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Black Gold (horse)
Encyclopedia
Black Gold was an American Thoroughbred
racehorse that won the 50th running of the Kentucky Derby
in 1924.
Black Gold's dam, U-See-it, was owned by Al Hoots. As a race mare
, U-See-it was not fashionably bred, but she was fast. There was only one horse the Oklahoma
-bred never beat in her 6-furlong
races at small western tracks: the Hall of Fame
r Pan Zareta
. But she outclassed most other rivals. U-See-it won 34 of her starts. Her purse money that supported Al Hoots and his wife Rosa. The Hootses lived in Indian territory and were well known on the Texas
/New Orleans racing circuit. In 1916, Al Hoots entered U-See-it into a claiming race
in Ciudad Juárez
, Mexico. Some say he first made agreements with the other owners and trainers that no one would claim her. But a man called Toby Ramsey apparently broke that agreement. Hoots held off Ramsey with a shotgun. He and U-See-it were banned from racing for life. By 1917, Al was dying. In certain versions of the story he had a dream that if U-See-it were bred to one of the leading sires of the time, the foal she carried would win the Kentucky Derby
. In other versions, Al merely hoped that this could happen. Rosa Hoots honored her husband's last wish. When oil was discovered in what is now Oklahoma, Mrs. Al Hoots (who was a member of the Osage Nation
) shipped U-See-it to the Idle Hour Stock Farm
in Lexington, Kentucky
, where Colonel E. R. Bradley's
Black Toney
stood at stud. The result was a black colt called Black Gold. Hanley Webb (or Hedley or Harry: depends on the source), who had been a close friend of Al Hoots and also trained U-See-it, was Black Gold's trainer. The man who groomed and exercised him was also his regular jockey, Jaydee Mooney.
Beginning at the New Orleans Fair Grounds on January 8, 1923, Black Gold won nine races in 18 starts as a two-year-old, including his finale. When he came out as a three-year-old, he won his first two races, then moved up into Stakes
company in the Louisiana Derby
. He led at once, splashing through mud to wire the field and win by six lengths. Mrs. Hoots was reportedly offered $50,000 for her colt, but turned it down. After shipping to Churchill Downs in the spring, Black Gold won the Derby Trial
.
Black Gold went into the 1924 running of the Derby as the favorite. In 1924, the Kentucky Derby was fifty years old and was therefore celebrated as the "Golden Jubilee Derby." It was the first time a golden cup was presented to the winner and the first time "My Old Kentucky Home" was played before the race. Black Gold won it with a rough trip against strong competition in the last seventy yards. Ridden by J.D. Mooney, he was bumped and was forced to check, but recovered. Racing four and five wide with Chilhowee running ahead and the race seemingly his, Black Gold made a move that took him past Chilhowee and safely home for the roses.
Nicknamed "The Indian Horse," Black Gold did not race in the Preakness
or the Belmont Stakes
after the Derby. Instead, he went on to win two more Derbies: the Ohio State Derby
, his seventh win in a row, and the Chicago Derby. He was the first horse ever to accomplish winning the Derbies of four different states: Louisiana Derby
, Kentucky Derby
, Ohio Derby
, Chicago Derby.
The Thoroughbred Record had this to say of Black Gold's greatest season: "...about as vigorous a campaign as a horse could be called upon to undergo, one that knew no let-ups and that never dodged a single issue."
Black Gold was retired to stud, but was not fertile. At the age of six, he was returned to the racetrack. He started four more times without a win. On January 18, 1928, at the age of seven, he was started one more time in the Salome Purse at the New Orleans Fair Grounds. Trying desperately to make up ground in the stretch, he broke down, but did not stop. Black Gold finished the race on three legs. He was euthanized at the track.
He was buried in the infield of the Fair Grounds close to the sixteenth pole, next to his mother's old rival, Pan Zareta. The Thoroughbred Record wrote that Black Gold was "...as game a horse as ever stood on plates, and answered the bugler's call"
A male line descendant of Eclipse
, in 1989, he was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
.
at 3:
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 that won the 50th running of the 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...
in 1924.
