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Buckpasser by Carey Warner Years before the name Secretariat would paint a portrait of perfection in the minds of horsemen worldwide, there was a great bay powerhouse who set the standard in Thoroughbred conformation by which even the immortal Secretariat would one day be judged: Buckpasser, the legendary super-son of the almighty Handicap Champion Tom Fool. As said by one of the most famous equine artists in the world, Richard Stone Reeves, "Buckpasser was the most perfectly proportioned Thoroughbred I have ever seen." Only two horses, Secretariat and Affirmed, have since been "in a class with Buckpasser" in the trained, symmetrical eye of this most respected artist. New York racing official Dr. Manual Gilman once commented, "Generally, every horse has about a hundred faults of conformation. I would defy anybody to pick a flaw in Buckpasser." With a career which perhaps outdid even his great sire’s legacy, Buckpasser is also proof that "nice guys" don’t always finish last, for his disposition and manners were as faultless as his conformation; he displayed a polite demeanor that few great Kings of the sport have equaled since. When Richard Stone Reeves painted Buckpasser for his 1966 Horse of the Year award, the great bay legend was so genteel that the painter commented that had Buckpasser been able to speak, he certainly would have invited the painter into the stall, "offering him a seat and perhaps a drink." Reeves said that Buckpasser was "just a lovely horse" who would "always come over and greet you and sort of nuzzle you and make friends." Buckpasser’s colorful story began on the Hancock Family’s Claiborne Farms in Paris, Kentucky in 1963 where he was born to a stakes-winning mare named Busanda. Buckpasser’s pedigree was as close to a "sure thing" as horse breeders can get: his sire was 1953 Handicap Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year Tom Fool, and his dam represented the female family of the infamous Blue Hen broodmare La Troienne (FR). Also represented were 1929 Belmont winner and Horse of the Year Blue Larkspur, as well as Horse of the Year Man O’ War. But perhaps the most influential presence in the youngster’s royal pedigree would be two-time Horse of the Year Equipoise, who sired Tom Fool’s 2nd dam, Alpoise. Although Equipoise was a full four generations back in the pedigree of Buckpasser, he apparently handed down many of his traits to the colt. Equipoise, nicknamed "The Chocolate Soldier" by his fans because of his perfect balance and symmetry, was plagued by a chronic quarter crack throughout his career which, ironically, was the same affliction that Buckpasser would struggle with throughout his own career. Always a gentlemen, Equipoise won more than half of his 51 lifetime starts, and among those was the 1933 Suburban Handicap, a family tradition carried on by not only Tom Fool, but by Buckpasser as well. Perhaps somehow daunted by the enormity of the shoes he would have to fill, Buckpasser began his racing career on May 13, 1965 where he finished a dismal fourth behind Lonely Gambler, a horse would spend the remainder of his racing career in low-level claiming races. But with that goose-egg out of the way, never again would Buckpasser turn in such a poor performance; that maiden race would be the first, and the last, time this great horse would run out of the money. In his next two races, Buckpasser emerged the better horse, winning both races with ease as he was pointed towards his stakes debut in the National Stallion Stakes; he would come from nine lengths behind to finish in a dramatic dead heat with a colt named Hospitality. Buckpasser began to set a precedence in that race for his favored style of running, but he cemented it firmly when he made yet another impressive come-from-behind run in the Tremont Stakes to win over Spring Double; Hospitality would finish third in the Tremont. Never one to enjoy predictability or so it would seem, Buckpasser changed his style to score his next win by seven lengths after running on top, a maneuver which befuddled even his trainer at the time, Bill Winfrey. But Buckpasser was back to his usual self again following that race, and with a spectacular late drive, he proved he was a top-notch