Burgoo King
Burgoo King | |
---|---|
Sire | Bubbling Over |
Grandsire | North Star |
Dam | Minawand |
Damsire | Lonawand |
Sex | Stallion |
Foaled | 1929 |
Country | United States |
Colour | Chestnut |
Breeder | H. N. Davis & Idle Hour Stock Farm |
Owner | Edward R. Bradley Silks: white, green hoops, white sleeves, green cap |
Trainer | Herbert J. Thompson |
Record | 21: 8-2-3 |
Earnings | $110,940 |
Major wins | |
American Classic Race wins: Kentucky Derby (1932) Preakness Stakes (1932) | |
Awards | |
U.S. Co-Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt (1932) | |
Last updated on March 19, 2007 |
Burgoo King (1929–1946) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series but who did not run in the final race, the Belmont Stakes.
Background
Owned by Colonel Edward R. Bradley and foaled at his renowned Idle Hour Stock Farm near Lexington, Kentucky, Burgoo King was named for a local grocer famous for his burgoo stew. Out of the mare Minawand, he was sired by Bradley's 1926 Kentucky Derby winner, Bubbling Over.
Burgoo King was trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee "Derby Dick" Thompson.
Racing career
1931: two-year-old season
Although he won four of his twelve starts in 1931, Burgoo King's best result in several major races for American two-year-olds was a third-place finish in the Pimlico Futurity.
1932: three-year-old season
At age three, Burgoo King was unplaced in the Withers Stakes and for the Kentucky Derby was not considered a significant contender. He was sent off at betting odds of close to 6:1 behind the favored Hopeful Stakes winner Tick On. The colt was ridden by 19-year-old Eugene James, an up-and-coming jockey from Louisville, Kentucky, whom Time magazine said had "made a sensation" in his 1931 racing season. Nonetheless, at the time, Colonel Bradley's top jockey was Laverne Fator, who had first choice of any of Idle Hour's horses. Fator chose to ride the colt Brother Joe, leaving the lightly regarded Burgoo King for young James.
The 1932 Kentucky Derby had a field of twenty starters, but Burgoo King got away cleanly. Shortly into the race stablemate Brother Joe pulled up lame. Although Burgoo King raced two wide with another horse behind the frontrunner, he made a strong move on the backstretch to take the lead and in the homestretch pulled away to win easily by three lengths. For Colonel Bradley, it marked a record third Kentucky Derby win.
Derby favorite Tick On finished sixth but in the ensuing Preakness Stakes he provided fierce competition with Burgoo King and jockey Eugene James beating Tick On by a head. A year after his two Classic wins, James died in a drowning accident in Lake Michigan. Winning the 1932 Belmont Stakes would have made Burgoo King the third U.S. Triple Crown champion in history. Two years earlier, the term "Triple Crown" had been coined by a sportswriter amid the hoopla surrounding Gallant Fox. The 1932 Belmont was run on June 4 but it has been reported that the colt was not eligible due to a failure on the part of his handlers to file all of the required paperwork. However, according to other sources, he twisted an ankle before the race and could not run. Another source claims that on June 11, while training for the American Derby in Chicago, Burgoo King bowed a tendon and would not race again for almost two years.
That Burgoo King did not race from around mid-1932 until mid-1934 is a fact, but the National Sporting Library's Thoroughbred Heritage website says that he was referred to as being "far from robust" by turf writers. As such, he may have had a minor ankle injury that kept him out of the Belmont but would have healed enough in time for the American Derby a week later. Or, his handlers may simply have chosen not to risk injuring the suddenly valuable colt over the Belmont's 1+1⁄2 mile distance, the longest and most grueling of the Triple Crown races. Instead, they may have opted to go to the then-very prestigious American Derby, which was run at the Kentucky Derby distance of 1+1⁄4 miles. Two years later the handlers for 1934 Kentucky Derby winner Cavalcade, who lost the Preakness by a nose, chose to skip the Belmont and compete in the American Derby instead.
Later racing career
Burgoo King's injury was a serious one and he did not return to racing until May 1934. At a time when more than one organization selected annual thoroughbred champions, despite his shortened campaign, Burgoo King still shared U.S. Three-Year-Old Co-Champion honors with Faireno. As a five-year-old horse in 1934, he returned to have a successful campaign in minor races, winning two of his five starts, along with one second-place finish and a third in each of his other two races.
Stud record
Retired to Idle Hour Stock Farm, Burgoo King met with modest success at stud. Although none of his progeny achieved his race or earnings success, he did produce six stakes race winners. Burgoo King was eventually sent to Darby Dan Farm in Columbus, Ohio, where he died in 1946. He is buried there in the farm's equine cemetery.
