Risen Star (March 25, 1985 – March 13, 1998) 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 ...

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 ...

who won 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 ...

and

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 ...

in 1988.

Background

The dark bay colt was the son of the great Triple Crown winner

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 horse racing, racehorse who was the ninth winn ...

and out of the mare Ribbon. Bred by

Arthur B. Hancock III Arthur Boyd Hancock III (born February 22, 1943, in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American owner of Thoroughbred racehorses, the owner of Stone Farm, a 2,000 acre (8 km2) horse breeding operation in Paris, Kentucky, and a composer of Bluegra ...

and Leone J. Peters, Risen Star was bought by

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

ns Ronnie Lamarque and Louie Roussel III at the 1987 Calder Two-Year-Olds In Training sale. He was trained by Roussel, a devout Roman Catholic who was stricken by

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

but recovered. Ten percent of Risen Star's winnings were donated to the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Roman Catholic order of nuns.

Racing career

As a two-year-old, Risen Star was lightly raced, winning the Minstrel Stakes at Louisiana Downs. He started his sophomore season by winning the Grade 2

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 ...

under jockey Shane Romero. Then, two weeks prior to the Kentucky Derby, he had another Grade 2 victory in the

Lexington Stakes The Lexington Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses at a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt run annually in April during at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky during their spr ...

, in which he was ridden by Jacinto Vasquez. He went into the

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 ...

as the morning-line third choice. The colts laid off the pace, their jockeys believing that the front-running grey filly Winning Colors would tire at the end of the race, but she didn't tire and won by a neck going wire to wire. Under

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 Delahoussaye Edward J. Delahoussaye (born September 21, 1951) is a retired Americans, American Thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred jockey from New Iberia, Louisiana. He began his career in 1968 and ten years later became the top American jockey with 384 win ...

, Risen Star was forced to the outside on the backstretch, where he stayed until making a charge at the head of the stretch. He couldn’t make up all of the lost ground and finished third. Two weeks later in the

, Risen Star and Delahoussaye won the second leg of the Triple Crown, turning the tables on his filly rival Winning Colors to win by 1 lengths over Brian's Time, Winning Colors, and local favorite

Private Terms Private Terms (April 6, 1985 – January 22, 2010) was a millionaire American Thoroughbred racehorse and successful stallion. He was the son of Private Account, who in turn was the son of the great Damascus. Bred in Kentucky by Stuart Janney, Jr. ...

. Since Risen Star’s sire was (

) and his grandsire was (

Bold Ruler Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 12, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 American Horse of the Year, Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign t ...

), this victory meant that three successive generations won the Preakness Stakes, a feat accomplished only one other time.Kauai King (USA)
/ref> In the

, the third leg of the Triple Crown, Risen Star and Delahoussaye pulled away from the field to win by 14 lengths with a final time of 2:26. It is the fourth-fastest Belmont Stakes behind Hall of Famers

A.P. Indy A.P. Indy (March 31, 1989 – February 21, 2020) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic on his way to American Horse of the Year honors in 1992. His time in the Belmont Stakes tied Easy Goer for ...

Easy Goer Easy Goer (March 21, 1986 – May 12, 1994) was an American Champion American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse known for earning American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors in 1988, and defeating 1989 American Horse of the Year Sunday Silence ...

, and

. Because of his two Classic victories, Risen Star won the second $1,000,000 Chrysler Triple Crown Bonus that was awarded to the three-year-old with the best finishes in the three races.

Retirement

An injury that occurred in the Belmont forced Risen Star into early retirement. He won the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division. The trophy is made by a few small selected A ...

as 1988's top three-year-old. By winning the Eclipse, he became the first third-generation Eclipse Award winner in the same category (his sire Secretariat won in 1973 and his grandsire

won in 1957). Risen Star was retired to stud and went on to sire the millionaire Grade One winner Star Standard, as well as German runner Risen Raven. Risen Star died on March 13, 1998, at Walmac International, where he is buried. A top Kentucky Derby prep race, the

Risen Star Stakes The Risen Star Stakes is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses at a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the dirt run annually in February, usually during the President's Day weekend at Fair Grounds Race Course i ...

, is named in his honor. it is held annually at

Fair Grounds Race Course Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC. The ''Carrollton Race Cours ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Breeding

References

Risen Star's pedigree and partial racing stats
{{Belmont Stakes Winners 1985 racehorse births 1998 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners Preakness Stakes winners Belmont Stakes winners Hancock family American Grade 1 Stakes winners Thoroughbred family 9-c