Cavalcade (horse)
Encyclopedia
Cavalcade was an American
Hall of Fame
Champion
Thoroughbred
racehorse
.
In the early 1930s, Bob Smith, a trainer
with a history of spotting talent, had been hired by heiress Isabel Dodge Sloane
to stock her newly formed Brookmeade Stable
. A descendant of the 1893 English Triple Crown champion Isinglass
, Cavalcade was purchased as a yearling for $1,200. Among the other yearlings Smith bought for Brookmeade Stable that year were Time Clock for $700 and High Quest
for $3,500.
In his two-year-old racing season, Cavalcade showed a bit of what was to come at age three. Although he won the Hyde Park Stakes, of his eleven starts in 1933 he won twice, with three second- and three third-place finishes. In a year when no colt dominated his age group, Cavalcade was among the best, although there were no official champions named in American racing until 1936. Cavalcade's 1934 campaign was marked by his dominance of the future Hall of Fame colt Discovery
whom he first defeated in the Chesapeake Stakes while setting a new race record time.
Brookmeade Stable raced Cavalcade as well as Time Clock, who had won the Flamingo Stakes
. Sent off as the bettors'
heavy favorites, Cavalcade won the race by more than three lengths over Discovery with Time Clock a disappointing seventh. After Time Clock's poor showing, his handlers replaced him in the Preakness Stakes
with the third stablemate, High Quest
, who had won April's Wood Memorial. High Quest won the Preakness, beating Cavalcade by a nose with Discovery in third place. Cavalcade skipped the longer Belmont Stakes
but went on to win the American Derby
and Arlington Classic
, defeating Discovery in both, then set a new track record in winning the Detroit Derby. The colt ended the 1934 racing season with six wins and a second in his seven starts and was unofficially named the Champion 3-Year-old Colt
and Horse of the Year
.
At age four and five, Cavalcade started twice each year without a win. He finished second once and unplaced in the other three. Retired to stud
duty at Sloane's Brookmeade Stud in Upperville, Virginia
, Cavalcade died just four years later at age nine. Of his limited offspring, the most notable was the gelding
Dinner Party, who won 37 steeplechase
races.
Cavalcade was inducted in the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
in 1993.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
Champion
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
.
In the early 1930s, Bob Smith, a trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
with a history of spotting talent, had been hired by heiress Isabel Dodge Sloane
Isabel Dodge Sloane
Isabel Cleves Dodge Sloane was an American heiress and socialite who owned a major Thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm....
to stock her newly formed Brookmeade Stable
Brookmeade Stable
Brookmeade Stable was a successful thoroughbred horse racing stable owned by heiress and socialite Isabel Dodge Sloane. Sloane first won using the name Brookmeade Stable at the Manly Memorial Steeplechase at Pimlico in 1924....
. A descendant of the 1893 English Triple Crown champion Isinglass
Isinglass (horse)
Isinglass was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who dominated during his time in racing and won the English Triple Crown.-Racing record:...
, Cavalcade was purchased as a yearling for $1,200. Among the other yearlings Smith bought for Brookmeade Stable that year were Time Clock for $700 and High Quest
High Quest
High Quest was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1934 Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series of races....
for $3,500.
In his two-year-old racing season, Cavalcade showed a bit of what was to come at age three. Although he won the Hyde Park Stakes, of his eleven starts in 1933 he won twice, with three second- and three third-place finishes. In a year when no colt dominated his age group, Cavalcade was among the best, although there were no official champions named in American racing until 1936. Cavalcade's 1934 campaign was marked by his dominance of the future Hall of Fame colt Discovery
Discovery (horse)
Discovery was an American Thoroughbred racehorse about whom the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame said: "...considered one of the greatest horses of the 20th century."...
whom he first defeated in the Chesapeake Stakes while setting a new race record time.
The 1934 U.S. Triple Crown Races
Of their three very capable colts, for the Kentucky DerbyKentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
Brookmeade Stable raced Cavalcade as well as Time Clock, who had won the Flamingo Stakes
Flamingo Stakes
The Flamingo Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in March at the Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida. Run over a distance of nine furlongs, the inaugural race took place in 1926 at the Tampa, Florida racetrack...
. Sent off as the bettors'
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
heavy favorites, Cavalcade won the race by more than three lengths over Discovery with Time Clock a disappointing seventh. After Time Clock's poor showing, his handlers replaced him in the Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
with the third stablemate, High Quest
High Quest
High Quest was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1934 Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series of races....
, who had won April's Wood Memorial. High Quest won the Preakness, beating Cavalcade by a nose with Discovery in third place. Cavalcade skipped the longer Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
but went on to win the American Derby
American Derby
The American Derby is a Thoroughbred horse race in the United States run annually at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights, Illinois. The inaugural American Derby was held at the city's old Washington Park race track and raced there until 1905 when the facility was closed and the track demolished....
and Arlington Classic
Arlington Classic
The Arlington Classic Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-old horses held annually at the end of June at Arlington Park race track near Chicago, Illinois...
, defeating Discovery in both, then set a new track record in winning the Detroit Derby. The colt ended the 1934 racing season with six wins and a second in his seven starts and was unofficially named the Champion 3-Year-old Colt
Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old Male Horse
The American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971....
and Horse of the Year
Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year
The American Award for Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. It has been awarded since 1887 to the horse, irrespective of age, whose performance during the racing year is deemed the most outstanding....
.
At age four and five, Cavalcade started twice each year without a win. He finished second once and unplaced in the other three. Retired to stud
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
duty at Sloane's Brookmeade Stud in Upperville, Virginia
Upperville, Virginia
Upperville is an unincorporated community in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States, located along U.S. Route 50 fifty miles from downtown Washington, D.C.. Founded in the 1790s along Pantherskin Creek, it was originally named Carrstown by first settler Josephus Carr...
, Cavalcade died just four years later at age nine. Of his limited offspring, the most notable was the gelding
Gelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
Dinner Party, who won 37 steeplechase
Steeplechase (horse racing)
The steeplechase is a form of horse racing and derives its name from early races in which orientation of the course was by reference to a church steeple, jumping fences and ditches and generally traversing the many intervening obstacles in the countryside...
races.
Cavalcade was inducted in the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
in 1993.