Native Dancer (March 27, 1950 – November 16, 1967), nicknamed the Gray Ghost, was one of the most celebrated and accomplished Thoroughbred racehorses in American history and was the first horse made famous through the medium of television. He was a champion in each of his three years of racing, and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1963. In the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century, he was ranked seventh and in the Associated Press rankings of the greatest racehorses of the 20th century, he was ranked #3, tied with Citation, behind only Man o' War and Secretariat.
As a two-year-old, he was undefeated in his nine starts and was voted Horse of the Year in two of three major industry polls – One Count won the other. At age three, he suffered the sole defeat in his career in the 1953 Kentucky Derby, but rebounded to win the Preakness, Belmont and Travers Stakes. He made only three starts at age four before being retired due to injury, but was still named American Horse of the Year.
Retired to stud in 1955, he became a sire whose offspring included champion Raise A Native and dual Classic winner Kauai King. Also a broodmare sire, Native Dancer is now "all but universal" in modern pedigrees.
Contents
Background
Native Dancer was bred by Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr. and raced for him as a homebred. He was foaled at Scott Farm near Lexington, Kentucky but was raised at Vanderbilt's Sagamore Farm in Glyndon, Maryland, and is generally considered a Maryland-bred. Native Dancer was sired by the 1945 Preakness Stakes winner, Polynesian, who was otherwise known as a sprinter. His dam Geisha won only once in her eleven starts and produced no other stakes winners, though her daughter Orientation became a multiple stakes producer. Geisha was sired by Discovery, an outstanding distance horse and weight-carrier. Discovery was also the broodmare sire of leading sire Bold Ruler.
Native Dancer inherited his gray coat, then quite rare in Thoroughbreds, through the female line to his fourth dam, La Grisette, a daughter of Roi Herode. Roi Herode was also the sire of The Tetrarch, the "spotted wonder". Most modern gray Thoroughbreds can trace their coat to Roi Herode and his grandsire Le Sancy.
From his earliest days, Native Dancer was considered "an extremely nice colt". Ralph Kerchaval, the manager of Sagamore Farm, said that "he was playful, big and rough, but you could do anything with him." At maturity, Native Dancer stood 16.3 hands (67 inches, 170 cm) at the withers. According to Charles Hatton of the Daily Racing Form, Native Dancer looked like a sprinter from the front and a stayer from the back. He was a massive horse with "suspicious-looking ankles". His pastern bones were short and somewhat too upright, making him more vulnerable to injury. He had a notably long stride but his action was hard and pounding. Trainer Bill Winfrey said the colt was "a regular Jekyll and Hyde" – ordinarily quiet and tractable but with a playful streak that could make him a handful.
Racing record
1952: two-year-old campaign
In his first season of racing, Native Dancer won all nine starts. He was voted the American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt for 1952, with two of the three major polls also naming him Horse of the Year.
Native Dancer made his first start on April 19, 1952, in a maiden race at Jamaica Racetrack over five furlongs. Going off at odds of 7-5 in a field of nine, he settled into fourth place down the backstretch, then started a strong drive in the middle of the turn to win by 4+1⁄2 lengths. Just four days later, he returned in the Youthful Stakes where he was made the odds-on favorite in a field of twelve. He pressed a fast early pace set by Retrouve then pulled away in the stretch to win by six lengths. The victory established the colt as the early leader of the two-year-old division.
Native Dancer was then given a layoff to recover from sore shins. He returned to racing on the opening day of Saratoga Race Course, August 4, in the Flash Stakes over 5+1⁄2 furlongs. Again the odds-on favorite, he was ridden hard around the turn before drawing away in the stretch to win by 2+1⁄4 lengths. On August 16, he entered the Saratoga Special, noteworthy at the time for having a winner-takes-all purse of $17,000. He won by 3+1⁄2 lengths over a muddy track. He followed up by winning the Grand Union Hotel Stakes on August 23, defeating two previously undefeated colts – Tahitian King and Lafango. He won by 3+1⁄2 lengths while running the fastest six furlongs at that year's Saratoga meeting, 1:111⁄5. He completed his dominance at Saratoga by winning the Hopeful Stakes on the meeting's closing day, August 31. Jockey Eric Guerin said, "I never had a second of worry. He took off when I asked him to."
Native Dancer made his next start on September 22 at Belmont Park in a six-furlong special weight race. He broke in fifth place in the field of six, then steadily improved his position to win by 1+1⁄4 lengths. Just five days later, he returned in the Belmont Futurity, then one of the most prestigious races for two-year-olds in the United States. He turned in a "superlative performance" to win while tying the world record for 6+1⁄2 furlongs, 1:142⁄5. He had been hard pressed though – Guerin admitted that he had thought the colt was beaten with an eighth of a mile remaining when he was headed by Tahitian King. But Native Dancer responded in the final furlong to open a 2+1⁄4 lead advantage. He became the first gray horse to win the race.
1953: three-year-old campaign
In his three-year-old campaign, Native Dancer received a great deal of media attention leading up to the 1953 Kentucky Derby. He won the Gotham Stakes and the prestigious Wood Memorial, but in the 1953 Kentucky Derby, he lost for the only time in his career. Native Dancer subsequently won the Preakness, Belmont and Travers Stakes, a feat accomplished until then only by Duke of Magenta, Grenada, Man o' War and Whirlaway. Native Dancer finished the season with nine wins (all of them stakes races) from ten starts and was named Champion Three-Year-Old Colt.
Native Dancer was given some time off at the end of his two-year-old campaign, then resumed training in California at Santa Anita Racetrack. He gave his connections a scare in late January when he threw his exercise rider after stumbling to his knees following a workout. He then bolted and was loose for five minutes, running into the paddock where he jumped some benches and ran through flower beds. When he tangled a leg in the reins, he finally slowed down enough to be recaptured. No serious damage was done.
