Peaks and Valleys is a retired 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...

. Bred by Josephine Abercrombie's Pin Oak Stud 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%...

, he was the son of 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....

 winner Mt. Livermore, a son of the very important Champion sire

Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland

The list below shows the leading sire of racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland for each year since 1751. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the season.----- References :* -See also:...

, Blushing Groom

Blushing Groom

Blushing Groom was a French Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by American businessman John McNamee Sullivan and was raced by HH Aga Khan IV. A descendant of Nearco, Blushing Groom was sired by Red God and out of the mare Runaway Bride....

. Peaks and Valleys' dam was Strike a Balance, a daughter of the French Champion sire

Leading sire in France

The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of racehorses in France for each year since 1887. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the season .-----References:* -See also:*...

, Green Dancer

Green Dancer

Green Dancer was a French Thoroughbred racehorse. A son of the great English Triple Crown winner, Nijinsky, he was bred in Kentucky by Germaine Wertheimer of Paris, France who owned his dam, Green Valley....

.

Trained by Olympic

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 Equestrian

Equestrian at the Summer Olympics

Equestrianism made its Summer Olympics debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. It disappeared until 1912, but has appeared at every Summer Olympic Games since. The current Olympic equestrian disciplines are Dressage, Eventing, and Jumping...

 Gold medal

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

ist and Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....

 trainer, Jim Day, Peaks and Valleys began racing at age two with a win at River Downs

River Downs

River Downs is a horse racetrack located in Anderson Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, just outside the southeast limits of Cincinnati.- History :...

 in Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

 followed by two more victories at Woodbine Racetrack

Woodbine Racetrack

Woodbine Racetrack is a Canadian racetrack for Thoroughbred horse races located at 555 Rexdale Blvd. in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging, thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing programs on the same day...

 in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

At age three in 1995, Peaks and Valleys 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...

 but skipped the American Triple Crown races. Under 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...

 jockey Julie Krone

Julie Krone

Julie Krone , is a retired American jockey. In 1993, she became the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race when she captured the Belmont Stakes aboard Colonial Affair...

, he also won the Grade I

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...

 Molson Export Million Stakes

Woodbine Mile

The Woodbine Mile is a Grade I stakes race on turf for Thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up held annually in mid September at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada...

 at Woodbine Racetrack, the Grade I Meadowlands Cup at the Meadowlands Racetrack

Meadowlands Racetrack

The Meadowlands Racetrack is a horse racing track at the MetLife Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States.The track hosts both thoroughbred racing and harness racing...

 in East Rutherford, New Jersey

East Rutherford, New Jersey

East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....

, and also beat Da Hoss

Da Hoss

Da Hoss by Gone West out of Jolly Saint is a bay Thoroughbred gelding best known for twice winning the Breeders' Cup Mile. He was bred in Kentucky by Fares Farms and originally owned by Prestonwood Farm as well as Wallstreet Racing Stables.Bought for only $6,000 as a yearling at the Keeneland...

 to win the Illinois Derby

Illinois Derby

The Illinois Derby is a race for Thoroughbred horses held in early April each year. First run in 1923, the Derby takes place at Hawthorne Race Course located in Stickney/Cicero, Illinois, just west of Chicago...

. Although he finished sixth in the Breeders' Cup Classic

Breeders' Cup Classic

The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 year olds and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships...

, his 1995 performances earned Peaks and Valleys the Sovereign Award for Champion 3-Year-Old Male Horse

Sovereign Award for Champion 3-Year-Old Male Horse

The Canadian Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor. Created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada, it is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top 3-Year-Old male Thoroughbred horse competing in Canada.Past winners:...

 and Canadian Horse of the Year titles.

In 1996, four-year-old Peaks and Valleys made four starts. He won an allowance race 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...

 and finished second in both the Saratoga Cup

Saratoga Breeders' Cup Handicap

The Saratoga Breeders’ Cup Handicap was, until it was discontinued in 2005, a Thoroughbred race for horses three-years-old and up run at Saratoga Race Course...

 and Whitney Handicap

Whitney Handicap

The Whitney Handicap is an American Grade 1 handicap race for Thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and older run at a distance of 1⅛ miles. In 2007, the Breeders' Cup Ltd...

 at the Saratoga Race Course

Saratoga Race Course

Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...

. At the end of the year, Peaks and Valleys was retired and entered stud for the 1997 season. He first stood at Pin Oak's stud farm in Kentucky before being sent to Gardiner Farms in Caledon, Ontario

Caledon, Ontario

Caledon is a town in the Regional Municipality of Peel in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Canada. In terms of land use, Caledon is somewhat urban, though it is primarily rural in nature...

 where he currently stands. Among his offspring are multiple U.S. stakes winner Dollar Bill (b. 1998), Zurbaran (b. 1999) who earned Horse of the Year

Horse of the Year

Horse of the Year is an honor given by various organizations worldwide in harness racing and thoroughbred horse racing.Some of the awards include:* Australian Champion Racehorse of the Year* Breeders' Cup World Championships Poll* European Horse of the Year...

 honors in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, and Pinpoint (b. 2002), winner of the Sir Barton Stakes

Barbaro Stakes at Pimlico Race Course

The Barbaro Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is run as part of the undercard for the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series...

.