Reigh Count
| Reigh Count | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Sunreigh |
| Grandsire | Sundridge |
| Dam | Contessina |
| Damsire | Count Schomberg |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1925 |
| Country | United States |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | Willis Sharpe Kilmer |
| Owner | Mrs. Fannie Hertz. Racing colours: Yellow, black circle on sleeves, yellow cap. |
| Trainer |
Henry McDaniel Bert S. Michell |
| Record | 27: 12-4-0 |
| Earnings | $180,795 |
| Major wins | |
| Walden Handicap (1927) Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (1927) Huron Handicap (1928) Kentucky Derby (1928) Saratoga Cup (1928) Lawrence Realization (1928) Miller Stakes (1928) Jockey Club Gold Cup (1928) Coronation Cup (1929) |
|
| Awards | |
| Unofficial U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt Unofficial U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt Unofficial United States Horse of the Year (1928) |
|
| Honours | |
|
United States Racing Hall of Fame (1978) Reigh Count Drive in Florence, Kentucky |
|
Reigh Count (1925–1948) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1928 Kentucky Derby and the 1929 Coronation Cup in England.
Reigh Count was bred by Willis Sharpe Kilmer and foaled at Court Manor near New Market, Virginia.
He raced well as a two-year-old, winning four of fourteen races. He was initially trained by Hall of Fame inductee Henry McDaniel but after being sold to Mrs. Fannie Hertz, by Bert S. Michell. A controversial finish in the Futurity Stakes at Belmont Park (the richest race in the United States at the time) possibly deprived him of another win. Just before the finish line, he held the lead. But due to either misjudgment of the finish line by his jockey or (possibly) intentional instructions by his owner, his stablemate Anita Peabody won by the barest of margins. The next day's New York Times photo captured the jockeys, side-by-side, looking at each other at the wire.
At age three Reigh Count was the dominant horse in America, winning six races (including the Kentucky Derby). Jockey Chick Lang's victory three years earlier in the Queen's Plate made him the only Canadian jockey in history to win the most prestigious race both in Canada and in the United States. An injury kept Reigh Count out of both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. However, later that summer in the Lawrence Realization, he defeated Preakess winner Victorian. That fall he took on and defeated older horses in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, which had a field including Chance Shot, Display, and Diavolo. Reigh Count's performances in 1928 earned him unofficial United States Horse of the Year honors. Although no formal award was made he was recognised in contemporary sources as "the champion racehorse of the year"
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