He was shipped to New York in mid-March and made his first start of the year in the Gotham Stakes on April 18. As the race attracted 18 entries, it was run in two divisions, with Native Dancer the odds-on favorite is his division and Laffango the favorite in the second division. He raced in mid-pack during the early part of the race, then "did a bit of hustling" turning into the stretch to take the lead. He won under a hand ride by two lengths. Sportswriter George Ryall wrote, "Any question in your mind about Native Dancer is easy to answer; he's as good as you thought."
Native Dancer extended his winning streak to eleven in the Wood Memorial on April 25. Going off as the 1-10 favorite, he was restrained until the top of the stretch, then "whizzed away" from his rivals to win by 4+1⁄2 lengths over Tahitian King.
The Gotham and Wood Memorial were both televised by NBC. Native Dancer's gray coat helped him stand out on the black and white screens of the day, helping him to become the first TV star of the sport.
The 1953 Kentucky Derby, held on May 2, was the sole loss of Native Dancer's career. He dominated news coverage leading up to the race and was the odds-on favorite. His main rival was supposed to have been Correspondent, who had won three straight, including the Blue Grass Stakes in which he set a track record. Dark Star won the Derby Trial a few days before the Derby but was largely dismissed by the bettors at odds of 25-1.
1954: four-year-old campaign
In 1954, Native Dancer won all three races he entered, including the Metropolitan Handicap. His connections hoped to complete the New York Handicap Triple, or perhaps race in Europe on the turf. However, Native Dancer was retired as a result of a recurring foot injury with a record of 21 wins out of 22 lifetime races.
At the beginning of the 1954, Native Dancer was in Maryland where he spent the winter at Sagamore Farm. By February, he was galloping three miles a day. He was then shipped to New York in late March to resume training with Winfrey. He now faced a new challenge: as an older horse, he would be expected to carry high weight imposts in the handicap format pervasive at the time. His connections considered sending him to England to compete in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes if the weights got too high. Vanderbilt also discussed entering the colt in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in France.
Native Dancer made his first start of the year in a six-furlong allowance race at Belmont Park on May 7. He went off at odds of 3-20 in a seven-horse field, with Laffango the second choice at 7-1. He raced in mid-pack for the first half-mile, then "took the lead in about three huge strides." After hitting the front near the top of the stretch, Native Dancer relaxed but still won by 1+1⁄4 lengths.
On May 15, Native Dancer entered the Metropolitan Handicap, in which he was assigned 130 pounds – from 13 to 24 pounds more than his eight rivals. He raced further back than usual, trailing by ten lengths with a half mile remaining and still seven lengths back at the quarter pole. Down the stretch, Guerin hit him four times with the whip. Native Dancer "answered the question" and lengthened his stride. He closed steadily, getting his nose in front with just 30 yards remaining. He completed the mile in 1:351⁄5, then the second-fastest running of the race in its history.
Native Dancer was supposed to make his next start in the Suburban Handicap, then part of the New York Handicap Triple (consisting of the Metropolitan, Suburban and Brooklyn Handicaps). However, after a workout in late May, he showed signs of lameness. Heating was found in the coronet band on his right fore, though X-rays showed nothing. Winfrey originally gave the colt a 50% chance of being fit for the Suburban. Native Dancer worked three furlongs on May 27 but pulled up lame. His connections ruled him out of the Suburban.
Stud record
At stud, Native Dancer sired 43 stakes winners (or 44 according to one source) from 306 foals. His male-line descendants, particularly through his grandson Mr. Prospector, have dominated the US Triple Crown races. He is also the damsire of Northern Dancer, arguably the most influential stallion of the 20th century.
Although Native Dancer never led the American sire list, he did finish second in 1966 and sixth in 1965. He was also second in the English sire list of 1963, and seventh in the French sire list of 1963.
Among Native Dancer's notable offspring are:
Atan - sire of major sire Sharpen Up
Dan Cupid – won Prix du Bois and other stakes races in France; sire of Sea-Bird (won Epsom Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe)
Dancer's Image - won 1968 Kentucky Derby (disqualified)
Dancing Cap - Sired JRA Hall of Fame inductee Oguri Cap
Exclusive Dancer - stakes winner and dam of General Assembly
Gala Performance - won Jim Dandy Stakes: sire of steeplechasers, including West Tip, the winner of the 1986 Aintree Grand National and Monksfield.
Good Move - won Selima Stakes etc.
Hula Dancer - raced in France and England where her wins included the 1,000 Guineas
Kauai King - won the 1966 Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes
Natalma - dam of Northern Dancer
Native Charger - won the 1965 Flamingo Stakes, Florida Derby
Honors
Native Dancer was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1963. He was inducted into the Maryland State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.
In the Blood-Horse magazine ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th century, Native Dancer was ranked #7. In the Associated Press rankings of the greatest racehorses of the 20th century, he was ranked #3, tied with Citation, behind only Man o' War and Secretariat.
In August 2015, a statue of Native Dancer by Gwen Reardon was unveiled at Congress Park in Saratoga Springs. The statue was donated to the city by Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson. Native Dancer was undefeated in his six starts at nearby Saratoga Race Course.
Pedigree
Native Dancer is shown as descending from (family 5-f), which traces back to the Bazajet Mare. However, the female descendants of his third-dam La Chica have a type of mitochondrial DNA that is inconsistent with other descendants of this family. As mitochondrial DNA is passed exclusively in the female line, this indicates a pedigree error occurred at some point between the Bazajet Mare's foaling in 1754 and La Chica's in 1930.