runner by beating the favorite, Our Michael, by a half length in Saratoga’s prestigious Sapling Stakes. His freshman season was a stellar one; Buckpasser had racked up eight wins, including both the Hopeful Stakes and the Arlington-Washington Futurity, before he met the awesome two-year-old filly, Priceless Gem, in the Aqueduct Futurity. Priceless Gem sprinted to the early lead out of the gate with very little encouragement, and Buckpasser was urged to stay at her heels; Braulio Baeza, Buckpasser’s jockey, feared that the filly might otherwise get so far ahead that even Buckpasser’s awesome stretch drive wouldn’t be able to catch her. When Buckpasser made his bid deep in the stretch, it took every ounce he had just to bring his nose to the filly’s shoulder. Priceless Gem battled gamely, prevailing to hold him off at the wire. She won the Aqueduct Futurity by a half length. In the last race of his two-year-old season, Buckpasser returned to New York to avenge the defeat he’d been dealt in Chicago by the rough n’ tumble filly. He won the Champagne Stakes by a full four lengths while Priceless Gem, suffering from sore shins, finished well back in seventh place. Buckpasser was named Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, beating out Kauai King and Darby Dan’s undefeated marvel, Graustark, in the voting for this coveted title. As Buckpasser’s three-year-old year loomed ahead, the colt would be dealt many changes that threatened to effect his 1966 running season. Trainer Bill Winfrey retired and was replaced by Eddie Neloy, who later said, "Buckpasser overcame all of my mistakes. That’s a great horse." To complicate matters further for the bay colt, Buckpasser’s regular jockey, Braulio Baezo opted to ride Graustark in the Classics and would be replaced by jockey Bill Shoemaker. In his first race of the season with Shoemaker aboard, Buckpasser finished second to stablemate Impressive, who ran second in the previous year’s Hopeful. But once Buckpasser became accustomed to the changes, he carried Bill Shoemaker towards their first win together in the Everglades Stakes which followed, a win which would leave Buckpasser standing as the winter-book favorite for the upcoming Kentucky Derby. The pair then set out for perhaps one of the most memorable races of Buckpasser’s career: the 1966 Flamingo Stakes, a race which would be later dubbed by the press as, "The Chicken Flamingo." Officials at Hialeah Park were so convinced that Buckpasser couldn’t be beat by the competition that day that they declared this graded stakes event to be a non- wagering exhibition race, much to the spectators’ dismay. But Buckpasser had always had a flair for drama, and his performances never failed to keep crowds on the edges of their seats. And he would not disappoint his fans in the Flamingo, either. That day, Buckpasser would forego his usual come-from-behind style and choose instead to run on top. Once in front, Buckpasser began to lull, seeming almost bored with the dull vantage point of an empty racetrack yawning ahead. Abe’s Hope was quick to take advantage of Buckpasser’s lolly-gagging around, too; he swept up alongside Buckpasser and took the lead, drawing away by first a length, then two. Surely the officials at Hialeah Park were clutching their chests in shock by then. But, just strides away from the wire, Buckpasser exploded deep in the stretch, covering the two-length spread between him and defeat in just three bounding strides! If a horse could laugh, Buckpasser would likely have been quite amused with himself as he thundered under the wire to win, reviving many of the hearts he’d stopped seconds before. Unfortunately, shortly after his awe-inspiring, if not somewhat humorous victory, Buckpasser developed a quarter crack and was kept out of the Kentucky Derby. Graustark didn’t run for the roses, either, and was retired shortly afterwards when he broke his foot and ran second to Abe’s Hope in the Blue Grass Stakes. That left Kauai King to win the Derby and the Preakness, mostly uncontested, but he met defeat in the final leg of the 1966 Triple Crown when he lost the Belmont to Amberoid. On the same day that Amberoid won the Belmont, Buckpasser returned to the track, sprinting to a much-too-easy win in an allowance at six