Fit to Fight 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

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...

 who won the New York Handicap Triple

New York Handicap Triple

The New York Handicap Triple is the name used to refer to three American handicap races for older Thoroughbred racehorses run by the New York Racing Association at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York...

 in 1984.

Background

Sired by Chieftain, a son of Bold Ruler

Bold Ruler

Bold Ruler was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse.Bred by the Wheatley Stable of Gladys Mills Phipps, Bold Ruler was foaled on April 6, 1954 at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky to Nasrullah and Miss Disco by Discovery...

, in turn a grandson of Nearco

Nearco

Nearco was an Italian bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by Thoroughbred Heritage as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He was not only unbeaten, winning 14 races at distances from 5 furlongs to 1 mile 7 furlongs ,...

, Fit to Fight was out of the mare Hasty Queen II, the 1984 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year

Kentucky Broodmare of the Year

The list that follows is of the all the mares that have won the honor of being named Kentucky Broodmare of the Year. Mares are selected each year by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Mares are graded by the success of offspring just like stallions in regards to the Leading...

. His damsire, One Count

One Count

One Count was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned and bred by Walter M. Jeffords, Sr., and raced by his wife, Sarah, he was a son of the 1943 U.S. Triple Crown Champion, Count Fleet.-Racing career:...

, won the 1952 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...

 and shared U.S. 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. One Count was a son of the 1943 U.S. triple Crown champion, Count Fleet

Count Fleet

Count Fleet was born and died at Stoner Creek Stud farm in Paris, Kentucky, United States. He was a Thoroughbred racehorse and Triple Crown champion in 1943....

.

Racing Career

Racing at age three, Fit to Fight won his first major 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...

, the 1982 Jerome Handicap

Jerome Handicap

The Jerome Stakes is a Grade II race for thoroughbred horses run each fall at one mile on the dirt at Belmont Park. It is open to three-year-olds and carries a purse of $150,000. The race is a prep race to several races of the Breeders' Cup....

. The following year he was second to A Phenomenon in the Vosburgh Stakes

Vosburgh Stakes

The Vosburgh Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Run at the end of September/early October, it is open to horses three-years-old and up of either gender...

 but ahead of third-place finisher, Deputy Minister

Deputy Minister (horse)

Deputy Minister was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred horse racing Champion. At age two, he won eight out of his nine starts and was voted the 1981 Sovereign and Eclipse Award winner as North American Champion 2-Yr-Old, and was also voted Canada's Sovereign Award for Horse of the Year...

. In the Tom Fool Stakes

Tom Fool Handicap

The Tom Fool Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early March at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, New York. It was formerly held at Belmont Park. The race is a Grade III event open to horses age three and up who are willing to race the six furlong distance on dirt.The...

, Fit to Fight took another second but this time to winner Deputy Minister then the two horses reversed their finishes with Fit to Fight capturing the Stuyvesant Handicap

Stuyvesant Handicap

The Stuyvesant Handicap is an American thoroughbred horse race held in the fall of the year at Aqueduct Race Track in Queens, New York. A Grade III event, it is set over nine furlongs on the dirt for three-year-olds and up...

.

In 1984, Fit to Fight had his best year. Ridden by Jerry Bailey, the five-year-old became only the fourth horse in history to win the New York Handicap Triple

New York Handicap Triple

The New York Handicap Triple is the name used to refer to three American handicap races for older Thoroughbred racehorses run by the New York Racing Association at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York...

, joining U.S. Racing Hall of Famers

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...

, Whisk Broom II

Whisk Broom II

Whisk Broom II was American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in the United Kingdom and in the United States.-Background:...

 (1913), Tom Fool (1953), and Kelso

Kelso (horse)

Kelso was an American thoroughbred race horse considered among the best racehorses of the 20th century. In the list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century by The Blood-Horse magazine Kelso ranks 4th, behind only Man o' War , Secretariat and Citation...

 (1961). Fit to Fight finished behind winner Slew o' Gold in the voting for 1984's Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse

Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse

The title of American Champion Older Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up. Prior to 1971, this award was referred to as "Champion Handicap Male Horse", and was open to any horse, three years old and up...

.

Stud Career

Retired from racing, in 1985 Fit to Fight became one of the original stallions 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 Lane's End Farm

Lane's End Farm

Lane's End Farm is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Versailles, Kentucky established in 1979. The original land was part of Bosque Bonita Farm which means beautiful woods and was originally owned by Abraham Buford, a Confederate Army General. The land was later bought by leading...

 in Versailles, Kentucky

Versailles, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,511 people, 3,160 households, and 2,110 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.18% White, 8.67% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35%...

. The sire of 39 Stake race winners, he was pensioned in 2005 and sent to retirement at Blue Ridge Farm in Middleburg, Virginia

Middleburg, Virginia

Middleburg is a town in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States with a population of approximately 976 as of July 2010.-History:The town was established in 1787 by American Revolutionary War Lieutenant Colonel and Virginia statesman, Levin Powell. He purchased the land for Middleburg at $2.50 per...

. On May 30th, 2008, at the age of 29, he was euthanized due to the infirmities of old age.