Tanya was an 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...

 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

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 raised in Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. She was bred

Horse breeding

Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...

 by William Collins Whitney and foaled at his Brookdale Farm in Lincroft, New Jersey

Lincroft, New Jersey

Lincroft is a part of Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the Lincroft census-designated place had a population was 6,135.-Geography:Lincroft is located at ....

. Sire

Sire

Sire may refer to:* Father, the counterpart of a dam, particularly in animal breeding. See also stallion* James W. Sire, author on worldviews* Sire Records, a record label* Sire Advertising, an advertising agency...

d by the outstanding English 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...

 Meddler

Meddler (horse)

Meddler was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who was a leading two-year-old in England and a Leading sire in North America in 1904 and 1906. Bred and raced by George Baird, his sire, St. Gatien, dead heated for the win in the 1884 Epsom Derby and won the 1885 Ascot Gold Cup...

, she was out of the mare

Mare (horse)

A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...

 Handspun.

Unfortunately, before Tanya could set foot on a track, William Whitney died. She, along with several other racers for the Whitney stable, was leased to Herman Duryea. As a 2-year-old, she won the Hopeful Stakes, the National Stallion Stakes

National Stallion Stakes

The National Stallion Stakes was two American Thoroughbred horse races inaugurated in 1898 at Morris Park Racetrack in The Bronx, New York.The race was separated between two-year-old fillies and colts and was for a time one of the premier events for that age group...

, and the Spinaway Stakes

Spinaway Stakes

The Spinaway Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old fillies, it is a Grade I event contested at a distance of seven furlongs on dirt...

 under his colors.

1905 Belmont Stakes

Tanya is best known, however, as one of the three fillies to win 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...

. Purchased for $7,000 by Whitney's son, Harry Payne Whitney

Harry Payne Whitney

Harry Payne Whitney was an American businessman, thoroughbred horsebreeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family.- Early years :...

, Tanya was trained by future Hall of Fame inductee John W. Rogers. The filly took the first running of the Belmont at the new 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...

 on May 24, 1905, beating second-place finisher Blandy and her half-brother Hot Shot, another Meddler colt, who came in third in a time of 2:08 3/5. The Belmont Stakes distance was one mile and a quarter in 1905.
Tanya was the second filly in history to win the Belmont Stakes, after Ruthless

Ruthless (horse)

Ruthless was an American Thoroughbred filly and a National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame inducted racehorse.-Early life:Owned and bred by Francis Morris of New York, and was foaled on Morris' farm at Throgg's Neck, New York...

won the inaugural race in 1867.