Reigh Count
Encyclopedia
Reigh Count was an American
Hall of Fame
Thoroughbred
racehorse
who won the 1928 Kentucky Derby
and the 1929 Coronation Cup
in England
.
Reigh Count was bred by Willis Sharpe Kilmer
and foaled at Court Manor
near New Market, Virginia
. He raced well as a two-year-old, winning four of fourteen races. He was initially trained by Hall of Fame inductee Henry McDaniel but after being sold to Mrs. Fannie Hertz
, by Bert S. Michell
. A controversial finish in the Futurity Stakes at Belmont Park
(the richest race in the United States at the time) possibly deprived him of another win. Just before the finish line, he held the lead. But due to either misjudgment of the finish line by his jockey or (possibly) intentional instructions by his owner, his stablemate Anita Peabody
won by the barest of margins. The next day's New York Times photo captured the jockeys, side-by-side, looking at each other at the wire.
At age three Reigh Count was the dominant horse in America, winning six races (including the Kentucky Derby
). Jockey Chick Lang's
victory three years earlier in the Queen's Plate
made him the only Canadian
jockey
in history to win the most prestigious race both in Canada
and in the United States
. An injury kept Reigh Count out of both the Preakness
and Belmont Stakes
. However, later that summer in the Lawrence Realization, he defeated Preakess winner Victorian
. That fall he took on and defeated older horses in the Jockey Club Gold Cup
, which had a field including Chance Shot, Display, and Diavolo. Reigh Count's performances in 1928 earned him unofficial United States Horse of the Year
honors.
Shipped to race in England at age four, in June 1929 Reigh Count won the Coronation Cup
at Epsom Downs
and finished second in the Ascot Gold Cup
at Ascot Racecourse
. TIME magazine reported on December 16, 1929 that his owner had turned down an offer of $1 million for Reigh Count, saying "I think a fellow who would pay $1,000,000 for a horse ought to have his head examined, and the fellow who turned it down must be absolutely unbalanced". Had the offer been accepted, it would have been by far the largest amount ever paid anywhere for a race horse.
Retired to stand at stud
at his owner's Stoner Creek Stud
in Paris, Kentucky
, Reigh Count produced 22 graded stakes race
winners including:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
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 1928 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...
and the 1929 Coronation Cup
Coronation Cup
The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....
in England
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Reigh Count was bred by Willis Sharpe Kilmer
Willis Sharpe Kilmer
Willis Sharpe Kilmer , son of Jonas M. Kilmer and Julia E. Sharpe, was a marketing pioneer, newspaperman, and horse breeder. Born in Brooklyn, New York, he graduated from Cornell University in 1890. Kilmer was perhaps best known for advertising and promoting his uncle's Swamp Root patent medicine...
and foaled at Court Manor
Court Manor
Court Manor is an early Greek Revival manor house and estate in Rockingham County, Virginia, located south of the town of New Market. With its stately manor house and prime location in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, Court Manor has long been regarded as "one of the finest estates in the...
near New Market, Virginia
New Market, Virginia
New Market is a town in Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. It had a population of 2,146 at the 2010 census. New Market is home to the Rebels of the Valley Baseball League, and the New Market Shockers of the Rockingham County Baseball League.-History:...
. He raced well as a two-year-old, winning four of fourteen races. He was initially trained by Hall of Fame inductee Henry McDaniel but after being sold to Mrs. Fannie Hertz
John D. Hertz
John Daniel Hertz, Sr. was an American businessman, thoroughbred racehorse owner, and philanthropist.-Biography:...
, by Bert S. Michell
Bert S. Michell
Bernard S. "Bert" Michell was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer best known for winning the 1928 Kentucky Derby with American Horse of the Year and Hall of Fame inductee, Reigh Count....
