Citation (racehorse)
| Citation | |
.jpg) Citation (ca.1950) |
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| Race: | English blood |
| Father: | Bull Lea |
| Mother: | Hydroplane II |
| Mother, father: | Hyperion |
| Gender: | stallion |
| Year of birth: | 1945 |
| Year of death: | 1970 |
| Country: | United States |
| Colour: | brown |
| Breeder: | Calumet Farm |
| Owner: | Calumet Farm |
| Trainer: | Horace A. Jones |
| Record: | 45 starts: 32 wins, 12 places |
| Prize amount: | $ 1,085,760 |
| Greatest wins, titles and awards | |
| Greatest victories | |
| US Triple Crown 1948 | |
| Awards | |
| Racehorse of 1948 in the USA | |
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Infobox last modified on: December 7th, 2007. |
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Citation ( April 11, 1945 - August 8, 1970 ) was an American racehorse. He was born and raised on Calumet Farm in Lexington , Kentucky , the son of Bull Lea and mother Hydroplane II. He was trained by Horace A. "Jimmy" Jones and won his first race as a two year old in Havre de Grace, Maryland . That year he had nine races, of which he won eight and earned $ 155,680. Citation was the first racehorse to win over $ 1 million.
Citation started the 1948 racing season by beating his stable mate Armed , who was Racehorse of the Year in 1947. Although Jimmy Jones was the trainer of Citation, the stallion ran on behalf of his father so that he could break the record for the most wins by a trainer. Under jockey Eddie Arcaro , Citation won the Kentucky Derby with 3½ lengths and then in Baltimore the Preakness Stakes with 5½ lengths. Then he won the Jersey Derby and also won the Belmont Stakes in Elmont, New York . This made him the eighth Triple Crown winner. At the end of the season he had won 27 races in 29 races and was second twice. For this he was voted race horse of the year.
In 1949 he was unable to run due to injuries, but came back in 1950 and won the Golden Gate Mile Handicap but lost several other races and the season was not very successful for him. In 1951, he performed poorly in three races, but won his last three races, including the Hollywood Gold Cup, becoming the first racehorse to win over $ 1 million. In 1951, Citation was withdrawn from racing as one of the best racehorses that had ever existed. He then raised offspring on the Calumet Farm, but none of his offspring was as successful. These included Silver Spoon and Fabius, who won the Preakness Stakes in 1956. In 1956, Citation was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame.
Citation died on August 8, 1970 at the age of 25. In the list of the most important American racehorses compiled by Blood Horse Magazine, he is in 3rd place. The two horses in 1st and 2nd place, Man o 'War and Secretariat , were very large, both were also called "Big Red", while Citation was rather small and wiry.
Trivia
A still image of Citation can be seen in the film The Godfather II .