Native Dancer (March 27, 1950 - November 16, 1967), nicknamed the Grey Ghost, was one of the most celebrated and accomplished Thoroughbred racehorses in history, the first horse made famous through the medium of television. He was one of the best horses produced in USA after the war. As a two-year-old he was undefeated in his nine starts for earnings of $230,495 a record for a two-year-old. During his three years of racing he had 22 starts for 21 wins.
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Native Dancer was foaled at Scott Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. The colt was raised and trained at owner Alfred G. Vanderbilt II's Sagamore Farm in Glyndon, Maryland. Native Dancer was a big solid grey horse by the 1945 Preakness Stakes winner, Polynesian out of Geisha by Discovery. Geisha also produced Native Dancer's half-sister Orientation who in turn was the dam of three stakes winners Initiate ($73,311), Undulation ($52,714) and Citizenship.[1]
In his first season of racing Native Dancer won all nine races he entered, thrilling crowds with his come-from-behind running style. He was voted the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt for 1952 with two of the three major polls naming him Horse of the Year.
In his three-year-old campaign, the undefeated racehorse received a great deal of media attention leading up to the 1953 Kentucky Derby. He won both the Gotham Mile and the prestigious Wood Memorial en route to US racing's most prestigious event but in the Kentucky Derby, Native Dancer lost for the only time in his career. Although jockey Eric Guerin was roundly criticized in the press ("he took that colt everywhere on the track except the Ladies' Room" was one comment[2]) , the horse had in fact been fouled twice during the race but recovered only to be narrowly defeated into second place by Dark Star. To date Native Dancer is still one of only two "Dual Classic Winners" ever to come from the state of Maryland (the other was Kauai King - 1966 Kentucky Derby + Preakness) and one of only eleven Maryland-bred colts to win a US Triple Crown race. Eight of those eleven have won the Preakness but only he and Caveat have won the Belmont Stakes from the "Old Line State."
Following his loss at Churchill Downs, Native Dancer quickly re-established himself as one of the best horses in America. He won the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes, and the Travers Stakes, a feat accomplished until then only by Duke of Magenta, Man o' War, and Whirlaway, and by only two other horses since. Native Dancer never lost again that season and was named Champion Three Year Old Colt.
In 1954 Native Dancer won all three races he entered and was scheduled to be shipped to France to compete in the prestigious Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. However, he had to be retired as a result of a recurring foot injury with a record of 21 wins out of 22 lifetime races. Voted the United States Horse of the Year for 1954, he appeared on the May 31 cover of Time magazine. Many consider the "Grey Ghost of Sagamore" to have been the first Thoroughbred television star and TV Guide ranked him as a top icon of the era".[2]
At stud, Native Dancer sired 43 stakes winners from 306 foals and is an ancestor of countless modern champions. His tail-male descendants, particularly through his grandson Mr. Prospector, have dominated the US Triple Crown races.
Among Native Dancer's offspring are:
Native Dancer was inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1963. He died on November 16, 1967 following the removal of a tumor on the wall of the small intestine and was buried at Sagamore Farm in Glyndon, Maryland.[4]
In the Blood-Horse magazine ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th century, Native Dancer was ranked #7. In the Associated Press rankings of the greatest racehorses of the 20th century, Native Dancer ranked #3, tied with Citation, behind only Man o' War and Secretariat.
| Sire Polynesian (USA) Br.,1942 |
Unbreakable Blk.,1935 |
Sickle | Phalaris |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selene | |||
| Blue Grass | Prince Palatine | ||
| Hour Glass | |||
| Black Polly B.,1936 |
Polymelian | Polymelus | |
| Pasquita | |||
| Black Queen | Pompey | ||
| Black Maria | |||
| Dam Geisha (USA) Gr.,1943 |
Discovery Ch.,1931 |
Display | Fair Play |
| Cicuta | |||
| Ariadne | Light Brigade | ||
| Adrienne | |||
| Miyako Gr.,1930 |
John P. Grier | Whisk Broom II | |
| Wonder | |||
| La Chica | Sweep | ||
| La Grisette (Family: 5-f)[5] |
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