Silver Spoon (March 6, 1956 - January 1978) was a multiple stakes winning

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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

Silver Spoon was a daughter of Triple Crown winner

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. Citation was by

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 ...

, the foundation sire of

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 ...

. Silver Spoon's dam, Silver Fog, carried the blood of Equipose, Blenheim,

Man o' War Man o' War was a thoroughbred racehorse considered an all-time great. Man o' War (or capitalization variations thereof) may also refer to: Animals * Portuguese man o' war, a floating marine animal found in the Atlantic that resembles a jellyfish ...

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Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

, and a host of others. Silver Spoon was a big chestnut filly with four white stockings, standing 16 hands one inch tall, and weighing 1,135 pounds. As a foal, she injured her hip and forever after walked with a pronounced hesitation or "hitch" in her gait.

Racing career

Her first race was an $8,000 claiming event for two-year-olds at

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a thoroughbred racing, thoroughbred horse racetrack in Elmont, New York, just east of New York City limits best known for hosting the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United Stat ...

. There were no takers. Ridden by

Eldon Nelson Glen Eldon Nelson (January 28, 1927 - March 16, 2012) was an American jockey in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing who competed primarily at tracks on the East Coast of the United States and who is best known for winning the 1972 Preakness St ...

, she won by six lengths. Sent to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Silver Spoon dominated her division, going undefeated in a six-race winning streak. Winning both the Santa Susana Stakes now called the

Santa Anita Oaks Santa Anita Oaks is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to three-year-old fillies willing to race 8.5 furlongs ( miles) on the dirt. The race is a Grade II even ...

and the

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of . It is one of t ...

, she became one of only two fillies ever to do so. The other was the winner of the 1988

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 ...

: Winning Colors. In the Santa Anita Derby, she took the race against

colts Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States * Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United State ...

. With her ears pricked, she romped home by two and a half lengths against that year's eventual

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 ...

winner,

Royal Orbit Royal Orbit (April 25, 1956 - c. 1980) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the winner of the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown races. Background Royal Orbit was a chestnut horse bred by film mogul Louis ...

. This was the win that convinced her connections to enter her in the 1959 Kentucky Derby. The only filly to start in the race between the years 1945 to 1980, she came in a respectable fifth, three and a half lengths behind the winner, Tomy Lee. A few months later, back on the West Coast, she soundly beat Tomy Lee in the Cinema Handicap. In the Cinema, she conceded 9 pounds to the runner-up. In the press, Silver Spoon was hailed as the best filly since the

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Honors

In the 1959 voting for Champion three-old-filly, the Thoroughbred Racing Association voted for Silver Spoon, but in the rival ''

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 ...

'' poll she was beaten by 85 points to 73 by Royal Native. In the year she died, 1978, Silver Spoon was inducted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. She is buried at the

Gainesway Farm Gainesway Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding business in Lexington, Kentucky. It was originally called Greentree Stables, Greentree Farms. The 1,500-acre (6 km2) property has been home to stallions such as Youth (horse), Youth a ...

, once part of the C.V. Whitney Farm, beside her equals, among them Winning Colors.

Breeding record

As a

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

, Silver Spoon gave birth to seven foals. One was the stakes-winning Inca Queen by

Hail To Reason Hail to Reason (April 18, 1958 – February 24, 1976) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and an influential sire. In a racing career cut short by injury, he was named the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1960 after winning seven stake ...

References

{{reflist
Silver Spoon’s pedigree, stats, and photo

Silver Spoon at the Hall of Fame
* "''The History of Thoroughbred Racing in America''," by William H.P. Robertson, Bonanza Books, New York 1956 racehorse births 1978 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in Kentucky Thoroughbred family A1 Whitney racehorses