Breeding
Sire Bubbling Over ch. 1923 | North Star ch. 1914 | Sunstar | Sundridge |
---|---|---|---|
Doris | |||
Angelica | St. Angelo | ||
Fota | |||
Beaming Beauty bay 1917 | Sweep | Ben Brush | |
Pink Domino | |||
Bellisario | Hippodrome | ||
Biturica | |||
Dam Minawand ch. 1916 | Lonawand brown 1907 | Cupbearer | Orme |
Kissing Cup | |||
St. Flora | St. Florian | ||
Barbara | |||
Mintless bay 1906 | Minting | Lord Lyon | |
Mint Sauce | |||
Gorseberry | Crowberry | ||
Sardonis |
References
- Burgoo King's pedigree and partial racing stats
- May 16, 1932 Time magazine article on Burgoo King and Eugene James, and their Kentucky Derby win
- The official website for the 1932 Kentucky Derby including a race video (Note, Churchill Downs incorrectly labels Basil James as Burgoo King's jockey)
- Thoroughbred Heritage article on the "far from robust" Burgoo King[permanent dead link]
- Burgoo King's offspring at the Triple Crown database by Kathleen Irwin and Joy Reeves
- v
- t
- e
- 1875 Aristides
- 1876 Vagrant
- 1877 Baden-Baden
- 1878 Day Star
- 1879 Lord Murphy
- 1880 Fonso
- 1881 Hindoo
- 1882 Apollo
- 1883 Leonatus
- 1884 Buchanan
- 1885 Joe Cotton
- 1886 Ben Ali
- 1887 Montrose
- 1888 Macbeth II
- 1889 Spokane
- 1890 Riley
- 1891 Kingman
- 1892 Azra
- 1893 Lookout
- 1894 Chant
- 1895 Halma
- 1896 Ben Brush
- 1897 Typhoon II
- 1898 Plaudit
- 1899 Manuel
- 1900 Lieut. Gibson
- 1901 His Eminence
- 1902 Alan-a-Dale
- 1903 Judge Himes
- 1904 Elwood
- 1905 Agile
- 1906 Sir Huon
- 1907 Pink Star
- 1908 Stone Street
- 1909 Wintergreen
- 1910 Donau
- 1911 Meridian
- 1912 Worth
- 1913 Donerail
- 1914 Old Rosebud
- 1915 Regret ♥
- 1916 George Smith
- 1917 Omar Khayyam
- 1918 Exterminator
- 1919 Sir Barton ₩
- 1920 Paul Jones
- 1921 Behave Yourself
- 1922 Morvich
- 1923 Zev
- 1924 Black Gold
- 1925 Flying Ebony
- 1926 Bubbling Over
- 1927 Whiskery
- 1928 Reigh Count
- 1929 Clyde Van Dusen
- 1930 Gallant Fox ₩
- 1931 Twenty Grand
- 1932 Burgoo King
- 1933 Brokers Tip
- 1934 Cavalcade
- 1935 Omaha ₩
- 1936 Bold Venture
- 1937 War Admiral ₩
- 1938 Lawrin
- 1939 Johnstown
- 1940 Gallahadion
- 1941 Whirlaway ₩
- 1942 Shut Out
- 1943 Count Fleet ₩
- 1944 Pensive
- 1945 Hoop Jr.
- 1946 Assault ₩
- 1947 Jet Pilot
- 1948 Citation ₩
- 1949 Ponder
- 1950 Middleground
- 1951 Count Turf
- 1952 Hill Gail
- 1953 Dark Star
- 1954 Determine
- 1955 Swaps
- 1956 Needles
- 1957 Iron Liege
- 1958 Tim Tam
- 1959 Tomy Lee
- 1960 Venetian Way
- 1961 Carry Back
- 1962 Decidedly
- 1963 Chateaugay
- 1964 Northern Dancer
- 1965 Lucky Debonair
- 1966 Kauai King
- 1967 Proud Clarion
- 1968 Forward Pass (Dancer's Image disqualified)
- 1969 Majestic Prince
- 1970 Dust Commander
- 1971 Canonero II
- 1972 Riva Ridge
- 1973 Secretariat ₩
- 1974 Cannonade
- 1975 Foolish Pleasure
- 1976 Bold Forbes
- 1977 Seattle Slew ₩
- 1978 Affirmed ₩
- 1979 Spectacular Bid
- 1980 Genuine Risk ♥
- 1981 Pleasant Colony
- 1982 Gato Del Sol
- 1983 Sunny's Halo
- 1984 Swale
- 1985 Spend a Buck
- 1986 Ferdinand
- 1987 Alysheba
- 1988 Winning Colors ♥
- 1989 Sunday Silence
- 1990 Unbridled
- 1991 Strike the Gold
- 1992 Lil E. Tee
- 1993 Sea Hero
- 1994 Go for Gin
- 1995 Thunder Gulch
- 1996 Grindstone
- 1997 Silver Charm
- 1998 Real Quiet
- 1999 Charismatic
- 2000 Fusaichi Pegasus
- 2001 Monarchos
- 2002 War Emblem
- 2003 Funny Cide
- 2004 Smarty Jones
- 2005 Giacomo
- 2006 Barbaro
- 2007 Street Sense
- 2008 Big Brown
- 2009 Mine That Bird
- 2010 Super Saver
- 2011 Animal Kingdom
- 2012 I'll Have Another
- 2013 Orb
- 2014 California Chrome
- 2015 American Pharoah ₩
- 2016 Nyquist
- 2017 Always Dreaming
- 2018 Justify ₩
- 2019 Country House (Maximum Security disqualified)
- 2020 Authentic
- 2021 Mandaloun (Medina Spirit disqualified)
- 2022 Rich Strike
- 2023 Mage
- 2024 Mystik Dan
Legend – ₩ = Triple Crown winners, ♥ = Filly