Black Gold's dam, U-See-it, was owned by Al Hoots. As a race 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...
, U-See-it was not fashionably bred, but she was fast. There was only one horse the Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
-bred never beat in her 6-furlong
Furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....
races at small western tracks: the 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...
r Pan Zareta
Pan Zareta
Pan Zareta, was a chestnut Thoroughbred racehorse born in the United States in 1910. She competed from Mexico to Canada, as well as in eight U. S. states. While she never won a significant race, and only once beat a top-level horse , she was still called "Queen of the Turf."Bred by J. F. and H. S...
. But she outclassed most other rivals. U-See-it won 34 of her starts. Her purse money that supported Al Hoots and his wife Rosa. The Hootses lived in Indian territory and were well known on the Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
/New Orleans racing circuit. In 1916, Al Hoots entered U-See-it into a claiming race
Claiming race
A claiming race in thoroughbred horse racing is one in which the horses are all for sale for more or less the same price up until shortly before the race. Race types form a hierarchy in terms of the quality of horse they attract, with handicap races and graded stakes races attracting the "best"...
in Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez
Ciudad Juárez , officially known today as Heroica Ciudad Juárez, but abbreviated Juárez and formerly known as El Paso del Norte, is a city and seat of the municipality of Juárez in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Juárez's estimated population is 1.5 million people. The city lies on the Rio Grande...
, Mexico. Some say he first made agreements with the other owners and trainers that no one would claim her. But a man called Toby Ramsey apparently broke that agreement. Hoots held off Ramsey with a shotgun. He and U-See-it were banned from racing for life. By 1917, Al was dying. In certain versions of the story he had a dream that if U-See-it were bred to one of the leading sires of the time, the foal she carried would win the 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...
. In other versions, Al merely hoped that this could happen. Rosa Hoots honored her husband's last wish. When oil was discovered in what is now Oklahoma, Mrs. Al Hoots (who was a member of the Osage Nation
Osage Nation
The Osage Nation is a Native American Siouan-language tribe in the United States that originated in the Ohio River valley in present-day Kentucky. After years of war with invading Iroquois, the Osage migrated west of the Mississippi River to their historic lands in present-day Arkansas, Missouri,...
) shipped U-See-it to the Idle Hour Stock Farm
Idle Hour Stock Farm
Idle Hour Stock Farm was a 400 acre thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm near Lexington, Kentucky, United States established in 1906 by Colonel Edward R...
in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, where Colonel E. R. Bradley's
Edward R. Bradley
Colonel Edward Riley Bradley was an American steel mill laborer, gold miner, businessman and philanthropist. As well as a race track proprietor, he was the preeminent owner and breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses in the Southern United States during the first three decades of the 20th Century...
Black Toney
Black Toney
Black Toney was bred by James R. Keene's Castleton Farm. Keene, whose health was failing , sold all his holdings in 1912 to Colonel Edward R. Bradley's Idle Hour Stock Farm in Lexington, Kentucky...
stood at stud. The result was a black colt called Black Gold. Hanley Webb (or Hedley or Harry: depends on the source), who had been a close friend of Al Hoots and also trained U-See-it, was Black Gold's trainer. The man who groomed and exercised him was also his regular jockey, Jaydee Mooney.
Beginning at the New Orleans Fair Grounds on January 8, 1923, Black Gold won nine races in 18 starts as a two-year-old, including his finale. When he came out as a three-year-old, he won his first two races, then moved up into Stakes
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...
company in the Louisiana Derby
Louisiana Derby
The Louisiana Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Usually run in early March, the race is open to horses, age three, willing to race 11/8 miles on the dirt. A Grade II event, it currently offers a purse of...
. He led at once, splashing through mud to wire the field and win by six lengths. Mrs. Hoots was reportedly offered $50,000 for her colt, but turned it down. After shipping to Churchill Downs in the spring, Black Gold won the Derby Trial
Derby Trial
The Derby Trial Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the end of April at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Held one week before the Kentucky Derby, it was first run in 1924 and every year since, with the exception of 1928...
