Gate Dancer
| Gate Dancer | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Sovereign Dancer |
| Grandsire | Northern Dancer |
| Dam | Sun Gate |
| Damsire | Bull Lea |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1981 |
| Country | United States |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | William R. Davis |
| Owner | Kenneth Opstein |
| Trainer | Jack Van Berg |
| Record | 28: 7-8-7 |
| Earnings | US$2,501,705 |
| Major wins | |
|
Super Derby (1984) Preakness Stakes (1984) |
|
| Honours | |
| Gate Dancer Street in Elkhorn, Nebraska | |
| Last updated on May 16, 2007 | |
Super Derby (1984)
Omaha Gold Cup (1984)
Cornhusker Handicap (1985)
Gate Dancer (1981–1998) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as a winner of an American Classic Race, the Preakness Stakes, and for his part in a three-horse finish in the inaugural running of the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Bred in Florida by William R. Davis, Gate Dancer was a son of Sovereign Dancer, in turn a son of the great Northern Dancer. He was out of the mare Sun Gate, whose sire was Bull Lea, a five-time Leading sire in North America. Trained by Jack Van Berg, on the racetrack the high-strung colt became distressed from the sounds of the crowd until his trainer devised a hood for his head with earmuffs that minimized the noise.
In June 1983, Gate Dancer won his two-year-old racing debut Ak-Sar-Ben Racetrack in Omaha, Nebraska. He raced once more in Omaha, then compete twice in California. Of his four starts that year, he ended up with two wins and two seconds. In his three-year-old season, Gate Dancer was aimed toward the Kentucky Derby. Staying in California, in February 1984 he ran second in the El Camino Real Derby at Bay Meadows and two weeks later at Santa Anita Park won an allowance race. In March, he finished second in the San Felipe and third in the Santa Catalina Stakes. Gate Dancer then had another third in April's Arkansas Derby behind Althea, whose winning time equaled the Oaklawn Park track record for 1⅛ miles. Althea, the 1983 U.S. Champion 2-Year-Old Filly, became the heavy betting favorite going into the Kentucky Derby.
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