Ack Ack was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Thoroughbred

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...

 Hall of Fame

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 race horses, jockeys, and trainers...

 racehorse

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

. He raced with success at age two to four, scoring wins in the important 1969 Withers Stakes

Withers Stakes

The Withers Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds willing to compete one mile on the dirt. Held at Aqueduct Racetrack every year at the end of April , it is a Grade III event, and offers a purse of $150,000...

 and Arlington Classic

Arlington Classic

The Arlington Classic Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-old horses held annually at the end of June at Arlington Park race track near Chicago, Illinois...

. In 1971 at age five, Ack Ack blossomed into the year's most dominant horse. Conditioned by Charlie Whittingham

Charlie Whittingham

Charles Edward Whittingham was an American thoroughbred race horse trainer who is one of the most acclaimed trainers in U.S. racing history....

, Ack Ack won seven straight graded stakes race

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

s on both dirt and grass courses at a variety of distances. His performances earned him United States Horse of the Year

Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year

The American Award for Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. It has been awarded since 1887 to the horse, irrespective of age, whose performance during the racing year is deemed the most outstanding....

 honors.

Owned by Harry F. Guggenheim's Cain Hoy Stable, Ack Ack was sold by the executors of his estate following Guggenheim's death in January 1971. New owner, E. E. "Buddy" Fogelson

Buddy Fogelson

Elijah E. "Buddy" Fogelson was an American lawyer, Army Colonel, businessman, horse and cattle breeder, and philanthropist. Although born in Lincoln, Nebraska, he spent a large part of his life in Texas where he attended Texas Christian University in 1919 and 1920...

, husband of actress Greer Garson

Greer Garson

Greer Garson, CBE was a British-born actress who was very popular during World War II, being listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top ten box office draws in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1946. As one of MGM's major stars of the 1940s, Garson received seven Academy Award...

, retired the horse at the end of his most successful year to stand at stud

Horse breeding

Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...

 at Claiborne Farm

Claiborne Farm

Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred Horse breeding operation in near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910, by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Farm in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever since.-Owners:...

 near Paris, Kentucky

Paris, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,183 people, 3,857 households, and 2,487 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,222 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White, 12.71% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.16%...

 where he sired 40 stakes winners, including champion sire Broad Brush

Broad Brush

Broad Brush was an American thoroughbred racehorse foaled in Maryland. He was out of the Hoist The Flag mare, Hay Patcher, by the Hall of Fame stallion, Ack Ack.Bred and owned by Robert E. Meyerhoff, and trained by Richard W...

 and Youth

Youth (horse)

Youth was an American-bred French Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by Texas oilman, Nelson Bunker Hunt, Youth was sired by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Ack Ack...

, the 1976 American Champion Male Turf Horse who won a combined four Grade/Group 1 races in France, Canada, and the United States.

In 1999, The Blood Horse, Inc. selected Ack Ack as one of the top 100 racehorses of the twentieth century

Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century

In 1999, a panel for The Blood-Horse magazine was made up of distinguished horse racing people: Howard Battle, Lenny Hale, Jay Hovdey, William Nack, Pete Pedersen, Jennie Rees and Tommy Trotter. These experts compiled a list of what they considered to be the top 100 United States thoroughbred...

.