Platter was an American 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...

 Champion 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 race by George D. Widener, Jr.

George D. Widener, Jr.

George Dunton Widener, Jr. was an American businessman and thoroughbred racehorse owner; one of only five people ever designated "Exemplars of Racing" by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.-Biography:...

, and conditioned for racing 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...

 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...

 Bert Mulholland

Winbert F. Mulholland

Winbert F. "Bert" Mulholland was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred horse racing trainer.Born in Lexington, Kentucky, the American heartland for Thoroughbred horse breeding, Bert Mulholland began his career in racing as an exercise rider for his uncle, W. C. "Farmer Bill" Scully.In 1923 Bert...

, in 1943 he won the Pimlico Futurity under jockey Conn McCreary

Conn McCreary

Conn N. McCreary was a United States Hall of Fame jockey and trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing who won four American Classic Races....

 and was voted American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors.

Racing career

As a three-year-old, an injury kept Platter out of racing until early May in an allowance race test. The colt did not run in the 1944 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...

 but finished second to Pensive

Pensive

Pensive was a bright chestnut thoroughbred racehorse who in 1944 came closer than any other horse at the time to winning the U.S. Triple Crown...

 in the second leg of 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 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...

. He was injured 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...

 and had to be pulled up. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10E1EF9385C167B93C6A9178DD85F408485F9

Retired to 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...

 duty, Platter met with limited success. Of his limited number of offspring, Platan met with the most success in racing, notably winning the 1953 Lawrence Realization Stakes

Lawrence Realization Stakes

The Lawrence Realization Stakes was an American horse race first run on the turf in 1889. The race, for three-year-old Thoroughbred colts, geldings and fillies, was last run in 2005.-History:...

 and 1955 Arlington Handicap

Arlington Handicap

The Arlington Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1929 at Arlington Park racetrack in Arlington Heights, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Open to 3-Year-Olds & Up, it is currently a Grade III stakes run in July at a distance of 1¼ miles on turf...

.