Swaps (horse)
Encyclopedia
Swaps was a California
bred American
thoroughbred
racehorse. He was the son of Khaled
, a stallion imported from the Aga Khan's
stud in Europe
. Swaps goes back to the immortal Man o' War
, via his dam, Iron Reward, through the Triple Crown
winner, War Admiral
. In the list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century by Blood-Horse magazine, Swaps ranks 20th.
(who was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
in 1991), bred and owned by the once cowhand Rex Ellsworth, Snaps won his first 1955 start, the San Vicente Stakes
. In May 1955, he won the Kentucky Derby
under jockey Willie Shoemaker
, beating the heavily favored east coast star, Belair's Nashua
, under Eddie Arcaro
. Arcaro was quoted before the race that Summer Tan was the primary threat, which manifested the east-west division between the Swaps-Nashua camps. This rivalry culminated in a famous match race later that year.
Continuing after the Derby, Swaps broke records all over the country at various distances, on turf and on dirt, and often under heavy weight. (In the end, he broke or equaled six different track records.) Nashua followed up the Derby with wins in the Preakness
and Belmont Stakes
. With much interest in a match race between Nashua and Swaps looming, a deal between the camps was reached for the colts to meet at Chicago's Washington Park
on August 31, 1955. Swaps tuned up with a win in the prestigious American Derby
, setting a 1 mile course record of 1:54 on the turf. However, the day before the scheduled match race, Swaps re-injured his foot on a wet track. Nashua broke alertly under Arcaro, and he gained a tactical advantage on the lead. Arcaro's tactic forced Shoemaker with Swaps to get the worst of the poor footing. Nashua drew clear in the stretch to win easily. Nashua went on to earn 1955 U.S. Horse of the Year
honors. Swaps did not race for the rest of the year as his foot healed again.
Although occasionally troubled by the hoof after the recovery, Swaps generally performed well. At the age of four, Swaps was Horse of the Year
. William H.P. Robertson wrote in his "History of Thoroughbred Racing in America" that Swaps' summer of 1956 was "The most amazing exhibition of speed in history."
at 4:
, he fractured his leg in two places in his left rear cannon bone, then a week later banged his leg in his stall, breaking his cast, and extending the fractures into his pastern joint. Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons
, the trainer of Nashua, sent him a special sling from Belmont. He hung in it for weeks needing round the clock attention. In November 1956, he beat the odds and jogged away from his cast and sling.
in Lexington, Kentucky
after a season. His last five seasons were at Spendthrift Farm
.
Swaps sired several dozen offspring, including 35 stakes winners. Among his offspring, Chateaugay
won the 1963 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes
, while Affectionately
(out of the great racing mare Searching
) is ranked no. 81 in The Blood-Horse magazine
list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century.
A bronze
of Swaps with jockey Bill Shoemaker stands at the Hollywood Park Clubhouse entrance gardens. Dedicated July 1, 1958, its design and setting was created by Millard Sheets
and the sculpture by Albert Stewart
. Swaps was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
in Saratoga Springs, New York
in 1966. In November 1972, he was euthanized at the age of 20. He was buried in the Lions Circle at Green Gates Farm, but his remains were eventually moved to the Kentucky Derby Museum
at Churchill Downs
in Louisville, Kentucky
.
(See Blood-Horse magazine's June 10, 2006 issue for a long article on Swaps's racing career)
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
bred American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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. He was the son of Khaled
Khaled (horse)
Khaled was a British Thoroughbred racehorse best known as a sire in the United States. Bred and raced in England by the H. H. Aga Khan III, Khaled was sired by Hyperion, the 1933 Epsom Derby and St. Leger Stakes winner and a six-time Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland. Hyperion was a son of...
, a stallion imported from the Aga Khan's
Aga Khan III
Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC was the 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League, and served as President of the League of Nations from 1937-38. He was nominated to represent India to...
stud in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Swaps goes back to the immortal Man o' War
Man O' War (horse)
Man o' War, is considered one of the greatest Thoroughbred racehorses of all time. During his career just after World War I, he won 20 of 21 races and $249,465 in purses....