.
Black Gold went into the 1924 running of the Derby as the favorite. In 1924, the Kentucky Derby was fifty years old and was therefore celebrated as the "Golden Jubilee Derby." It was the first time a golden cup was presented to the winner and the first time "My Old Kentucky Home" was played before the race. Black Gold won it with a rough trip against strong competition in the last seventy yards. Ridden by J.D. Mooney, he was bumped and was forced to check, but recovered. Racing four and five wide with Chilhowee running ahead and the race seemingly his, Black Gold made a move that took him past Chilhowee and safely home for the roses.
Nicknamed "The Indian Horse," Black Gold did not race in the Preakness
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on 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 dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
or the 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...
after the Derby. Instead, he went on to win two more Derbies: the Ohio State Derby
Ohio Derby
The Ohio Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early June at Thistledown in North Randall, Ohio.The Grade III Stakes race for three-year-olds is run on dirt over a distance of 1 and 1/16 miles....
, his seventh win in a row, and the Chicago Derby. He was the first horse ever to accomplish winning the Derbies of four different states: Louisiana Derby
Louisiana Derby
The Louisiana Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Usually run in early March, the race is open to horses, age three, willing to race 11/8 miles on the dirt. A Grade II event, it currently offers a purse of...
, 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...
, Ohio Derby
Ohio Derby
The Ohio Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early June at Thistledown in North Randall, Ohio.The Grade III Stakes race for three-year-olds is run on dirt over a distance of 1 and 1/16 miles....
, Chicago Derby.
The Thoroughbred Record had this to say of Black Gold's greatest season: "...about as vigorous a campaign as a horse could be called upon to undergo, one that knew no let-ups and that never dodged a single issue."
Black Gold was retired to stud, but was not fertile. At the age of six, he was returned to the racetrack. He started four more times without a win. On January 18, 1928, at the age of seven, he was started one more time in the Salome Purse at the New Orleans Fair Grounds. Trying desperately to make up ground in the stretch, he broke down, but did not stop. Black Gold finished the race on three legs. He was euthanized at the track.
He was buried in the infield of the Fair Grounds close to the sixteenth pole, next to his mother's old rival, Pan Zareta. The Thoroughbred Record wrote that Black Gold was "...as game a horse as ever stood on plates, and answered the bugler's call"
A male line descendant of Eclipse
Eclipse (horse)
Eclipse was an outstanding, undefeated 18th-century British Thoroughbred racehorse who was later a phenomenal success as a sire.-Breeding:...
, in 1989, he was elected to the National Museum of Racing and 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...
.
Career highlights
- at 2:
- 1st: Bashford Manor StakesBashford Manor StakesThe Bashford Manor Stakes is a six furlong sprint for two-year-old thoroughbred horses run each year during the Spring meet at Churchill Downs. It is a Grade III race on the dirt and offers a purse of $150,000, . It was named in honor of the Bashford Manor Stable owned by George J...
- 2nd: Cincinnati Trophy
- 2nd: Tobacco Stakes
- 3rd: Breeders' Futurity
at 3:
- won: Kentucky DerbyKentucky DerbyThe 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...
- won: Louisiana DerbyLouisiana DerbyThe Louisiana Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Usually run in early March, the race is open to horses, age three, willing to race 11/8 miles on the dirt. A Grade II event, it currently offers a purse of...
- won: Chicago Derby
- won: Ohio DerbyOhio DerbyThe Ohio Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early June at Thistledown in North Randall, Ohio.The Grade III Stakes race for three-year-olds is run on dirt over a distance of 1 and 1/16 miles....
- won: Derby TrialDerby TrialThe Derby Trial Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the end of April at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Held one week before the Kentucky Derby, it was first run in 1924 and every year since, with the exception of 1928...
- 3rd: Latonia DerbyLatonia DerbyThe Latonia Derby was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1883 through 1937 at Latonia Race Track in Latonia, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, for its first 52 years the Latonia Derby was contested at a mile and a half; in 1935, the race was shortened to a mile and a...
- 3rd: Raceland Derby