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Old Rosebud (horse)
Encyclopedia
Old Rosebud was an American
Thoroughbred
racehorse whose pedigree
traced to the influential sire Eclipse
, and through Eclipse to the founding stallion, the Godolphin Arabian
. In the list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century by Blood-Horse magazine, Old Rosebud ranks 88th. Despite a successful racing career, Old Rosebud was plagued by ailments throughout his life, culminating in a fatal injury at a claiming race
when he was 11 years old.
, the bay colt (soon to be gelded) was from the stallion Uncle's first crop of foals. Born in Kentucky
, he was purchased as a yearling for $500 by the trainer Frank D. Weir. Weir sold a majority interest in the gelding to Hamilton C. Applegate, the treasurer of Churchill Downs
. Frank Weir said of the gelding, "Old Rosebud was the kind of horse one sees once in a lifetime. He certainly was the fastest horse I ever trained or saw. If he had been sound, there's no telling how fast he would have run."
Old Rosebud was determined to be the historical two-year-old champion of 1913 and was the top earner for the year. At two, Old Rosebud's most important victories included the Flash Stakes
and the United States Hotel Stakes
. Before his first injury took him out of training, he set four track records.
by eight lengths in a time of 2:03 2/5, setting a record that would not be broken for 16 years. In the Derby, he had begun the race as the favorite because of his previous record.
Three weeks after the Derby, Old Rosebud sustained a bowed tendon
during the May 1914 running of the Withers Stakes
at Belmont Park
. The race was run clockwise around the track instead of the more customary, in the U.S., counter-clockwise direction. Running the wrong way confused Old Rosebud, who did not change leads coming into the stretch. He was taken out of competition for two seasons as a result of the injury.
At age 6, after nearly three years on the prairies of Texas, Old Rosebud won the Queen's County, the Carter Handicap
, the Red Cross, and the Delaware Handicap
. These victories also led to his being named historical Champion Handicap Male of 1917. An injury took him out of competition for another year and a half.
Old Rosebud returned to racing at the age of 8. Overall, he won the Yucatan Stakes, the Spring Trial Stakes, the Harold Stakes, the Cincinnati Trophy Stakes, the Flash Stakes
, the United States Hotel Stakes
, and the Kentucky Derby.
He went on to win the Clark Handicap
, the Latonia Inaugural Handicap, the Queens County Handicap
, the Carter Handicap (again), the Frontier Handicap, the Delaware Handicap, the Bayview Handicap, the Mt. Vernon Cap, the Sir Archy Highweight Cap, and the Latonia Grand Hotel Purse. He came in second in the Idle Hour Stakes, the Bashford Manor Stakes
, the Paumonok Handicap, the Mount Vernon Handicap (losing to the four-years-younger August Belmont, Jr.
's Lucullite, but beating Sun Briar
, Exterminator
's stablemate), and the Burnett Woods Cap (to the five-years-younger stakes-winning Sennings Park). He was third in the Brooklyn Handicap
, the Thanksgiving Handicap, and the Eden Park Cap.
Old Rosebud competed for a total of 10 years before suffering his final injury in a claiming race at Jamaica Racetrack
. He had to be euthanized. Out of 80 starts, Old Rosebud won 40, placed in 13, and showed in 8. His career earnings were $74,729.
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 whose pedigree
Pedigree
Pedigree can refer to the lineage or genealogical descent of people, whether documented or not, or of animals, whether purebred or not. This can include:-Concepts and documents:...
traced to the influential sire Eclipse
Eclipse (horse)
Eclipse was an outstanding, undefeated 18th-century British Thoroughbred racehorse who was later a phenomenal success as a sire.-Breeding:...
, and through Eclipse to the founding stallion, the Godolphin Arabian
Godolphin Arabian
The Godolphin Arabian , also known as the Godolphin Barb, was an Arabian horse who was one of three stallions that were the founders of the modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock...
. In the list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century by Blood-Horse magazine, Old Rosebud ranks 88th. Despite a successful racing career, Old Rosebud was plagued by ailments throughout his life, culminating in a fatal injury at 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"...
when he was 11 years old.
Pedigree and 2-year-old racing career
Bred by John E. MaddenJohn E. Madden
John Edward Madden was a prominent AmericanThoroughbred and Standardbred owner, breeder and trainer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He owned Hamburg Place Stud in Lexington, Kentucky and bred five Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winners.He was inducted into the National...
, the bay colt (soon to be gelded) was from the stallion Uncle's first crop of foals. Born in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, he was purchased as a yearling for $500 by the trainer Frank D. Weir. Weir sold a majority interest in the gelding to Hamilton C. Applegate, the treasurer of Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
. Frank Weir said of the gelding, "Old Rosebud was the kind of horse one sees once in a lifetime. He certainly was the fastest horse I ever trained or saw. If he had been sound, there's no telling how fast he would have run."