, via his dam, Iron Reward, through the Triple Crown
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
winner, 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...
. In the list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century by Blood-Horse magazine, Swaps ranks 20th.
West comes East
Trained by Mesh TenneyMesh Tenney
Meshach A. "Mesh" Tenney was an American Thoroughbred horse trainer.From Arizona, Mesh Tenney began his career as a Thoroughbred trainer in the western United States in 1935...
(who was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and 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...
in 1991), bred and owned by the once cowhand Rex Ellsworth, Snaps won his first 1955 start, the San Vicente Stakes
San Vicente Stakes
The San Vicente Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park. A Grade III event, the race is open to three-year-old horses willing to race seven furlongs on the dirt and carries a purse of $150,000....
. In May 1955, he won 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...
under jockey Willie Shoemaker
Willie Shoemaker
William Lee Shoemaker was an American jockey.Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Shoemaker was born in the town of Fabens, Texas. At 2.5 pounds , Shoemaker was so small at birth that he was not expected to survive the night...
, beating the heavily favored east coast star, Belair's 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...
, under Eddie Arcaro
Eddie Arcaro
George Edward Arcaro , known professionally as Eddie Arcaro, was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Triple Crown twice...
. Arcaro was quoted before the race that Summer Tan was the primary threat, which manifested the east-west division between the Swaps-Nashua camps. This rivalry culminated in a famous match race later that year.
Continuing after the Derby, Swaps broke records all over the country at various distances, on turf and on dirt, and often under heavy weight. (In the end, he broke or equaled six different track records.) Nashua followed up the Derby with wins in the Preakness
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 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...
. With much interest in a match race between Nashua and Swaps looming, a deal between the camps was reached for the colts to meet at Chicago's Washington Park
Washington Park Race Track
Washington Park Race Track was a popular horse racing venue in the Chicago metropolitan area from 1884 until 1977. It had two locations during its existence. It was first situated in what is the current location of the Washington Park Subdivision of the Woodlawn community area of Chicago in Cook...
on August 31, 1955. Swaps tuned up with a win in the prestigious American Derby
American Derby
The 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....
, setting a 1 mile course record of 1:54 on the turf. However, the day before the scheduled match race, Swaps re-injured his foot on a wet track. Nashua broke alertly under Arcaro, and he gained a tactical advantage on the lead. Arcaro's tactic forced Shoemaker with Swaps to get the worst of the poor footing. Nashua drew clear in the stretch to win easily. Nashua went on to earn 1955 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....
honors. Swaps did not race for the rest of the year as his foot healed again.
Although occasionally troubled by the hoof after the recovery, Swaps generally performed well. At the age of four, Swaps was 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....
. William H.P. Robertson wrote in his "History of Thoroughbred Racing in America" that Swaps' summer of 1956 was "The most amazing exhibition of speed in history."
Racing Highlights
at 3:- 1st - San Vicente StakesSan Vicente StakesThe San Vicente Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park. A Grade III event, the race is open to three-year-old horses willing to race seven furlongs on the dirt and carries a purse of $150,000....
- 1st - Santa Anita DerbySanta Anita DerbyThe Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $1 million. Inaugurated in 1935, it is considered the most important West Coast stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby...
- 1st - Kentucky DerbyKentucky DerbyThe 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...
front-running effort with a time of 2:01, 2/5 off the track record; - 1st - Will Rogers StakesWill Rogers StakesThe Will Rogers Stakes is an American Grade IIIT Thoroughbred horse race.Run annually in the latter part of May at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California, the race is open to three-year-old horses. It is run over a distance of one mile on turf and currently carries a purse of $100,000....
(by 12 lengths; first race in which Swaps was the betting favorite; favored in all subsequent races) - 1st - Californian StakesCalifornian StakesThe Californian Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the second week of June at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. The Grade II event is open to horses age three and up willing to race one and one-eighth miles on the dirt...
