Pot O'Luck
Encyclopedia
Pot O'Luck was an American Thoroughbred
racehorse
bred and raced by the renowned Calumet Farm
of Lexington, Kentucky
. He was sired by Chance Play
, the 1927 retrospective American Horse of the Year and 1935 Leading sire in North America
. Out of the mare Potheen, his damsire was Wildair, winner of the 1920 Metropolitan Handicap
.
inductee Ben Jones
, racing at age two Pot O'Luck notably won the Champagne Stakes at New York's
Belmont Park
and the Pimlico Futurity at Baltimore's
Pimlico Race Course
.
in the 1945 Kentucky Derby
but won a number of important races that year including the 11/16 mile Ben Ali Stakes
at Keenland Race Course
, the 1¼ mile Arlington Classic Stakes, the Lawrence Realization Stakes
and the Governor Bowie Handicap, both at 1⅝ miles , as well as the Jockey Club Gold Cup
at two miles.
and in October won the Hop Creek Purse at Garden State Park Racetrack.
and in April earned his second win of the Ben Ali Stakes
at Keenland Race Course. On June 13 it was announced that he had been sold to bloodstock agent John H. Clark who raced him without success until selling him in the fall to a Virginia
breeding syndicate. A few years later Pot O'Luck was sold to a breeding opertion in France
but overall he met with little success as a sire. His best runner was Pot Hunter, a multiple stakes winner in Canada.
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 and raced by the renowned Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of Lexington's blue grass country, the finest horse breeding region in...
of 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...
. He was sired by Chance Play
Chance Play
Chance Play was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse and Champion sire. Bred by August Belmont, Jr., he was out of the mare Quelle Chance, a daughter of 1900 Metropolitan Handicap winner, Ethelbert. He was sired by Fair Play who also sired the legendary Man o' War...
, the 1927 retrospective American Horse of the Year and 1935 Leading sire in North America
Leading sire in North America
The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the year...
. Out of the mare Potheen, his damsire was Wildair, winner of the 1920 Metropolitan Handicap
Metropolitan Handicap
The Metropolitan Handicap, frequently called the "Met Mile," is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the last week of May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of one mile .The Met Mile was first...
.
1944
Trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of FameNational 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 Ben Jones
Ben A. Jones
Benjamin Allyn Jones was a thoroughbred horse trainer.Born in Parnell, Missouri, Ben Jones went into the business of breeding and training of thoroughbreds during the first decade of the 20th century, racing his horses on small circuits in the American West and in Mexico...
, racing at age two Pot O'Luck notably won the Champagne Stakes at New York's
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
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 the Pimlico Futurity at Baltimore's
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London...
.
1945
At three, Pot O'Luck won five of twenty-one starts and earned $149,220. He ran second to Hoop Jr.Hoop Jr.
Hoop Jr. , was an American Thoroughbred racehorse sired by the European stakes winning stallion Sir Gallahad...
in the 1945 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...
but won a number of important races that year including the 11/16 mile Ben Ali Stakes
Ben Ali Stakes
The Ben Ali Stakes is an American race for thoroughbred horses run in the Spring of each year at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. For 4-year-olds and up, it is a Grade III event set at a distance of one mile and one eighth mile on the dirt...
at Keenland Race Course
Keeneland
Keeneland is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and sales complex in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. Operated by the Keeneland Association, Inc., it is also known for its reference library on the sport, which contains more than 10,000 volumes, an extensive videocassette collection, and a substantial...
, the 1¼ mile Arlington Classic Stakes, the Lawrence Realization Stakes
Lawrence Realization Stakes
The Lawrence Realization Stakes was an American horse race first run on the turf in 1889. The race, for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts, geldings and fillies, was last run in 2005.-History:...
and the Governor Bowie Handicap, both at 1⅝ miles , as well as the Jockey Club Gold Cup
Jockey Club Gold Cup
The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a prestigious thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It is typically the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers Stakes is of the...
at two miles.
1946
Pot O'Luck bowed a tendon In the spring of 1946 that resulted in a year when he did not win a major race. He lost three races in a row until winning the July 15 Scintillator Purse at Arlington ParkArlington Park
Arlington Park is a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago region has been a popular sport since the early days of the city in the 1830s, and at one time Chicago had more horse racing tracks than any other major metropolitan area...
and in October won the Hop Creek Purse at Garden State Park Racetrack.
1947
In February 1947, five-year-old Pot O'Luck won the Cocoanuts Purse at Hialeah Park Race TrackHialeah Park Race Track
The Hialeah Park Race Track is a historic site in Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenue, and from East 22nd Street on the south to East 32nd Street on the north. On March 5, 1979, it was added to the U.S...
and in April earned his second win of the Ben Ali Stakes
Ben Ali Stakes
The Ben Ali Stakes is an American race for thoroughbred horses run in the Spring of each year at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. For 4-year-olds and up, it is a Grade III event set at a distance of one mile and one eighth mile on the dirt...
at Keenland Race Course. On June 13 it was announced that he had been sold to bloodstock agent John H. Clark who raced him without success until selling him in the fall to a Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
breeding syndicate. A few years later Pot O'Luck was sold to a breeding opertion in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
but overall he met with little success as a sire. His best runner was Pot Hunter, a multiple stakes winner in Canada.