Coaltown
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| Coaltown | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Bull Lea |
| Grandsire | Bull Dog |
| Dam | Easy Lass |
| Damsire | Blenheim II |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1945 |
| Country | United States  |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Calumet Farm |
| Owner | Calumet Farm |
| Trainer | Ben A. Jones & Horace A. Jones |
| Record | 39: 23-6-3 |
| Earnings | $415,675 |
| Major Racing Wins, Awards and Honours | |
| Major Racing Wins | |
| Phoenix Handicap (1948) Jerome Handicap (1948) Blue Grass Stakes (1948) Swift Stakes (1948) Stars & Stripes Handicap (1949) Gallant Fox Handicap (1949) Widener Handicap (1949) Gulfstream Park Handicap (1949) Arlington Handicap (1949) Washington Park Handicap (1949) |
|
| Racing Awards | |
| U.S. Champion Sprint Horse (1948) Handicap Horse of the Year (1949) Co-United States Horse of the Year (1949) |
|
| Honours | |
| United States Racing Hall of Fame (1983) #47 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century |
|
| Infobox last updated on: December 29, 2007. | |
Coaltown (1945-1965) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse about whom the New York Times [1] said "was probably the most underrated Thoroughbred of the 20th Century."
Coaltown was nicknamed "The Goose" by the stable employees at Calumet Farm for his way of outstretching his long, thin neck when he ran. Racing at age three in 1948, he was almost completely overshadowed by stable mate Citation finishing second to him in the Kentucky Derby en route to becoming the 8th U.S. Triple Crown Champion in history. Coaltown, however, won eight of the thirteen races he entered. He won the Blue Grass Stakes in track record time and at the end of the year was voted 1948's U.S. Champion Sprint Horse.
In 1949, injuries kept Citation from racing, allowing Coaltown to show how good he really was. He won twelve of his fifteen races and set or matched several U.S. and world records including:
- A new world record for the mile at Washington Park Racetrack
- Equaled the world record and set a new track record for 1 1/4 miles at Gulfstream Park
- Equaled the world record and set a new track record for 1 1/8 miles at Hialeah Park
- Set a new track record for 1 1/8 miles at Arlington Park
- Equaled the track record for six furlongs at Hollywood Park Racetrack
In his final race of 1949, Coaltown was a badly beaten 2nd to 1949 arch-rival Capot in the Pimlico Special. Nonetheless, his performances that year earned him Handicap Horse of the Year honors and he shared the United States Horse of the Year title with Capot.
After mediocre performances in 1950 and '51, Coaltown was retired to stud at Calumet Farm where he had only limited success as a sire. In 1955 he was sold to Haras de Jardy in Marnes-la-Coquette, France where he died at the age of 20 in 1965.
Coaltown was inducted into the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1983.
[edit] References
- Coaltowns' pedigree and racing stats
- Coaltown at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
