Grecian Queen was an American 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...

 filly

Filly

A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....

 racehorse. She was bred by Dallas, Texas

Dallas, Texas

Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

 businessman Ben Whitaker

Ben F. Whitaker

Ben F. Whitaker was a Dallas, Texas oilman with producing properties throughout the state of Texas, an owner of the Hotel Whitmore in Dallas, and a major owner and breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses including two Champions....

 and raced under his wife's name. A consistently good and durable runner at age two and three, she won at distances from five and one half furlongs to a mile and three eighths.

Racing at 2

Trained by future U.S. Racing 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...

 inductee Jimmy Conway

James P. Conway

James P. Conway was an American Hall of Fame trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing who trained forty-three stakes winners including five Champions and a winner of two American Classic Races....

, Grecian Queen made her racing debut as a 2-year-old at Fair Grounds Race Course

Fair Grounds Race Course

Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC....

 in New Orleans with a fourth place finish in a maiden special weight event. She went on to considerable success that year, winning the 1952 Demoiselle Stakes

Demoiselle Stakes

The Demoiselle Stakes is a stakes race for thoroughbred horses open to two-year-old fillies who are willing to race the one and one-eighth miles on dirt...

 at a mile and a sixteenth, the six furlong

Furlong

A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....

 Astarita Stakes

Astarita Stakes

The Astarita Stakes was an American non-graded Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York between 1946 and 2005. Open to two-year-old fillies, it was a sprint race contested on dirt over a distance of six and a half furlongs...

, and the five and one half furlong Schuylerville Purse

Schuylerville Stakes

The Schuylerville Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old fillies, it is contested at a distance of six furlongs on dirt. A Grade III event, it offers a purse of $100,000. In 2006, the race was...

 at racetracks in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

  as well as the mile and a sixteenth Marguerite Stakes at Pimlico Race Course

Pimlico Race Course

Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London...

. Grecian Queen finished behind Sweet Patootie in the balloting for 1952 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly honors.

A Champion at 3

Grecian Queen was voted the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly of 1953 in a year in which she won seven of twelve starts with wins in major races for fillies such as the Prioress Stakes

Prioress Stakes

The Prioress Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first week of July at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York....

. Gazelle Stakes, New Castle Handicap

Delaware Handicap

The Delaware Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Wilmington, Delaware. The Grade II race is open to filles and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-quarter miles on the dirt....

  and Monmouth Oaks, At 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...

 she won the mile and three-eighths Coaching Club American Oaks

Coaching Club American Oaks

The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $250,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in 2010....

, at the time the most important race in the United States for three-year-old fillies that was often called the fillies derby.

Grecian Queen raced again at age four and five but could not win at the top levels with her best result a second place finish in the 1954 Maskette Handicap at Saratoga Race Course

Saratoga Race Course

Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...

 in New York state

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Broodmare

Bred to stallion

Stallion

A Stallion is a male horse.Stallion may also refer to:* Stallion , an American pop rock group* Stallion , a figure in the Gobot toyline* Stallion , a character in the console role-playing game series...

s such as Royal Charger

Royal Charger

Royal Charger was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who was successful in racing but even more so as a sire. He was the son of the very important sire Nearco.-Racing career:As a three-year-old, Royal Charger finished third in the 2000 Guineas...

, Tudor Minstrel

Tudor Minstrel

Tudor Minstrel was a British-bred Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by Owen Tudor, the 1941 Epsom Derby winner.Ridden by Gordon Richards, in 1947 Tudor Minstrel won the 1 mile long 2,000 Guineas by 8 lengths, the largest winning margin in the race since 1900...

, Nashua

Nashua (horse)

Nashua was an American-born thoroughbred racehorse, perhaps best remembered for a 1955 match race against the horse that had defeated him in the Kentucky Derby.Nashua's sire was the good, but temperamental, European champion Nasrullah...

, and Raise a Native

Raise a Native

Raise a Native was an undefeated Thoroughbred racehorse that was named 1963 champion two-year-old colt in the Turf and Sport Digest poll. He sired 74 stakes winners, including Majestic Prince and Alydar...

, Grecian Queen's offspring had only limited success in racing.