Summer Scandal (foaled Apr 18, 1962 in Kentucky) was an American National Champion Thoroughbred racemare bred by

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

owner

Ralph Wilson Ralph Cookerly Wilson Jr. (October 17, 1918 – March 25, 2014) was an American businessman and sports executive. He was best known as the founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills, a team in the National Football League (NFL). He was one of the f ...

. She was raced by Harborvale Stable, the ''

nom de course NOM may refer to: Arts and entertainment * NOM and NOM2, mobile device games produced by Gamevil * "Nom", a song by DKZ * N.O.M., an experimental Russian rock band * Nickelodeon Original Movies * ''Nintendo Official Magazine'', the official Br ...

'' for David G. Volkert, owner of Volkert & Associates Inc., an engineering, architectural, planning and environmental company based in

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

Background

Summer Scandal's breeder,

, was also the breeder of Arazi whose performance in winning the 1991

Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup W ...

is still talked about to this day. Summer Scandal was sired by

Summer Tan Summer Tan (1952–1969) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse Background Summer Tan was bred and raced by Dorothy Firestone Galbreath and race conditioned by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer, Sherrill Ward. Racing career 1954: two-year-old ...

, a multiple top-level stakes winner who also sired the good runners, Indian Sunlite and Sunrise County. Summer Tan was also the damsire of

Typecast In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...

, the 1972 American Champion Older Female Horse, as well as 1985

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Champion ...

winner, Proud Truth. Summer Scandal's dam was the daughter of Go-Modern who was the only American foal by the English sire

Watling Street Watling Street is a historic route in England, running from Dover and London in the southeast, via St Albans to Wroxeter. The road crosses the River Thames at London and was used in Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and throughout the M ...

who died in 1953 after standing there for just one season. Watling Street was the winner of the 1942

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, more commonly known as the Derby and sometimes referred to as the Epsom Derby, is a Group races, Group 1 flat Horse racing, horse race in England open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Ep ...

for owner/breeder

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869), known as Lord Stanley from 1834 to 1851, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served three times as Prime Minister of the United K ...

who also owned his sire Fairway, a highly successful racehorse. Among Fairway's wins were the

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...

and two editions of the

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile 1 furlong a ...

. Watling Street's dam, Ranai, won two minor races before producing many good winners including the

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1.6 km) and scheduled to take place each yea ...

winner Garden Path.

Racing Career

Owner David Volkert entrusted Summer Scandal's race conditioning to trainer Woods Garth. She did not make her racing debut until age three in 1965 when she won three of five starts. On June 23 she ran second to Terentia in the Post-Deb Stakes at

Monmouth Park Racetrack Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with ...

. In her next start on the same Monmouth track, Summer Scandal turned the tables and beat Terentia by six lengths with

Marshua Marshua (foaled March 19, 1962) was a multi Graded stakes winning American Thoroughbred racemare bred and raced by Helene D. Gilroy, a partner with her husband in the Missouri based Interstate Gas Corporation. Background Marshua was sired by N ...

another 2 3/4 lengths further back in third. At age four, Summer Scandal would be voted the TRA's Champion Handicap Mare for her impressive performances in 1966 that saw her win the

Top Flight Handicap The Top Flight Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. A Listed race, it is open to fillies and mares, age three and older. The event is contested over a distance of one and one-eighth ...

, Maskette Handicap 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 ...

. In the fall Summer Scandal was shipped to

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 ...

to compete in the October 27, 1966 edition of the

Spinster Stakes The Spinster Stakes (also known as the "Juddmonte Spinster" with Juddmonte Farms sponsorship) is an American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares aged three or up run annually in early October at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentuc ...

Keeneland Race Course Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for it ...

. Her first such travelling at a long distance, she finished third behind winner Open Fire and runner-up Old Hat. 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 ...

, Summer Scandal produced a foal by two great runners, Ribot and

Buckpasser Buckpasser (1963– March 6, 1978) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a ...

. While neither were successful on the track, Ribot's 1969 daughter Checkered Career, who won only once in 21 starts, was the dam of the colt Esops Foibles. He won both the 1978

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 ...

and

Arkansas Derby The Arkansas Derby is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. In 2004, t ...

and finished fifth in the

1978 Kentucky Derby The 1978 Kentucky Derby was the 104th running of the Kentucky Derby. Affirmed, under jockey Steve Cauthen, won the race by 1 1/2 lengths over Alydar. Believe It finished 3rd, 1 1/4 lengths behind Alydar, and 30:1 longshot Darby Creek Road finis ...

for owner

Jerry Frankel Jerry Frankel (August 1, 1930 – November 17, 2018) was an American Tony Award-winning producer of plays and musicals for Broadway theatre, the founder of Jerrell Inc. (Dallas), a leading US manufacturer of women's apparel, and a breeder/owner of ...

References

{{reflist 1962 racehorse births American Champion racehorses Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 6-a