Summer Tan
Encyclopedia
Summer Tan was an American Thoroughbred
racehorse
bred and raced by Dorothy Firestone Galbreath and race conditioned by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame
trainer, Sherrill Ward
.
At age two, Summer Tan won major races in his age group such as the United States Hotel Stakes
, the Cowdin Stakes
in track record
time, the Youthful Stakes, the Garden State Stakes and finished second in the Hopeful and Belmont Futurity Stakes. While Nashua
was voted the 1954 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, Summer Tan was assigned top weight of 128 lbs on Frank E. Kilroe's Experimental Handicap.
In early November of 1954, shortly after his win in the Garden State Futurity, Summer Tan fell seriously ill and was diagnosed as suffering from an arterial blood clot.
In January, his handlers announced that Summer Tan had still not recovered enough to race and would not start in the Flamingo Stakes
, a scheduled early prep on the road to the Kentucky Derby
.
After more than a five-month layoff, Summer Tan returned to racing on April 4, 1955 in the mile and a sixteenth Springboard Purse, an allowance race at Belmont Park
in New York which he won by fourteen lengths in near track record time. His next and second start as a 3-year-old came on April 24 in the Wood Memorial Stakes
in which he was beaten by a neck by arch rival, Nashua.
In the Kentucky Derby, Summer Tan finished third behind Nashua and winner, Swaps
.
At age four, Summer Tan won three important races including the prestigious Pimlico Special
. He also set a new track record for 1 5/8 miles on dirt at Jamaica Racetrack
in New York while winning the Gallant Fox Handicap
. In his final year of racing in 1957, the then five year-old won the McLennan Handicap
at Hialeah Park Race Track
in Hialeah, Florida
.
Summer Tan was retired to stud
duty at the Galbreath family's Darby Dan Farm
in Lexington, Kentucky
where he met with good success. His offspring includes Summer Scandal, the 1966 American Champion Older Female Horse, plus multiple stakes race winners, Indian Sunlite and Sunrise County. Summer Tan was also the damsire of Typecast
, the 1972 American Champion Older Female Horse, and 1985 Breeders' Cup Classic
winner, Proud Truth
.
Summer Tan died of a heart attack at age seventeen on October 16, 1969 and was buried in the equine cemetery at Darby Dan Farm.
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 Dorothy Firestone Galbreath and race conditioned by 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...
trainer, Sherrill Ward
Sherrill W. Ward
Sherrill W. Ward was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born in Miami, Florida, he was the son of trainer John Sherrill Ward. His brother, John T. Ward, also trained horses and ran Fort Springs Farm in Lexington, Kentucky...
.
At age two, Summer Tan won major races in his age group such as 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...
, the Cowdin Stakes
Cowdin Stakes
The Cowdin Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack and at Belmont Park. First run in 1923 as the Junior Champion Stakes, it was renamed the Cowdin Stakes in 1941 to honor to John Cheever Cowdin, former president of Aqueduct Racetrack.The race was for...
in track record
Track record
Track record means informally the collective recollections of the performance of a person or an organization; similarly to fame or publicity.The term track record may also refer to:*Track Records, an English record label...
time, the Youthful Stakes, the Garden State Stakes and finished second in the Hopeful and Belmont Futurity Stakes. While Nashua
Nashua (horse)
Nashua was an American-born thoroughbred racehorse, perhaps best remembered for a 1955 match race against the horse that had defeated him in the Kentucky Derby.Nashua's sire was the good, but temperamental, European champion Nasrullah...
was voted the 1954 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, Summer Tan was assigned top weight of 128 lbs on Frank E. Kilroe's Experimental Handicap.
In early November of 1954, shortly after his win in the Garden State Futurity, Summer Tan fell seriously ill and was diagnosed as suffering from an arterial blood clot.
In January, his handlers announced that Summer Tan had still not recovered enough to race and would not start in the Flamingo Stakes
Flamingo Stakes
The Flamingo Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in March at the Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida. Run over a distance of nine furlongs, the inaugural race took place in 1926 at the Tampa, Florida racetrack...
, a scheduled early prep on the road to 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...
.
After more than a five-month layoff, Summer Tan returned to racing on April 4, 1955 in the mile and a sixteenth Springboard Purse, 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...
in New York which he won by fourteen lengths in near track record time. His next and second start as a 3-year-old came on April 24 in the Wood Memorial Stakes
Wood Memorial Stakes
The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually at Aqueduct Racetrack in Jamaica, New York. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 9 furlongs on dirt....
in which he was beaten by a neck by arch rival, Nashua.
In the Kentucky Derby, Summer Tan finished third behind Nashua and winner, Swaps
Swaps (horse)
Swaps was a California bred American thoroughbred racehorse. He was the son of Khaled, a stallion imported from the Aga Khan's stud in Europe. Swaps goes back to the immortal Man o' War, via his dam, Iron Reward, through the Triple Crown winner, War Admiral. In the list of the top 100 U.S...
.
At age four, Summer Tan won three important races including the prestigious Pimlico Special
Pimlico Special
The Pimlico Special is an American thoroughbred horse race held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland in mid May. It is raced on dirt over a distance of 1³/16 miles . The race is currently open to horses age three and older and offers a purse of $250,000.The Pimlico Special was first run in...
. He also set a new track record for 1 5/8 miles on dirt 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...
in New York while winning the Gallant Fox Handicap
Gallant Fox Handicap
The Gallant Fox Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the end of December at Aqueduct Racetrack in the Borough of Ozone Park, Queens, New York...
. In his final year of racing in 1957, the then five year-old won the McLennan Handicap
McLennan Handicap
The McLennan Handicap was an American thoroughbred horse race run annually each February from 1934-1961 at Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida. First run in 1934 as the Joseph McLennan Memorial Handicap, the race was named In honor of the late Joseph "Sandy" McLennan, the former racing...
at Hialeah Park Race Track
Hialeah 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...
in Hialeah, Florida
Hialeah, Florida
Hialeah is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 226,419. As of 2009, the population estimate by the U. S...
.
Summer Tan was retired to 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...
duty at the Galbreath family's Darby Dan Farm
Darby Dan Farm
Darby Dan Farm is a produce, livestock, and thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm founded in 1935 near the Darby Creek in Galloway, Ohio by businessman John W. Galbreath. Named for the creek and for Galbreath's son, Daniel M. Galbreath , it was expanded from an original farm into a 4,000...
in 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...
where he met with good success. His offspring includes Summer Scandal, the 1966 American Champion Older Female Horse, plus multiple stakes race winners, Indian Sunlite and Sunrise County. Summer Tan was also the damsire of Typecast
Typecast (horse)
Typecast was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse noted for her ability to win races at both short and very long distances. Bred by Nuckols Bros. of Midway, Kentucky, she was out of the mare Journalette and sired by Prince John, a son of the very important sire Princequillo...
, the 1972 American Champion Older Female Horse, and 1985 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...
winner, Proud Truth
Proud Truth
Proud Truth was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by Dorothy Galbreath, wife of prominent horseman John W. Galbreath, at their Darby Dan Farm in Lexington, Kentucky....
.
Summer Tan died of a heart attack at age seventeen on October 16, 1969 and was buried in the equine cemetery at Darby Dan Farm.