(new world record for 8 furlongs with time of 1:40, "almost casually") - 1st - Westerner Stakes (front-running effort, "drew out at will" in the stretch to open a 10-length lead, won by 6 lengths after being eased at odds of 1-20; win betting only for a five-horse field)
- 1st - 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....
on turfGrassGrasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
(front-running effort "under restraint"; new course record, equalled American record; win and place betting only for a six-horse field) - 2nd - Match raceMatch raceA match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.The term may be best known as a race between two sailing boats racing around a course...
with NashuaNashua (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...
at 4:
- 1st - LA County Fair Handicap (came from behind and drew away "under wraps")
- 1st - Broward HandicapSkip Away HandicapThe Skip Away Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. A Grade III event open to horses age four and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of 1³/16 miles ....
(new world record for 1 mile 70 yd with time of 1:39, carrying 130 lb., conceding at least 15 pounds to all rivals; had "mouth open" due to snug hold early and was eased late) - 2nd - Californian (jockey Shoemaker "shut down" Swaps with less than 1/16 mile to go and a 4 length lead. PorterhousePorterhouse (horse)Porterhouse was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by Liz Person and raced under her Llangollen Farm banner, Porterhouse was a son of the Argentine-bred Endeavour who also sired Corn Husker, Prove It and Pretense, three top runners who each won the Santa Anita Handicap. His dam was...
got up for the surprise win) - 1st - Argonaut HandicapArgonaut HandicapThe Argonaut Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race first run in 1940 at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. A one mile race on dirt, it was open to horses age three and older....
(new world record for 1 mile with time of 1:33, replacing former record by CitationCitation (horse)Citation was the eighth American Triple Crown winner, and one of three major North American Thoroughbreds to win at least 16 consecutive races in major stakes race competition...
) - 1st - Inglewood (new World record for 8 furlongs with time of 1:39 flat, carrying 130 lb.; mile split was 1:32, 3/5 faster than his own world record)
- 1st - American Handicap (equalled Noor's world record of 1:46 for 1 miles, carrying 130 lb.; conceded 19 lb. to runner-up Mister Gus; win betting only for a five-horse field)
- 1st - Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes (new track record of 1:58 for 1 miles, lowering previous mark by a full second, carrying 130 lb.; win betting only despite a seven-horse field)
- 1st - Sunset HandicapSunset HandicapThe Sunset Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the third week of July at Hollywood Park Racetrack in inglewood, California. The Grade III event is open to horses, age three and up, willing to race one and one-half miles on turf....
(new track and world record for 1 miles with time of 2:38, lowering previous track record by 2 seconds, carrying 130 lb.; front-running effort "under stout restraint, eased in the last sixteenth of a mile) - 7th - Arch Ward Memorial Handicap (well-beaten on a soft turf course apparently unsuitable to his sore condition)
- 1st - Washington Park HandicapWashington Park HandicapThe Washington Park Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the first week of September at Arlington Park Racetrack in Arlington Heights, Illinois. A Grade III event open to horses age three and older, it is contested on Polytrack synthetic dirt over a distance of a...
(new track record of 1:33 for a mile carrying 130 lb.; six furlong split was 1:07, 2 full seconds faster than the track record)
The End of a Career
In October, training for the Washington, D.C. International at Laurel ParkLaurel Park
Laurel Park can refer to some places in the United States:*Laurel Park, North Carolina*Laurel Park, Virginia*Laurel Park, Richmond, California, a neighborhood*Laurel Park Racecourse, horse racing facility in Laurel, Maryland...
, he fractured his leg in two places in his left rear cannon bone, then a week later banged his leg in his stall, breaking his cast, and extending the fractures into his pastern joint. Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons
Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons
James Edward Fitzsimmons was a thoroughbred racehorse trainer.Born in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, New York, Fitzsimmons began his career in 1885 working at a racetrack as a stable boy. After nearly ten less-than-successful years as a thoroughbred jockey, he became too heavy for that job and took...
, the trainer of Nashua, sent him a special sling from Belmont. He hung in it for weeks needing round the clock attention. In November 1956, he beat the odds and jogged away from his cast and sling.