. A controversial finish in the Futurity Stakes 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 richest race in the United States at the time) possibly deprived him of another win. Just before the finish line, he held the lead. But due to either misjudgment of the finish line by his jockey or (possibly) intentional instructions by his owner, his stablemate Anita Peabody
Anita Peabody
Anita Peabody was an American Champion Thoroughbred filly racehorse. Bred and raced by John and Fannie Hertz, she was born at their Leona Farm near Cary, Illinois. She was named after the wife of Stuyvesant Peabody, then president of the Illinois Turf Association...
won by the barest of margins. The next day's New York Times photo captured the jockeys, side-by-side, looking at each other at the wire.
At age three Reigh Count was the dominant horse in America, winning six races (including 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...
). Jockey Chick Lang's
Chick Lang
Charles John "Chick" Lang was a Canadian Hall of Fame jockey who became a Champion rider in the United States and who won the most prestigious Thoroughbred horse race of both countries....
victory three years earlier in the Queen's Plate
Queen's Plate
The Queen's Plate is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each summer in June or July at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
made him the only Canadian
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...
jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
in history to win the most prestigious race both in 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...
and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. An injury kept Reigh Count out of both the Preakness
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...
and 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...
. However, later that summer in the Lawrence Realization, he defeated Preakess winner Victorian
Victorian (horse)
Victorian was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that was bred in Kentucky. He was bred and raced by Harry P. Whitney and is best known as the winner of the 1928 American Classic, the Preakness Stakes in which he was ridden by future Hall of Fame jockey Sonny Workman.When his racing career ended,...
. That fall he took on and defeated older horses in 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...
, which had a field including Chance Shot, Display, and Diavolo. Reigh Count's performances in 1928 earned him unofficial United States 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.
Shipped to race in England at age four, in June 1929 Reigh Count won the Coronation Cup
Coronation Cup
The Coronation Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....
at Epsom Downs
Epsom Downs Racecourse
Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse near Epsom, Surrey, England. The "downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course is best known for hosting the Epsom Derby, the United Kingdom's premier thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old colts and fillies, over a mile and a half...
and finished second in the Ascot Gold Cup
Ascot Gold Cup
The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....
at Ascot Racecourse
Ascot Racecourse
Ascot Racecourse is a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK's 32 annual Group 1 races...
. TIME magazine reported on December 16, 1929 that his owner had turned down an offer of $1 million for Reigh Count, saying "I think a fellow who would pay $1,000,000 for a horse ought to have his head examined, and the fellow who turned it down must be absolutely unbalanced". Had the offer been accepted, it would have been by far the largest amount ever paid anywhere for a race horse.
Retired 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 his owner's Stoner Creek Stud
Stoner Creek Stud
Stoner Creek Stud was an American Thoroughbred horse breeding farm near Paris, Kentucky owned by Chicago businessman John D. Hertz and his wife, Fannie Kesner Hertz .In his early business years in Chicago, John Hertz owned a farm near Cary, Illinois...
in Paris, Kentucky
Paris, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,183 people, 3,857 households, and 2,487 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,222 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White, 12.71% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.16%...
, Reigh Count produced 22 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...
winners including:
- Count Arthur (b. 1932) - won the Manhattan HandicapManhattan HandicapThe Manhattan Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race raced annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is named for Manhattan, the principal borough of the City of New York...
and the Jockey Club Gold CupJockey Club Gold CupThe 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... - Count FleetCount FleetCount 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....
(b. 1940) - the 1943 U.S. Triple CrownUnited States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred RacingIn 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...
champion, U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee - TriplicateTriplicateTriplicate was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by the 1928 American Horse of the Year and U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Reigh Count. His dam was Fairday, a daughter of another Hall of Fame inductee, Fair Play...
(b. 1941) - won the Hollywood Gold CupHollywood Gold CupThe Hollywood Gold Cup is an American Grade I stakes race for thoroughbred horses inaugurated in 1938 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. It was run as a handicap race until 1997 when it was switched to weight-for-age conditions...
and the San Juan Capistrano Handicap - Adonis (b. 1942) - won the Travers StakesTravers StakesThe Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers...