Play the King was a Canadian

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...

 Champion

Sovereign Award

The Sovereign Award is given annually since 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada to the outstanding horses and people in Canadian Thoroughbred racing.The most prestigious award for horses is Sovereign Horse of the Year....

 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 Kinghaven Farms

Kinghaven Farms

Kinghaven Farms is a thoroughbred horse racing stable founded in 1967 by Donald G. "Bud" Willmot. Located in King City, Ontario, north of Toronto, the success of the stable would see it expand to the United States with the acquisition of a farm and training center near Ocala, Florida. Kinghaven...

 of King City, Ontario

King City, Ontario

King City is an affluent, unincorporated village in King Township, Ontario, Canada, located just north of Toronto. It is the largest community in King Township, with 1,629 dwellings and a population of 4,902.-History:...

, he was sired by King of Spain, a descendant of the very important sire, Nearco

Nearco

Nearco was an Italian bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by Thoroughbred Heritage as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century." He was not only unbeaten, winning 14 races at distances from 5 furlongs to 1 mile 7 furlongs ,...

. His dam was Whisper whose sire Laugh Aloud was a son of 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, Tom Fool

Tom Fool

Tom 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....

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Trained by Roger Attfield

Roger Attfield

Roger L. Attfield is a Canadian thoroughbred horse trainer and owner.In his native England, Attfield had become an accomplished international-level equestrian competitor when he emigrated to Canada in 1970...

, in 1987 Play the King won several important stakes races at his home base at Woodbine Racetrack

Woodbine Racetrack

Woodbine Racetrack is a Canadian racetrack for Thoroughbred horse races located at 555 Rexdale Blvd. in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging, thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing programs on the same day...

 in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 plus the Toboggan Handicap

Toboggan Handicap

The Toboggan Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the first week of March at Aqueduct Race Track in Queens, New York. Open to horses aged three and older, the Grade III event is contested over at a distance of six furlongs on the dirt and offers a purse of $100,000 ...

 at 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:...

 in Queens

Queens

Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....

, 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...

. His performances earned him the 1987 Sovereign Award for Champion Older Male Horse

Sovereign Award for Champion Older Male Horse

The Canadian Champion Older Male Horse is 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 horse four years or older competing in Canada....

 as well as the Sovereign Award for Champion Sprinter

Sovereign Award for Champion Sprinter

The Canadian Champion Male Sprint Horse is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor that is part of the Sovereign Awards program awarded annually to the top Thoroughbred Male competing in sprint races in Canada...

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In 1988, Play the King notably won his second consecutive Nearctic Stakes

Nearctic Stakes

The Nearctic Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid October at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The Grade I sprint is raced on turf over a distance of six furlongs and currently offers a purse of $500,000....

  and Toronto Breeders' Cup Handicap

Play The King Stakes

The Play the King Stakes is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. A Grade II sprint race, it is open to horses age three and older and is run over a distance of seven furlongs on turf...

 and ran second to Gulch

Gulch (horse)

Gulch was an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. Owned and bred by Peter M. Brant, he was sired by the outstanding North American stud and graded stakes race winner Mr...

 in the 1988 Breeders' Cup Sprint

Breeders' Cup Sprint

The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for three year olds & up. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs , the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World...

. In addition to being voted Canadian Horse of the Year, his performances also earned him his second straight Sovereign Award for Champion Older Male Horse and for Champion Sprinter.

On May 20, 1989, Play the King broke an ankle while competing in the Maryland Breeders' Cup Sprint Handicap 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...

. The severity of his injury was such that 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...

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