At Stud
Swaps began at stud at Rex Ellsworth's farm, moving to John Galbreath's Darby Dan FarmDarby Dan Farm
Darby Dan Farm is a produce, livestock, and thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm founded in 1935 near the Darby Creek in Galloway, Ohio by businessman John W. Galbreath. Named for the creek and for Galbreath's son, Daniel M. Galbreath , it was expanded from an original farm into a 4,000...
in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
after a season. His last five seasons were at Spendthrift Farm
Spendthrift Farm
Spendthrift Farm is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded by Leslie Combs II and named for the great stallion, Spendthrift, who was owned by Combs' ancestor, Daniel Swigert of Elmendorf Farm. Spendthrift was the great-grandfather of Man o' War.- Famous...
.
Swaps sired several dozen offspring, including 35 stakes winners. Among his offspring, Chateaugay
Chateaugay (horse)
Chateaugay was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who won two of the three U.S. Triple Crown races. Bred at Darby Dan Farm near Lexington, Kentucky by his prominent owner, John W. Galbreath, Chateaugay was a son of Swaps, the 1956 U.S. Horse of the Year and a Racing Hall of Fame...
won the 1963 Kentucky Derby and 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...
, while Affectionately
Affectionately
Affectionately was the daughter of 1956 American Horse of the Year Swaps, out of the exceptional racing mare Searching. Searching's dam was Big Hurry, by Black Toney out of the best "Blue Hen" mare of them all, La Troienne...
(out of the great racing mare Searching
Searching (horse)
Searching was a racehorse. The filly was born in 1952 at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky where the Wheatley Stable bred and raised its horses. After the Second World War, Gladys's son Ogden Phipps purchased a number of horses from the estate of Colonel Edward R. Bradley and his Idle Hour...
) is ranked no. 81 in The Blood-Horse magazine
The Blood-Horse magazine
The Blood-Horse is an international weekly news magazine about Thoroughbred horses, horse breeding, and horseracing. It was founded in 1916, the oldest continually published North American Thoroughbred magazine. The magazine is based in Lexington, Kentucky, the Horse Capital of the World...
list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century.
A bronze
Bronze sculpture
Bronze is the most popular metal for cast metal sculptures; a cast bronze sculpture is often called simply a "bronze".Common bronze alloys have the unusual and desirable property of expanding slightly just before they set, thus filling the finest details of a mold. Then, as the bronze cools, it...
of Swaps with jockey Bill Shoemaker stands at the Hollywood Park Clubhouse entrance gardens. Dedicated July 1, 1958, its design and setting was created by Millard Sheets
Millard Sheets
Millard Owen Sheets was an American painter and a representative of the California School of Painting, later a teacher and educational director, and architect of more than 50 branch banks in Southern California.-Early life:...
and the sculpture by Albert Stewart
Albert Stewart
Albert Stewart was an American sculptor born in Kensington, England.He arrived in America in 1908 and was orphaned shortly thereafter. Through the intervention of a wealthy benefactor, Edwin T...
. Swaps was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and 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...
in Saratoga Springs, 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...
in 1966. In November 1972, he was euthanized at the age of 20. He was buried in the Lions Circle at Green Gates Farm, but his remains were eventually moved to the Kentucky Derby Museum
Kentucky Derby Museum
The Kentucky Derby Museum is an American Thoroughbred horse racing museum located on the grounds of Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Dedicated to preserving the history of the Kentucky Derby, it first opened its doors to the public in the spring of 1985...
at Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
.
(See Blood-Horse magazine's June 10, 2006 issue for a long article on Swaps's racing career)
Other sources
- Irwin, Barry Swaps: Thoroughbred Legends Eclipse Press (2002) ISBN 978-1581500714
- Swaps pedigree
- Swaps Hall of Fame page, with photo
- Mesh Tenney's Hall of Fame Page
- Kentucky Derby Official Page
- Swaps Derby
- Profile video of Swaps at YouTube