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HORSE OF THE DAY - NATIVE DANCER 🩶 He was the practically perfect Thoroughbred. Twenty-two starts. Twenty-one victories. Yet in a telling commentary about the sport’s measuring stick for greatness, it was that single loss which keeps Native Dancer in the background whenever the names of Thoroughbred racing’s most legendary champions are rattled off these days. It’s the great Triple Crown champions, horses like Secretariat, Citation, Affirmed, and Seattle Slew, that come to mind quickest for most people when racing’s immortals are rattled off. Yet if not for a brutal trip and runner-up finish in the 1953 Kentucky Derby, Native Dancer would be included in the same sentence as the others and just as revered as any of them. He was that good, except for a fateful first Saturday in May that will always haunt his legacy. Major Wins 🏆Youthful Stakes (1952) 🏆Flash Stakes (1952) 🏆Saratoga Special Stakes (1952) 🏆Grand Union Hotel Stakes (1952) 🏆Hopeful Stakes (1952) 🏆Futurity Stakes (1952) 🏆East View Stakes (1952) 🏆Gotham Stakes (1953) 🏆Wood Memorial (1953) 🏆Withers Stakes (1953) 🏆Dwyer Stakes (1953) 🏆Arlington Classic (1953) 🏆Travers Stakes (1953) 🏆American Derby (1953) 🏆Metropolitan Handicap (1954) American Classic Race wins: 🏆Preakness Stakes (1953) 🏆Belmont Stakes (1953) With so much of the sport’s attention now focused on the Triple Crown, the memories of “The Grey Ghost of Sagamore” have faded in many regards. Native Dancer was, however, a bona fide star of his era, transcending racing thanks to the burgeoning medium of television, and falling a head shy of perfection says everything anyone needs to know about him. Raised at Sagamore Farm in Maryland, Native Dancer was a homebred colt owned by Alfred G. Vanderbilt II, whose family tree included some of America’s richest and most famous business magnates. Trained by Bill Winfrey, Native Dancer was an impressive winner of his career debut, registering a 4 ½-length victory at Jamaica on April 19, 1952. Four days later, he won the Youthful Stakes by six lengths as a 4-5 favorite, but was then given a rest until Saratoga opened in August. Read the full article - https://t.co/fPjHWYZDId Enjoyed the read? Show some love with a RETWEET and FOLLOW for more! #NativeDancer