Old Rosebud was determined to be the historical two-year-old champion of 1913 and was the top earner for the year. At two, Old Rosebud's most important victories included the Flash Stakes
Flash Stakes
The Flash Stakes was an important and prestigious race for two-year-old Thoroughbred horses and one of the longest running horse racing events in America. Run before races were graded, the Flash was won by a host of starry names...
and the United States Hotel Stakes
United States Hotel Stakes
The United States Hotel Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in the late summer or early autumn until 1955 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It was run on dirt over a distance of six furlongs...
. Before his first injury took him out of training, he set four track records.
Kentucky Derby and later career
Old Rosebud came back in his third year to take the 1914 Kentucky DerbyKentucky 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...
by eight lengths in a time of 2:03 2/5, setting a record that would not be broken for 16 years. In the Derby, he had begun the race as the favorite because of his previous record.
Three weeks after the Derby, Old Rosebud sustained a bowed tendon
Bowed tendon
Tendinitis/tendonitis is inflammation of a tendon. Many times, the tendon tissue is torn. A bowed tendon is a horseman's term for a tendon after a horse has sustained an injury that caused the tendon fibers to be torn, and then healed with "bowed" appearance.-Description of a Tendinitis in...
during the May 1914 running of the 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...
at Belmont Park
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
. The race was run clockwise around the track instead of the more customary, in the U.S., counter-clockwise direction. Running the wrong way confused Old Rosebud, who did not change leads coming into the stretch. He was taken out of competition for two seasons as a result of the injury.
At age 6, after nearly three years on the prairies of Texas, Old Rosebud won the Queen's County, the Carter Handicap
Carter Handicap
The Carter Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early April at Aqueduct Racetrack. Open to horses three-years-old and up, it is raced over a distance of seven furlongs....
, the Red Cross, and the Delaware Handicap
Delaware Handicap
The Delaware Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Wilmington, Delaware. The Grade II race is open to filles and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-quarter miles on the dirt....
. These victories also led to his being named historical Champion Handicap Male of 1917. An injury took him out of competition for another year and a half.
Old Rosebud returned to racing at the age of 8. Overall, he won the Yucatan Stakes, the Spring Trial Stakes, the Harold Stakes, the Cincinnati Trophy Stakes, the Flash Stakes
Flash Stakes
The Flash Stakes was an important and prestigious race for two-year-old Thoroughbred horses and one of the longest running horse racing events in America. Run before races were graded, the Flash was won by a host of starry names...
, the United States Hotel Stakes
United States Hotel Stakes
The United States Hotel Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in the late summer or early autumn until 1955 at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It was run on dirt over a distance of six furlongs...
, and the Kentucky Derby.
He went on to win the Clark Handicap
Clark Handicap
The Clark Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late November/early December at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Among the oldest races in the United States, it was first run in 1875, the year the racetrack opened for business...
, the Latonia Inaugural Handicap, the Queens County Handicap
Queens County Handicap
The Queens County Handicap is an American Grade III Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the second week of December at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York...
, the Carter Handicap (again), the Frontier Handicap, the Delaware Handicap, the Bayview Handicap, the Mt. Vernon Cap, the Sir Archy Highweight Cap, and the Latonia Grand Hotel Purse. He came in second in the Idle Hour Stakes, the Bashford Manor Stakes
Bashford Manor Stakes
The 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...
, the Paumonok Handicap, the Mount Vernon Handicap (losing to the four-years-younger August Belmont, Jr.
August Belmont, Jr.
August Belmont, Jr. was an American financier, the builder of New York's Belmont Park racetrack, and a major owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses.-Early life:...
's Lucullite, but beating Sun Briar
Sun Briar
Sun Briar was a Thoroughbred racehorse voted the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt of 1917 and the American Champion Older Male Horse of 1919. He was a son of Sundridge, the 1911 Champion sire in Great Britain who also sired Epsom Derby winner, Sunstar. Sun Briar was out of the mare Sweet...
, Exterminator
Exterminator (horse)
Exterminator was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 1918 Kentucky Derby, and in 1922 won Horse of the Year honors....
's stablemate), and the Burnett Woods Cap (to the five-years-younger stakes-winning Sennings Park). He was third in the Brooklyn Handicap
Brooklyn Handicap
The Brooklyn Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, on Long Island. It currently is a Grade II event open to three-year-olds and up willing to race one and one-half miles on dirt....
, the Thanksgiving Handicap, and the Eden Park Cap.
Old Rosebud competed for a total of 10 years before suffering his final injury in a claiming race at Jamaica Racetrack
Jamaica Racetrack
Jamaica Race Course was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility operated by the Metropolitan Jockey Club in Jamaica, New York. The track opened on April 27, 1903, a day which featured the inaugural running of the Excelsior Handicap. Eugene D. Wood, one of the founders and largest...
. He had to be euthanized. Out of 80 starts, Old Rosebud won 40, placed in 13, and showed in 8. His career earnings were $74,729.