Real Delight (1949–1969), 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 ...

race horse ''Race Horse'' was an 1850 clipper barque. She set a record of 109 days from New York to San Francisco during the first Clipper Race around the Horn. Construction ''Race Horse'' was similar to a barque built by Samuel Hall a few years earlier, ...

Background

She was bred by the famous

Calumet Farm Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of the Bluegrass ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. Her sire was one of

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

's foundation

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

s, the influential

Bull Lea Bull Lea (March 11, 1935 – June 16, 1964) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is best known as the foundation sire responsible for making Calumet Farm one of the most successful racing stables in American history. In their ...

(sire of seven

Hall of Famers 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 fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

, including his other great daughters: Two Lea,

Bewitch Bewitch (1945–1959) was a Thoroughbred race horse born in 1945 at Calumet Farm, Kentucky, United States in the same crop in which the stallion Bull Lea produced Citation and Coaltown. Each of them was eventually inaugurated into the Thoroughb ...

, and

Twilight Tear Twilight Tear (1941–1954) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. At age two, she won four of her six starts, finishing second and third in her other two starts. Her performances earned her the title of 2-year-old filly honors in ...

). Her dam was the stakes-winning Blue Delight (10 wins out of 24 starts) out of Blue Larkspur, a racehorse

Blood-Horse magazine ''The Blood-Horse'' (also referred to simply as ''Blood-Horse'' and displayed on its nameplate in upright all-capital letters without hyphenation as BLOODHORSE) is a news magazine that originated in 1916 as a monthly bulletin of the Thoroughbred ...

considered number 100 in its list of the

Twentieth Century The 20th century began on 1 January 1901 (MCMI), and ended on 31 December 2000 (MM). It was the 10th and last century in the 2nd millennium and was marked by new models of scientific understanding, unprecedented scopes of warfare, new modes of ...

's greatest racehorses. Real Delight was a huge, rangy filly, standing 17 hands. Throughout her second year, she was bothered by a bad knee and did not race as a two-year-old. A Calumet horse, she was trained by Hall of Famer Horace A. Jones. Horace had become the head trainer by the birth of Real Delight while his father, Ben A. Jones, became Calumet's general manager.

Racing career

At three, Real Delight won eleven of twelve starts. She began in combination races, meaning mixed fields of claimers and allowance runners, but quickly stepped up in class after two easy wins. Her first stakes victory came in the

Ashland Stakes The Ashland Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early April at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It and the Ashland Oaks, the Kentucky Association racetrack's predecessor race, were named fo ...

, followed by her only loss at three, and the only time she competed against males. Even so, at a sprint distance of six and one half

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

s not suited to her long legs, she closed fast, losing by only a head. Often ridden by the Hall of Fame

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

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. Triple ...

, she then took eight stakes in a row, including the

Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Frida ...

Coaching Club American Oaks The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course i ...

Black-Eyed Susan Stakes The George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (known as the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes from 1952 through 2019 and first run as the Pimlico Oaks) is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies run over a distance of mile ...

(once known as the Pimlico Oaks),

Modesty Handicap The Modesty Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. A Grade III race contested over a distance of miles on turf, it is open to fillies and mares aged four and older. Run ...

, and

Beldame Stakes The Beldame Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares three-years-old and up. Inaugurated in 1939, it was run as a handicap prior to 1960. The race is held annually near the beginning of October at Belmont Park and curr ...

. By winning the Kentucky Oaks, the Black-Eyed Susan, and the CCA Oaks, she was the second filly to win this early version of the Triple Crown for fillies. The only filly to do so before her was Wistful. (Today's

Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing The Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, formerly known as the Filly Triple Crown, is a set of three horse races in the United States which is open to three-year-old fillies. Presently the only official Triple Tiara is the three race series in Ne ...

consists of the

Acorn Stakes The Acorn Stakes is an American Grade I race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is raced on dirt over a distance of one mile and a sixteenth with a current purse of $500,000. It is the first leg of the ...

, the

Mother Goose Stakes The Mother Goose Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt in late October, the race currently offers a purse of $250,000. Inaugurated in 1957 at a mile and a s ...

, and the

CCA Oaks The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year-old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $500,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in ...

.) In 1952, Real Delight was voted the United States Champion Three-Year-Old Filly, and took the ''

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 ...

s award for United States Champion Female Handicap Horse in competition with older fillies and mares. At four, she won the

Arlington Matron Handicap The Matron Stakes is an American Grade III flat horse race for Thoroughbred fillies and mares, aged three years and upward. Raced over a distance of 9 furlongs on the dirt at Arlington Park, Arlington Heights, Illinois every spring. It currentl ...

carrying top weight, just as she did in all of her other four-year-old races.

Retirement

She retired that year, going back to Calumet, where she foaled three stakes winners, eventually becoming the third dam of

Alydar Alydar (March 23, 1975 – November 15, 1990) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, race horse and sire. A chestnut colt, he was most famous for finishing a close second to Affirmed in all three races of the 1978 Triple Crown of Thoro ...

. Real Delight was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1987.

Death

Real Delight lived for 20 years, dying in 1969

References

{{Reflist
Real Delight's pedigree, stats, and photo

Real Delight in the Hall of Fame
1949 racehorse births 1969 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Eclipse Award winners Kentucky Oaks winners Thoroughbred family 9-c