Menow
Encyclopedia
Menow was an American
Champion Thoroughbred
racehorse
.
Bred and raced by Hal Price Headley, Menow was foaled on May 19th, late in the year for a Thoroughbred racehorse. His dam was Headley's great runner Alcibiades
, who was the U.S. Champion two-year-old filly of 1929 and the Champion three-year-old filly of 1930.
Menow's English-born sire, Pharamond
, was owned and raced by Lord Derby
, who sold him in 1928 to an American syndicate led by Hal Price Headley. He was registered in the United States as Pharamond II. Headley brought him to stand at stud
at his Beaumont Farm in Lexington Kentucky.
Trained by Hal Price Headley's nephew, Duval, at age two the colt won the 1937 Champagne Stakes and set a world record for six-and-one-half furlong
s on a straight dirt course in winning the Belmont Futurity Stakes. Menow's 1937 performances earned him American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse honors.
Racing at age three in 1938, in the U.S. Triple Crown
series, the distances proved a little too long for Menow in such a short span of time. He finished third in the Kentucky Derby
to Lawrin
and third to Dauber
in the Preakness Stakes
. His handlers then chose to skip the much longer Belmont Stakes
. That year, Menow won the mile-and-an-eighth Massachusetts Handicap
, in which he defeated 1937 Triple Crown champion War Admiral
. His other wins included the one mile Withers Stakes
at New York's
Aqueduct Racetrack
, and the mile-and-a-sixteenth Potomac Handicap
at Havre de Grace Racetrack
in Havre de Grace, Maryland
. Menow ended his career having bowed in both forelegs while finishing third to Seabiscuit
in the Havre de Grace Handicap
.
Menow was also the damsire of High Voltage
, the 1954 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.
Menow died at age twenty-nine in 1964 and is buried at Mill Ridge Farm in Lexington. Built on a parcel from Beaumont Farm, Mill Ridge is owned by Hal Price Headley's daughter Alice Headley Chandler and her husband, John.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Champion 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...
.
Bred and raced by Hal Price Headley, Menow was foaled on May 19th, late in the year for a Thoroughbred racehorse. His dam was Headley's great runner Alcibiades
Alcibiades (horse)
Alcibiades was an American Thoroughbred racemare that won the Kentucky Oaks and was later a good broodmare.Owned and bred by Hal Price Headley at his Beaumont Farm near Lexington, Kentucky, Alcibiades was named for the ancient Greek soldier and statesman Alcibiades. She was sired by Supremus out...
, who was the U.S. Champion two-year-old filly of 1929 and the Champion three-year-old filly of 1930.
Menow's English-born sire, Pharamond
Pharamond II
Pharamond was an English Thoroughbred racehorse who became a successful sire of Champions in the United States where he was registered as Pharamond II. He was a full brother to Sickle, who also stood at stud successfully in the United States. Pharamond was bred and raced by Edward Stanley, 17th...
, was owned and raced by Lord Derby
Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby
Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby KG, GCB, GCVO, TD, PC, KGStJ, JP , known as Lord Stanley from 1893 to 1908, was a British soldier, Conservative politician, diplomat and racehorse owner. He was twice Secretary of State for War and also served as British Ambassador to...
, who sold him in 1928 to an American syndicate led by Hal Price Headley. He was registered in the United States as Pharamond II. Headley brought him to stand at stud
Stud (animal)
A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...
at his Beaumont Farm in Lexington Kentucky.
Trained by Hal Price Headley's nephew, Duval, at age two the colt won the 1937 Champagne Stakes and set a world record for six-and-one-half 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....
s on a straight dirt course in winning the Belmont Futurity Stakes. Menow's 1937 performances earned him American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse honors.
Racing at age three in 1938, in the U.S. Triple Crown
United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...
series, the distances proved a little too long for Menow in such a short span of time. He finished third in 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...
to Lawrin
Lawrin
Lawrin was an American thoroughbred racehorse owned by Herbert M. Woolf who won the Kentucky Derby in 1938. He was the son of Insco. Lawrin also won the Flamingo Stakes and American Invitational. He is the only Kansas-bred winner of the Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Derby winner ridden by...
and third to Dauber
Dauber (horse)
Dauber was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1938 Preakness Stakes. Bred by Sonny Whitney, he was sired by Harry Payne Whitney's 1913 Futurity Stakes winner, Pennant. His dam was Ship of War, a daughter of the legendary Man o' War.Dauber was purchased by William duPont,...