furlongs. He then beat Buffle in the Leonard Richards Stakes; Buffle would later win the Suburban Handicap. In the Arlington Classic in Chicago, tragedy struck for Kauai King, and none would ever know for sure how he would have faired against the immortal Buckpasser. Kauai King, running against furious protests by his trainer, broke down in the race and was then retired. Buckpasser won the event, all but clothes-lining Crème dela Crème in the stretch, setting a new world record at a mile with a time of 1:32 2/5. Buckpasser’s record which would stand until another amazing horse, Dr. Fager, would break it in 1968. Buckpasser enjoyed a winning streak that went on for fifteen consecutive wins; he won the American Derby, where he broke the track record, the Chicago Stakes, the Brooklyn Derby, the Woodward, Travers, and Malibu Stakes, the Brooklyn Handicap and the Lawrence Realization Stakes, and finally, the grueling two mile long Jockey Gold Cup. The string of victories carried Buckpasser into the record books again, this time making him the first horse to earn more than a million dollars before the age of four; he was awarded the 1966 Horse of the Year award for his achievements. Buckpasser’s four-year-old season began with a win in the San Fernando Stakes, but he was sidelined again shortly thereafter because of another quarter crack and missed four months of racing. When he returned, he won his fifteenth consecutive victory with the Metropolitan Mile. On June 17, 1967, Buckpasser made his first attempt on turf in the Bowling Green Handicap; this would end his winning streak. Buckpasser finished third in that race to stablemate Poker, who carried 23 pounds less than the 135 pounds assigned to Buckpasser. But, back on the dirt in the Suburban Handicap, Buckpasser gave twenty-two pounds to Ring Twice, winner of the Widener Handicap. The lightly weighted Ring Twice had a two length advantage just eight yards from the wire. Buckpasser defeated Ring Twice by a half length with his trademark stretch drive. Buckpasser only needed one more race before the Handicap Triple Crown Title was his, the same title his sire, Tom Fool, had earned fourteen years before. But it was not meant to be. Heavily weighted once again, Buckpasser finished second to the lightly weighted Handsome Boy in the Brooklyn Handicap, the final leg of the Handicap Triple Crown. In the final race of his career, Buckpasser ran second to Damascus, who was later named Champion Three-Year-Old Colt and 1967 Horse of the Year, in the Woodward Stakes. World Record holder and 1968 Horse of the Year, Dr. Fager, ran third. Buckpasser was syndicated for $4,800,000 after his retirement, which broke down to a then-record $150,000 a share, and stood for stud-duty at Claiborne Farms where he’d been born. In eleven successful years at stud, Buckpasser sired 313 foals and 35 of those foals went on to win stakes races, giving him an average earning index of 3.92 (the average AEI for a mediocre stallion is somewhere around 1.5). Among his foals were LA PREVOYANTE (Horse of the Year in Canada, Champion 2yo Filly in the US, Champion Older Female in Canada), RELAXING (Champion Older Female, Broodmare of the Year), NUMBERED ACCOUNT (Champion 2yo Filly), Toll Booth (Broodmare of the Year), L’ENJOLEUR (2x Horse of the Year and Champion 2 & 3 year old in Canada), NORCLIFFE (Horse of the Year, Champion 3yo, and Champion Handicap Male in Canada), etc. Besides the fact that he has had two tail-male Kentucky Derby (G1) winners in the last decade (Lil E. Tee and Silver Charm), Buckpasser’s record as a damsire is phenomenal. Though he died in 1978 at age fifteen, he would become a world-leading broodmare sire in 1983, 1984, and 1989. His daughters have produced Champions and Classic Winners such like COASTAL, EASY GOER, SLEW O’ GOLD, and TOUCH GOLD, as well as influential stallions like EL GRAN SENOR, MISWAKI, PRIVATE ACCOUNT, SEEKING THE GOLD, WAVERING MONARCH, and WOODMAN. Buckpasser was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1970. Pedigree:
(female family # 1) Breeder: Ogden Phipps Owner: Ogden Phipps Trainer: Eddie Neloy (replaced Bill Winfrey in 1966) Jockey: Bill Shoemaker (replaced Braulio Baeza in 1966) Racing Record:
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