Cool Reception
Encyclopedia
Cool Reception is a Canadian
Hall of Fame
Thoroughbred
racehorse
. During his two-year-old racing season, trainer
Carl Chapman retired and the colt's conditioning was taken over by Lou Cavalaris, Jr. That year, Cool Reception dominated his age group in Canada, winning seven consecutive races, including the two richest races for 2-year-olds in the country under jockey Avelino Gomez
. His performances earned him the 1966 Sovereign Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Male Horse
.
At age three, Cool Reception was shipped south to race in the United States, where he met with limited success, winning two allowance races. After finishing a strong second in the Derby Trial
, his trainer decided to bypass the Kentucky Derby
and he returned to Canada, where he easily won the Marine Stakes
. His eight-length victory prompted Cool Reception's handlers to try him in the Belmont Stakes
, even though he would be up against Kentucky Derby winner Proud Clarion
and the winner of the Preakness Stakes
and future U.S. Horse of the Year
and Hall of Famer
Damascus
.
Shipped to Belmont Park
, Cool Reception finished second to Damascus in the 1967 Belmont Stakes. Ridden by jockey
Johnny Sellers
, he courageously raced the last two hundred yards on a broken right foreleg. An operation could not save the colt and he had to be euthanized
.
In 2005, Cool Reception's accomplishments were recognized with his induction in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Hall of Fame
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....
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...
. During his two-year-old racing season, 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...
Carl Chapman retired and the colt's conditioning was taken over by Lou Cavalaris, Jr. That year, Cool Reception dominated his age group in Canada, winning seven consecutive races, including the two richest races for 2-year-olds in the country under jockey Avelino Gomez
Avelino Gomez
Avelino Gomez was a Cuban-born Hall of Fame jockey in American and Canadian thoroughbred horse racing.Born in Havana, Gomez began a career as a jockey at the urging of a family member...
. His performances earned him the 1966 Sovereign Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Male Horse
Sovereign Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Male Horse
The Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Coltis a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor. Created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada, it is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top 2-Year-Old male Thoroughbred horse competing in Canada.Past winners: -References:*...
.
At age three, Cool Reception was shipped south to race in the United States, where he met with limited success, winning two allowance races. After finishing a strong second in the Derby Trial
Derby Trial
The Derby Trial Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the end of April at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Held one week before the Kentucky Derby, it was first run in 1924 and every year since, with the exception of 1928...
, his trainer decided to bypass the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky 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...
and he returned to Canada, where he easily won the Marine Stakes
Marine Stakes
The Marine Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. Held in mid May, it is open to three-year-old horses and is contested over a distance of 11/16 miles on Polytrack synthetic dirt...
. His eight-length victory prompted Cool Reception's handlers to try him in the 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...
, even though he would be up against Kentucky Derby winner Proud Clarion
Proud Clarion
Proud Clarion was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1967 Kentucky Derby. Owned and bred by John W. Galbreath, he was foaled at his Darby Dan Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. His sire was Hail To Reason, the U.S. Champion Two-Year-Old Colt for 1960, and his grandsire was...
and the winner of 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...
and future U.S. 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....
and Hall of Famer
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...
Damascus
Damascus (horse)
Damascus was a thoroughbred race horse sired by Sword Dancer out of Kerala foaled at the Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky...
.
Shipped to Belmont Park
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
, Cool Reception finished second to Damascus in the 1967 Belmont Stakes. Ridden by jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
Johnny Sellers
Johnny Sellers
Johnny Sellers was an American jockey. Born in Los Angeles, but raised in Oklahoma, he began his professional career in 1955 and between 1959 and 1968 rode in six Kentucky Derbys. He won the prestigious race aboard Carry Back in 1961 then riding the colt to victory in the Preakness Stakes...
, he courageously raced the last two hundred yards on a broken right foreleg. An operation could not save the colt and he had to be euthanized
Animal euthanasia
Animal euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress...
.
In 2005, Cool Reception's accomplishments were recognized with his induction in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....
.