Gallant Fox and my Girls!

Here's a photo of Gallant Fox, the second Triple Crown winner in history (1930) when he was a baby. He is standing with his mom, Marguerite. His dad is Violet and Hailee's own Sir Gallahad! He raced17 times for a final record of 11, 3, 2. He was owned by William Woodward and under his care won the Wood Memorial by 4 lengths over a field of classic hopefuls, beat 14 other horses to win the Kentucky Derby, won the Arlington Classic, and won the Saratoga Cup. He lost the Travers Stakes to a 100-1 shot, Jim Dandy, the same track where Man 'O War lost to Upset. Gallant Fox and Man 'o War's losses at Saratoga were part of the reason why that track is called "The Graveyard of Champions!" He ended his race career as a top money-earner, a 3 year-old Champion of the Year! He retired where he was born, at Claiborne Farms, where in his very first foal crop, he produced Omaha the next Triple Crown winner. He is blessed as the only Triple Crown winner to sire another Triple Crown winner!!! When he passed, they buried him next to his mom and dad (my girls' relatives). Gallant Fox was voted #28 of the Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th century and was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1957. You can learn more about him at the following links, including seeing some really great film footage of his wins at the Youtube site! They are hilarious because they talk about his "gregarious" style of racing. He liked to be in the pack or come up from behind. Though he could beat horses by lengths, he just generally liked running along with his pals!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvXXNoyIYRQ&NR=1
or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallant_Fox

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=77

or

http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/gallantfox.html

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http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/SirGallahad.html#GallantFox

Fabulous Saratoga Race Track

Saratoga Race Track was opened in Saratoga Springs, New York on August 3, 1863. It is the oldest sporting event in the United States. In fact, Saratoga holds the Travers Stakes, continuosly running since 1864, the oldest horse race in the U.S.! You will remember the Travers Stakes because that's the one where Violet's relative, Jaipur, beat Ridan in one of the Top 100 moments in racing history!! Saratoga has a 6 week meet and holds many races, some of the most important being the Woodward, Travers, and Whitney! Saratoga is nicknamed "The Spa" and "Graveyard of Favorites." It earned the latter nickname because some pretty famous horses lost there. Man o' War lost his only race against Upset, Secretariat lost his only race to Onion, and Gallant Fox lost his only race to Jim Dandy. Tough to be a favorite and a champion at Saratoga!!! Anyway, here's a photo of Saratoga, and then here's a 2005 photo of Angel Cordero, always a Saratoga favorite, riding Afleet Alex, Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner, at an end-of-career party for Alex. If you want to read more about this historically significant race track, check out the following links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saratoga_Race_Course

or

http://www.nyra.com/index_saratoga.html

or

http://www.nyfolklore.org/pubs/voic29-1-2/saratoga.html