12, 1968) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse racing trainer. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, the American heartland for Thoroughbred horse breeding, Bert Mulholland began his career i ...

Racing career

In 1943 he won the Pimlico Futurity and the

Walden Stakes The Walden Stakes is a discontinued Thoroughbred horse race run from 1906 through 1948 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Raced on dirt, the event was open to two-year-olds horses of either sex. The race was named in honor of Maryland-b ...

under jockey Conn McCreary and was voted

American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when the ''Daily Racing F ...

Daily Racing Form The ''Daily Racing Form'' (DRF) (referred to as the ''Racing Form'' or "Form" and sometimes "telegraph" or "telly") is a tabloid newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois, by Frank Brunell. The paper publishes the past performances of rac ...

. The rival Turf & Sports Digest Magazine poll was topped by Occupy. As a three-year-old, an injury kept Platter out of racing until early May in an allowance race test. The colt did not run in the 1944

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 ...

but finished second to

Pensive Pensive (February 5, 1941 – May 20, 1948) was a bright chestnut Thoroughbred racehorse that in 1944 won the first two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown. Pensive also began only the second sire line "hat trick" in the Kentucky Derby, as his son P ...

in the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series, the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

. He was injured in the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

and had to be pulled up.

Stud career

Retired to

stud Stud may refer to: 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 in San Francisco * ...

duty, Platter met with limited success. Of his limited number of offspring, Platan met with the most success in racing, notably winning the 1953

Lawrence Realization Stakes The Lawrence Realization Stakes was an American horse race first run on the turf in 1889. The race, for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts, geldings and fillies, was last run in 2005. History Inaugurated at the Sheepshead Bay Race Track at Grave ...

and 1955 Arlington Handicap.

References

{{reflist 1941 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 11-g Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses