Bee Bee Bee | |
---|---|
Sire | Better Bee |
Grandsire | Triplicate |
Dam | Paula |
Damsire | Nizami |
Sex | Stallion |
Foaled | 1969 |
Country | United States |
Colour | Dark Bay |
Breeder | William S. Miller |
Owner | 1) William S. Miller 2) William S. Farish III (at age 3) |
Trainer | Del W. Carroll |
Record | 31: 11-8-2 |
Earnings | US$281,098 |
Major wins | |
Hawthorne Juvenile Stakes (1971) Survivor Stakes (1972) Patriot Stakes (1972) American Triple Crown wins: Preakness Stakes (1972) |
Bee Bee Bee (foaled 1969 in Maryland) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1972 Preakness Stakes. To date Bee Bee Bee is one of only eight Maryland-bred colts to win the Preakness, and one of only eleven from the state to win a triple crown race.
Bee Bee Bee was sired by multiple stakes winner Better Bee, who was a grandson of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Reigh Count. His dam was Paula, a granddaughter of the great Nearco. Bee Bee Bee was bred by former Illinois racing commissioner William S. Miller of Chicago who dispersed his racing stable following a bribery scandal involving Chicago mayor, Richard J. Daley. As a result, during the 1971-72 winter Bee Bee Bee became the property of William S. Farish III who late in the decade became the owner of Lane's End Farm near Versailles, Kentucky.
In the fall of 1971, two-year-old Bee Bee Bee was competing at Timonium Racetrack, a half-mile track far from the limelight that shone on the best-bred stars at top tracks along the Eastern seaboard. After winter racing in Florida, the colt was brought back to Maryland by his new owner where he won two minor races at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore
Although nominated for the U.S. Triple Crown series, trainer Del Carroll chose not to run Bee Bee Bee in the Kentucky Derby. However, an impressive seven-length win in the April 29, 1972 Survivor Stakes at 1⅛ miles on the Pimlico track convinced him to enter the colt in the May 20 Preakness Stakes. [1]