Tom Fool (March 31, 1949 – August 20, 1976) was a champion 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 was the 1953

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, or simply Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to san ...

and was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame. He sired the champion racehorses

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 ...

and

Tim Tam Tim Tam is a brand of chocolate biscuit introduced by the Australian biscuit company Arnott's Biscuits Holdings in 1964. It consists of two malted biscuits separated by a light hard chocolate cream filling and coated in a thin layer of textur ...

Background

Owned by Greentree Stables, Tom Fool was bred by Duval Headley, a Thoroughbred trainer and nephew of prominent Kentucky breeder

Hal Price Headley Hal Price Headley (December 19, 1888 – March 22, 1962) was an American owner and breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses and a founder of Keeneland who served as the race track's president from 1935 to 1951. He owned the 4,000 acre Beaumont Far ...

. Tom Fool was a bay colt by the racehorse and sire

Menow Menow (1935–1964) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He won several important races in 1937, when he was voted American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse. Background Bred and raced by Hal Price Headley, Menow was foaled on May 19, late ...

out of Gaga by

Pharamond II Pharamond (1925–1952) was an English Thoroughbred racehorse who became a successful sire of Champions in the United States where he was registered as Pharamond II. He was a full brother to Sickle, who also stood at stud successfully in the ...

. He was a half-brother to the good two-year-old Aunt Jinny,Morris, Simon; ''Tesio Power 2000 - Stallions of the World'', Syntax Software and was a great-grandson of the broodmare Laughing Queen, whose other descendants included 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 ...

winner

Dust Commander Dust Commander (February 8, 1967 – October 7, 1991) was an American Thoroughbred race horse. Background The name "Dust Commander" is derived from his dam, Dust Storm, and his sire, Bold Commander. A descendant of Nearco, Dust Commander was br ...

. Greentree Stables purchased Tom Fool privately as a yearling for $20,000.

Racing record

Tom Fool was trained by John M. Gaver, Sr. and ridden by

Ted Atkinson Theodore Frederick Atkinson (June 17, 1916 – May 5, 2005) was a Canadian-born American thoroughbred horse racing jockey, inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1957. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His sister was ...

. In his two-year-old season, he had five wins and two seconds in seven starts, which earned him Champion 2-Year-Old Colt honors for 1951. After he finished second in the

Wood Memorial Stakes The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memor ...

at age 3, the horse's veterinarian discovered he had raced with a high fever. The illness sidelined Tom Fool for more than two months, and he missed the Triple Crown races. Although his 1952 season was difficult, he won six of his thirteen starts. Along with Tom Fool's many accomplishments, he sired notable champions including Tim Tam and Stop the Music, who was also inducted into the hall of fame. In 1953, a healthy four-year-old Tom Fool was undefeated in ten races, He won at distances ranging from 5½ furlongs to 1¼ miles and became only the second horse to win New York's Handicap Triple Crown: the

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and

Brooklyn Handicap The Brooklyn Stakes (formerly known as the Brooklyn Handicap) is an American Thoroughbred horse race run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to four-year-olds and up willing to race one and ...

s. Tom Fool also won the

Whitney Stakes The Whitney Stakes (run as the Whitney Handicap through 2013 and still sometimes referred to as such) is an American Grade 1 stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses four years of age and older run at a distance of miles. The current purse is $1, ...

and captured the

Pimlico Special The Pimlico Special is a Grade 3 American thoroughbred horse race for horses age three and older over a distance of miles ( furlongs) held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland in mid May. The race currently offers a purse of $250,000. ...

by eight lengths. This final start was a win that concluded a perfect four-year-old campaign with 10 stakes wins in as many starts. The Pimlico Special was his fourth consecutive race start in a non-betting race; by this time, few horses were entered against him.Ahnert, Rainer L. (editor in chief), ''Thoroughbred Breeding of the World'', Pozdun Publishing, Germany, 1970 In polls to determine Horse of the Year honors, Tom Fool topped polls by the Thoroughbred Racing Association (34 of a possible 37 votes) and Triangle Publications (30 of 31). Tom Fool retired with a record of 30 starts for 21 wins, 7 seconds and 1 third for earnings of $570,165.

Stud career

Tom Fool was syndicated for $1,750,000, as a stallion and initially stood for a $5,000 service fee. He sired the winners of over 650 races in America and England, with over 30 stakes winners, including: *

- 1966 U.S. Horse of the Year, U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee * Silly Season (USA), England's leading two-year-old of 1964 and sire of Lunchtime, a good sire in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. *

- won

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 ...

, U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee *

Tompion {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Tompion , image = , caption = , sire = Tom Fool , grandsire = Menow , dam = Sunlight , damsire = Count Fleet , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1957 , country = United States , colour = Brown , breeder = ...

- multiple stakes winner, including Grade 1

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 ...

Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is ru ...

and

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Midsummer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds accor ...

in 1960 Tom Fool's bloodline endures in the 2015 U.S. Triple Crown winner,

American Pharoah American Pharoah (foaled February 2, 2012) is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the American Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2015. He was the 12th Triple Crown winner in history, and in winning all four races, became the first ...

, who is both a sixth- and seventh-generation descendant.

Honors

Tom Fool was inducted into the

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 horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

in 1960. In ''

The Blood-Horse ''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 ...

'' magazine ranking of the ''Blood-Horse'' magazine Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century, he was ranked #11. The

Tom Fool Handicap The Tom Fool Handicap is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for four-year-olds and older at a distance of six furlongs on the dirt run annually in early March at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. The event currently o ...

, contested 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 ...

, is named in his honor. Tom Fool retired from stud duties in 1972 and died on 20 August 1976.

Pedigree

References

External links

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame: Tom Fool
{{American Horse of the Year winners 1949 racehorse births 1976 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in Kentucky American Champion racehorses American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees United States Champion Thoroughbred Sires British Champion Thoroughbred broodmare sires Thoroughbred family 3-j Chefs-de-Race