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Sarazen (1921–1940) was an American Hall of Fame
Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, ...
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 ...
. Owned by Colonel Phil T. Chinn's Himyar Stud, Sarazen won his first three starts. Chinn then sold him for a huge profit to Virginia Fair Vanderbilt, who raced him under her Fair Stable banner. A small horse at fifteen hands tall, Sarazen had a difficult temperament that made him hard to handle, and his original owner had him gelded. After his sale to Fair Stable, Sarazen 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 ...
, and he wound up his two-year-old racing season undefeated, capturing all ten races he entered. At age three, health problems saw Sarazen's handlers pass up the U.S. Triple Crown races. When he came back to the track, he dominated racing and earned the first of his two consecutive unofficial United States Horse of the Year awards. Sarazen's 1925 wins included the Dixie Stakes on Preakness Day on the turf at
Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of O ...
in
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. He also won the International Special No.3 at the Latonia Race Track in
Covington, Kentucky Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licki ...
, over a field of top American and
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an horses. While setting a Latonia track record, 3-year-old Sarazen defeated Belmont Stakes winner Mad Play, the future Hall of Fame
filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...
Princess Doreen Princess Doreen (1921–1952) was a Thoroughbred racehorse best known for being the top American female money-winner. After showing promising form as a two-year-old she improved to be the best female racehorse of her generation for the next thre ...
("The Princess" came back to beat him in the 1926 Saratoga Handicap), and Pierre Wertheimer's 4-year-old colt Epinard, the champion 2-year-old of
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who would retrospectively be named American Champion Older Male Horse. Sarazen came back the following year and became the only horse to have his name engraved twice on one of the oldest trophies in American sports, "The
Annapolis Subscription Plate Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about e ...
." The plate is presented to the winner of the Dixie Stakes run at "Old Hilltop" since 1870 (the race was formerly called "The Dinner Party Stakes"). To date, Sarazen is the only repeat winner of the Dixie. He was named Horse of the Year for the second straight time in 1925, winning five of his ten starts.''The Bloodhorse.com'' Champion's history charts


Retirement

Sarazen was not put out to stud because he had been gelded and could not sire any offspring. He continued to race for another two years but became raucous and unwilling to make much of an effort. He was retired after the 1928 season to Brookdale Farm on Spur Road near
Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...
. Sarazen died at age nineteen on December 12, 1940. Following its creation, he was posthumously inducted into the United States'
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...
in 1957.


References

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Sarazen at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
1921 racehorse births 1940 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 20 Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year