Tosmah (1961–1992) was a champion

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 c ...

race horse. She was the leading American filly of her generation at both two and three years of age.

Background

Tosmah was bred in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

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. Her sire was the great Tim Tam, by

Tom Fool Tom Fool (March 31, 1949 – August 20, 1976) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1953 American Horse of the Year and was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame. He sired the champion racehorses Buckpasser and Tim Tam. B ...

out of Two Lea. Many consider Tim Tam's loss of Thoroughbred racing's American Triple Crown only a matter of fate. After winning the first two legs (

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

and

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...

), he was leading in the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

when he broke down, coming in second. Retired early, he went on as a sire, producing a number of stakes winners. Tosmah is considered his very best. Her dam, Cosmah, was the 1974 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, who also produced Halo, who sired Sunny's Halo and

Sunday Silence Sunday Silence (March 25, 1986 – August 19, 2002) was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In 1989, he won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes but failed to complete the Triple Crown when he was defeated in the Belmont ...

Racing career

At the age of two, she started eight times and lost once. For this, she was named the

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both t ...

of 1963. This was before the Eclipse Awards when championships were determined by the '' Daily Racing Form'', ''Turf and Sports Digest'' magazine, and the Thoroughbred Racing Association. Tosmah was named champion by ''Daily Racing Form'' and ''Turf and Sports Digest'', while

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took the rival Thoroughbred Racing Association award. When Tosmah was three, she started in fourteen races, winning ten, vying all year with a splendid filly called Old Hat. 1964 saw her highest earnings, $305,283, and the title of

American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ...

. She was named American Champion Female Handicap Horse by ''Daily Racing Form''. In 1965, at the age of four she won her second

Maskette Handicap The Go For Wand Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race established in 1954 for fillies and mares age three and up. Raced in the fall, it is a Grade III race (Grade I before 2010) on dirt at a distance of one mile. Inaugurated in 1954 a ...

(now known as the

Go For Wand Handicap The Go For Wand Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race established in 1954 for fillies and mares age three and up. Raced in the fall, it is a Grade III race (Grade I before 2010) on dirt at a distance of one mile. Inaugurated in 1954 at ...

) under 128 pounds, in the process beating the great filly

Affectionately Affectionately (April 26, 1960 – 1979) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background She was sired by 1956 American Horse of the Year Swaps, out of the racing mare Searching. Searching's dam was Big Hurry, by Black Toney out of La ...

, no. 81 in the

Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century ''BloodHorse'' is a multimedia news organization covering Thoroughbred racing and breeding that started with a newsletter first published in 1916 as a monthly bulletin put out by the Thoroughbred Horse Association.

, in a driving finish. In her final season, Tosmah defeated

Lucky Debonair Lucky Debonair (May 2, 1962 – July 10, 1987) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1965 Kentucky Derby. Background He was bred by owners Dan and Ada Rice of Wheaton, Illinois at their Danada Farm satellite operation ...

, the winner of the 1965

, in the John B. Campbell Handicap.

Broodmare

Of four foals, Tosmah gave birth to only one stakes winner, La Guidecca. She died in 1992 at the advanced age of thirty-one and is buried at Briardale Farm, Estell Manor,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Tosmah was inducted into the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 1984.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist * "''Champions, The Lives, Times, and Past Performances of America's Greatest Thoroughbreds, Revised Edition, Champions from 1893-2004''," the Daily Racing Form
Tosmah’s pedigree and photo

Tosmah in the Hall of Fame
1961 racehorse births 1992 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Thoroughbred family 2-d