It’s a story full improbable twists, cruel treatment and bizarre facts. What ended up as Hambletonian’s possibly...
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Having won the Hambletonian twice, in 1930 with Hanover’s Bertha and 1937 with Shirley Hanover, the Hanover Shoe...
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His whole life is spectacular. He was the best trotter in his generation, even though his trainer was skeptical and at 2 felt the...
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Known as the “The Queen of the Turf”, she was the first to break the magic 2:30 barrier. A victim of bad and harsh...
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An exceptional racehorse at 2, BF Coaltown was then set back by virus infection a month ahead of hte Hambletonian which he...
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Widely expected to be one of the first 2:00 trotters, Axworthy’s most spectacular daughter was nearly invincible at her...
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The idea of crossing trotters and pacers is nothing new, and every so often a star trotter with this background emerges. In the 1970s the foremost trotter-pacer cross was Zoot Suit, bred by Norman Woolworth. His oddball pedigree meant he wasn’t an attractive stallion to US breeders upon retirement, but in Sweden he was welcomed with open arm and became a stallion sensation.
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The only horse in history to set world records at 1, 2, 3 and 4 before eventually becoming one of the great stallions in history, Peter Volo was a champion both on and off the track. He was not a friendly horse, though, and had a terrible temperament. Though considered one of the pillars of harness racing history, Peter Volo was on track to be forgotten as a stallion given his poor production. One man, however, refused to give up how in the foul-tempered stallion and persisted in his efforts to buy him – a purchase which would change history.
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Grey trotters have always caught the attention of the public, Greyhound naturally being a big reason. Of the thousands of stallions which were at stud before 1900, very few were successful sires of speed – and almost no grey ones. One exception, though, was Pilot Medium who sired Peter the Great. Pilot Medium’s grey coat is inherited from his damsire, Pilot Jr, who was a famous horse in his time and widely acknowledged as the best horse in “the Pilot family.”
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The Norwegian Trotting association started to keep stallion records in 1928, and every year until 1936 the Kentucky-born chestnut stallion The Eno was the undisputed champion. However, the excellent trotter and stallion had a rough start on his career causing wanna-be comedians to suggest the horse shouldn’t be trotting but rather be touring with a circus.
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He had to wait until he was almost 40 before he had enough money to buy a horse, and ended up with broodmares others didn’t want. Then he was refused to breed these mares to the stallions of his choice and had to settle for an untested and relatively cheap debut stallion. Despite all this, Charlie W Williams bred an undefeated superstar of his time in Axtell, who in turn sired one of the sport’s foundation sires.
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He had a fantastic pedigree and came off a two-year-old season in which he set a world record. That did not prompt the owner to keep him: given that Calumet Farm was converting to a thoroughbred operation, the colt was put up for auction at the end of that season. Not surprisingly, Calumet Chuck became the most expensive sale at the auction. However, his three-year-old season was winless and full of frustration – but he got some revenge at stud.
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The number of US-born stallions exported to Europe is staggering high, with very few horses going the other way for stallion duty. While some think European-born stallions in the US is a very recent thing, history shows that is not the case. In fact, the first European trotting stallion in the US arrived just a few years after the second World War. The story of Quel Veinard is both strange and fascinating, but more than anything also the story about an almost forgotten horse.
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