Zev (1920–1943) was an American

thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and Horse industry, industry involving the Horse racing, racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter know ...

Champion and

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 ...

inductee.

Background

A brown colt, Zev was sired by

The Finn The Finn (1912–1925) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that is best remembered as the winner of the 1915 Belmont Stakes. He won six other stakes races that year and was retroactively recognized as the American Champion three-year-old colt. ...

and was out of the mare Miss Kearney (by Planudes). Bred by the famous horseman

John E. Madden John Edward Madden (December 28, 1856 – November 3, 1929) was a prominent United States, American Thoroughbred and Standardbred owner, breeder and trainer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He owned Hamburg Place Stud in Lexin ...

, Zev was owned by the Rancocas Stable of Harry F. Sinclair, the founder of Sinclair Oil, who was a central figure in the

Teapot Dome scandal The Teapot Dome scandal was a political corruption scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Warren G. Harding. It centered on Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall, who had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Do ...

and served time in prison. Sinclair named the horse in honor of his friend and personal lawyer, Colonel James William (also known as J.W.) Zeverly.

Racing career

1922: Two-year-old season

Trained by Sam Hildreth, as a two-year-old Zev won five of his twelve races, finished second on four occasions, and was a Champion colt of 1922.''The Bloodhorse.com'' Champion's history charts

1923: Three-year-old season

The following year, he was the dominant three-year-old in America, winning a number of important Grade I stakes races under jockey Earl Sande. Included in his victories were the Lawrence Realization Stakes and the most prestigious race in the United States, 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 ...

, for which David J. Leary was credited as trainer, as he was for the

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 ...

, which was run before the Kentucky Derby in 1923. Zev encountered problems in the Preakness and finished 12th but came back to win the Derby and then the

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

Zev vs. Papyrus Match Race

On October 20, 1923, one of the most significant match races in worldwide thoroughbred racing took place 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 ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, New York with a purse of $100,000 up for grabs in a special race called the International Stakes, set to run 1 ½ miles. The two-horse race brought the Kentucky Derby winner, Zev, against the

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 ...

winner,

Papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...

. The trophy was also a special one, it was a solid cold copy of a 1707 cup, which stood 12 inches high and weighed 100 ounces. On top was an eagle with outstretched wings, with one side left to etch the winners. It was donated by The Jockey Club, and was intended for perpetual use for international competition. Leading up to the race, there was much excitement to see the English star take on the American champion. The Boston Globe published a size comparison between the two, measuring not just their height and weight but their girth, distance between eyes, and other measurements. A crowd estimated at close to 70,000 watched the race. The odds were 9-10 for Zev as the favorite, with Papyrus at even money. After a slow start, Zev led the whole race and eventually bounded away to win by five lengths, in a slow time of 2:35 2/5. Zev's victory marked the first time a Kentucky Derby winner defeated an English Derby winner. His win brought his career earnings to $254,903, passing the record set by Man O' War a few years earlier. After the win, Dick Ferris, a promoter of an upcoming track near Culver City, California offered up a $100,000 match race between Zev and My Own, a race that never came to fruition. In November, Zev won another match race, this one controversially close, against In Memoriam at

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

.Time Magazine - November 26, 1923
/ref> His performances in 1923 earned Zev the titles

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 Co-Champion Three-Year-Old Male.

1924: Four-year-old season

After successfully campaigning as a four-year-old, Zev retired as racing's all-time leading money earner, surpassing Man o' War's record.

Stud career

At stud, he proved less successful than he had on the track, at best siring two minor stakes winners (Zevson and Zida). In 1983, Zev was inducted in the

. 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 top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, he was accorded 56th place.

References

{{American Horse of the Year winners 1920 racehorse births 1943 racehorse deaths Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in Kentucky American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Kentucky Derby winners Belmont Stakes winners American Champion racehorses Thoroughbred family 23-b Godolphin Arabian sire line