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...
. His handlers then chose to skip the much 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...
. That year, Menow won the mile-and-an-eighth Massachusetts Handicap
Massachusetts Handicap
The Massachusetts Handicap, frequently referred to as the "MassCap", is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and up held annually at Suffolk Downs in Boston, Massachusetts. It is currently an Ungraded stakes race run over a distance of 9 furlongs on dirt. The race received...
, in which he defeated 1937 Triple Crown champion War Admiral
War Admiral
War Admiral was an American thoroughbred racehorse, the offspring of the great thoroughbred Man o' War and the mare Brushup. He inherited his father's fiery temperament and talent, but did not resemble him physically...
. His other wins included the one mile Withers Stakes
Withers Stakes
The Withers Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds willing to compete one mile on the dirt. Held at Aqueduct Racetrack every year at the end of April , it is a Grade III event, and offers a purse of $150,000...
at New York's
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...
Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...
, and the mile-and-a-sixteenth Potomac Handicap
Potomac Handicap
The Potomac Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in the latter part of September at Havre de Grace Racetrack in Havre de Grace, Maryland. Open to three-year-old horses, it was raced on dirt at a distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth....
at Havre de Grace Racetrack
Havre de Grace Racetrack
The Havre de Grace Racetrack was an American horse racing track on Post Road in Havre de Grace, Harford County, Maryland which operated from August 24, 1912 to 1950...
in Havre de Grace, Maryland
Havre de Grace, Maryland
Havre de Grace is a city in Harford County, Maryland, United States. Located at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of the Chesapeake Bay, Havre de Grace is named after the port city of Le Havre, France, which was first named Le Havre de Grâce, meaning in French "Harbor of Grace." As...
. Menow ended his career having bowed in both forelegs while finishing third to Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse in the United States. From an inauspicious start, Seabiscuit became an unlikely champion and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression...
in the Havre de Grace Handicap
Havre de Grace Handicap
The Havre de Grace Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Havre de Grace Racetrack in Havre de Grace, Maryland. The inaugural race was run in the first year the track opened in 1912. It was open to horses three years old and upward and raced at a distance of 1 1/8...
.
As a sire
Retired to stand at stud for the 1939 season at his owner's Beaumont Farm in Kentucky, Menow proved a successful sire, getting thirty-two stakes winners including:- CapotCapotCapot was an American Thoroughbred racehorse sired by Menow out of the mare Piquet. Owned and bred by Greentree Stable, Capot was trained by John M...
(b. 1946) - won 1949 PreaknessPreakness StakesThe 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 Belmont StakesBelmont StakesThe 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...
. Co-American Horse of the Year (1949) - Tom FoolTom FoolTom Fool was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, a winner of the American Horse of the Year award and a Hall of Fame inductee. He sired the outstanding racehorses Buckpasser and Tim Tam....
(b. 1949) - American Horse of the Year (1953), U.S. Racing Hall of FameNational Museum of Racing and Hall of FameThe 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 - Askmenow (b. 1940) - American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly (1942). Won Selima StakesSelima StakesThe Selima Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Raced in late November, it is open to two-year-old fillies and is raced on turf.- History :...
, Pimlico OaksPimlico OaksThe Pimlico Oaks was a listed Thoroughbred horse race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. Run at the beginning of April at a distance of 1 1/16 miles on dirt, its purse was $200,000....
, Arlington Matron HandicapArlington Matron HandicapThe Arlington Matron Handicap is an American Grade III flat horse race for Thoroughbred fillies and mares, aged three years and upward. Raced over a distance of 9 furlongs on the dirt at Arlington Park, Arlington Heights, Illinois every spring, it offers a purse of $150,000.Inaugurated in 1930,...
and defeated colts in the 1943 American DerbyAmerican DerbyThe 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....
Menow was also the damsire of High Voltage
High Voltage (horse)
High Voltage was a Thoroughbred racehorse who was the American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly of 1954. Bred and raced by Gladys Mills Phipps' Wheatley Stable, High Voltage was conditioned for racing by legendary U.S. Racing Hall of Fame trainer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons...
, the 1954 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.
Menow died at age twenty-nine in 1964 and is buried at Mill Ridge Farm in Lexington. Built on a parcel from Beaumont Farm, Mill Ridge is owned by Hal Price Headley's daughter Alice Headley Chandler and her husband, John.