Angle Light 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...

 racehorse. He was bred by Howard B. Noonan and Runnymede Farm

Runnymede Farm

Runnymede Farm is an American horse breeding farm located outside Paris, Kentucky on U.S. Route 27, the Paris-Cynthiana Road. Breeders of Thoroughbreds, the farm was established in 1867 by American Civil War Colonels Ezekiel Field Clay and Catesby Woodford....

 and was purchased and raced by Edwin Whittaker. Sired by 1964 Belmont Stakes

Belmont Stakes

The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...

 winner, Quadrangle

Quadrangle (horse)

Quadrangle was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1964 Belmont Stakes. Bred in Virginia by Paul Mellon, he was out of the mare Tap Day, a daughter of the Calumet Farm Champion stallion, Bull Lea...

, he was out of the mare

Mare

Female horses are called mares.Mare is the Latin word for "sea".The word may also refer to:-People:* Ahmed Marzooq, also known as Mare, a footballer and Secretary General of Maldives Olympic Committee* Mare Winningham, American actress and singer...

, Pilot Light.

Trained by future U.S. Racing 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...

 inductee, Lucien Laurin

Lucien Laurin

Lucien Laurin was a French-Canadian jockey and Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse trainer.-Life and career:...

, Angle Light remains best known for winning the April 21, 1973 Wood Memorial Stakes

Wood Memorial Stakes

The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Jamaica, New York. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 9 furlongs on dirt....

 race at Aqueduct Racetrack

Aqueduct Racetrack

Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...

 in Ozone Park, Queens

Ozone Park, Queens

Ozone Park is a working class neighborhood located in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens bordering Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach, and City Line, Brooklyn....

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. http://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/Stakes/Wood.shtml Stablemate, Secretariat

Secretariat (horse)

Secretariat was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, that in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years, setting new race records in two of the three events in the Series—the Kentucky Derby , and the Belmont Stakes —records that still stand today.Secretariat was sired by Bold...

, the reigning American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt and early favorite to win that May's Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

, entered the race as a better than even-money favorite. However, unknown to most race fans, Secretariat had contracted a minor illness

Illness

Illness is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered another word for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist...

 in the weeks before the Wood, and thus was not at peak efficiency for the race. Angle Light, a true speed horse who never won a race without an early lead, ran wire-to-wire under Jacinto Vasquez

Jacinto Vásquez

Jacinto Vásquez is a retired Hall of Fame thoroughbred jockey. He rode two Kentucky Derby winners, Foolish Pleasure in 1975 and Genuine Risk in 1980, but may be best known as the regular jockey for the great filly Ruffian.-Biography:...

, with Sham

Sham (horse)

Sham , an American thoroughbred race horse, was one of the fastest horses of the 20th century, but was overshadowed by his larger-than-life peer and half-cousin, Secretariat. He was a dark seal brown in color. While racing, he wore green and yellow blinkers...

 finishing second and Secretariat in third. http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/22007/on-this-day Angle Light finished tenth in the ensuing Kentucky Derby won by Secretariat.

Angle Light retired from racing with a record of 4-4-3 in 21 starts and earned $194,986.

Sources

• Nack, William
  William Nack
  William Nack is an American journalist and author. He wrote about sports, politics and the environment at Newsday for 11 years before joining the staff of Sports Illustrated in 1978 as an investigative reporter and general feature writer. Since leaving S.I. in 2001, Nack has freelanced for numerous...
  
  . Secretariat: The Making of a Champion (2002) Da Capo Press ISBN 978-0306811333
• Angle Light's pedigree and partial racing stats
• Information on Angle Light at Runnymede Farm
• Video at YouTube of Angle Light winning the 1973 Wood Memorial Stakes