High Echelon was an American 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...

 best known for winning the 1970 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...

. Bred by the partnership of Isidor Bieber and owner/trainer Hirsch Jacobs

Hirsch Jacobs

Hirsch Jacobs was an American thoroughbred horse trainer and owner.Jacobs was the leading race-winning trainer in the United States 1933-39, 1941–44, the U.S. leading money-winning trainer, 1946, 1960, 1965, and the U.S. leading money-winning breeder, 1964-67...

, his sire was the 1965 Florida Derby

Florida Derby

The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida on the Saturday closest to the end of March or the first of April. Added to the racing schedule in 1952, the Grade 1 race is run at 1⅛ miles on the dirt...

 winner Native Charger who was a son of 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, Native Dancer

Native Dancer

Native Dancer , nicknamed the Grey Ghost, was one of the most celebrated and accomplished Thoroughbred racehorses in history, the first horse made famous through the medium of television. He was one of the best horses produced in USA after the war...

.

High Echelon was raced in the salmon pink-and-green silks of Hirsch Jacobs' wife, Ethel

Ethel D. Jacobs

Ethel D. Jacobs was a prominent American Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder who was a three-time leading owner in North America....

. In 1969 the colt won the Belmont Futurity Stakes and the Pimlico-Laurel Futurity and was second in the voting to Silent Screen

Silent Screen

Silent Screen was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was trained by J. Bowes Bond for owners Sonny and Leah Ray Werbin who raced under the nom de course, Elberon Farm....

 for American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors.

However, the Hall of Fame trainer died on February 23, 1970 and as such did not get to see his three-year-old colt's success that year. Son John took over the race conditioning of High Echelon and three-year-old stablemate, Personality

Personality (horse)

Personality was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was voted 1970 American Horse of the Year honors. He was bred by the partnership of Isidor Bieber and owner/trainer Hirsch Jacobs. Sired by Hail To Reason, the 1960 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, Personality's dam was U.S...

. Going in to the 1970 U.S. Triple Crown

United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing

In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...

 series, the entry of High Echelon and Personality were made the second choice by bettors

Parimutuel betting

Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...

 for 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...

. High Echelon ran third to winner Dust Commander

Dust Commander

Dust Commander was an American Thoroughbred Racehorse. The name "Dust Commander" is derived from his dam, Dust Storm, and his sire, Bold Commander. A descendant of the great sire Nearco, Dust Commander was bred by the Pullen brothers. He was owned by Robert E. Lehmann and trained by Don Combs...

 in the Derby then finished fourth to winner Personality in the Preakness Stakes

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...

. Personality developed a fever and his handlers chose not to run him in 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...

 but stablemate High Echelon did run, and under jockey John Rotz

John L. Rotz

John L. Rotz is a retired American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey and an active World Champion in Western riding competitions....

 won that American Classic.

For the remainder of 1970, High Echelon did not win another 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...

. Retired to stud

Stud (animal)

A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...

, his offspring met with modest success in racing. He died on May 14, 1991 at Franks Farm

John A. Franks

John Franks was an American businessman and a Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder. A native of Haughton, Louisiana, he earned a degree in geology from Louisiana State University. In 1962, he founded the highly successful Franks Petroleum Inc. and later invested in real estate with Franks...

 in Ocala, Florida

Ocala, Florida

Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...