Count Fleet , ( March 24, 1940 - December 3, 1973), was born and died at Stoner Creek Stud farm in Paris, Kentucky, United States. He was a thoroughbred racehorse and Triple Crown champion in 1943. Sired by 1928 Kentucky Derby winner, Reigh Count and out of a mare named Quickly, Count Fleet was owned by the wife of John D. Hertz (1879-1961), best known for the rental car company bearing his name. John Hertz initially did not think much of Count Fleet and contemplated selling him until jockey Johnny Longden convinced him to keep the colt. [1]

Trained by Don Cameron and ridden by future Hall of Fame inductee Longden, as a two-year-old Count Fleet started off slow losing several times before getting his first win. He gained respect with his six length victory in the Champagne Stakes, in which he set a new track record then followed this up by beating the best horses in the country in the Pimlico Futurity where he equaled the track record. In the Walden Stakes he ran away from the field, winning by more than thirty lengths. At season's end, he had won ten of his 15 races while never being out of the money, a performance that earned him the two-year-old championship honors.

As a three-year-old, Count Fleet dominated North American racing, never losing a race. Leading up to the Kentucky Derby he won the important Wood Memorial but injured himself in the process. He recovered to take the United States' most prestigious race by three lengths then went on to Baltimore, Maryland where he dominated the Preakness Stakes, taking that one by eight lengths. He then won the Withers Stakes before heading to Elmont, New York for the Belmont Stakes where he captured the Triple Crown by scoring a 25 length victory, a margin record that stood until 1973. When the season ended, Count Fleet was voted Champion Three Year Old and named American Horse of the Year.

Rather than risk serious injury, Count Fleet did not race as a four-year-old after it was discovered that he had injured his leg. He was retired to stud having won 16 of 21 races and went on to enjoy great success as a sire. His offspring numbered 38 stakes winners, including Kentucky Derby winner Count Turf, Belmont Stakes winners Counterpoint and One Count, Horse of the Year champions, and a Champion Three Year Old Filly. Count Fleet's daughters produced superhorse Kelso, 1965 Kentucky Derby winner, Lucky Debonair, the Canadian star filly Ice Water, and multiple Grade I stakes winner, Tompion. Another daughter, Sequence, mated with 1955 Preakness and Belmont winner Nashua to produce Gold Digger, dam of the influential modern sire Mr. Prospector.

In 1961, Count Fleet was inducted in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.

Count Fleet died on December 3, 1973 and was buried at Stoner Creek farm in Paris, Kentucky.

In the Blood-Horse magazine ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century , Count Fleet was ranked #5.

References

1. Count Fleet's pedigree, with photo - http://www.pedigreequery.com/count+fleet
2. Find-A-Grave profile for Count Fleet - http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6400777
3. Count Fleet's Derby - http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2006/derby_history/derby_charts/years/1943.html
4. Count Fleet's offspring at the Triple Crown database by Kathleen Irwin and Joy Reeves - http://www.tbcprojects.com/career.php?search=665

Artwork
1. Canada's Legends Canvas - Limited Edition - Canada's Legends By Fred Stone. Johnny Longden aboard Count Fleet, George Woolf "The Iceman" aboard Seabiscuit defeating the Triple Crown winner War Admiral in arguably the greatest match of all time in 1938. $350.00
Click Here to Buy Now!

2. Canada's Legends - Poster - Canada's Legends By Fred Stone. Johnny Longden aboard Count Fleet, George Woolf "The Iceman" aboard Seabiscuit defeating the Triple Crown winner War Admiral in arguably the greatest match of all time in 1938. $60.00 Click Click Here to Buy Now!

The breed information above is provided by Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrightsfor details.)

Horse Smarts does not endorse or confirm accuracy of any information listed on this page. It was provided by Wikipedia. Horse Smarts does not endorse sites listed in the horse breed pages, the Horse Classified listings or link pages.

< Return to Thoroughbred Breed Page

Top of the Page