Roamer (horse)

Roamer
Roamer mounted by Thomas McTaggart in 1913
Sire	Knight Errant
Grandsire	Trenton
Dam	Rose Tree II
Damsire	Bona Vista
Sex	Gelding
Foaled	1911
Country	United States
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Runnymede Farm (Clay Brothers)
Owner	The Clay Brothers Andrew Miller
Trainer	A. J. "Jack" Goldsborough
Record	98: 39-26-9
Earnings	$98,828
Major wins
Saratoga Special Stakes (1913) Carter Handicap (1914) Brooklyn Derby (1914) Travers Stakes (1914) Washington Handicap (1914) Brookdale Handicap (1915) Havre de Grace Handicap (1915) Merchants and Citizens Handicap (1915) Queens County Handicap (1915 & 1918) Saratoga Cup (1915) Saratoga Handicap (1915, 1917, 1918) Excelsior Handicap (1917) Empire City Handicap (1918) Against time for a mile (1918) Against time for a mile 1/4 (1918)
Awards
Unofficial American Horse of the Year (1914) Unofficial American Champion Older Male Horse (1915, 1916)
Honours
United States Racing Hall of Fame (1981) #99 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century

Roamer (1911–1920) was an American thoroughbred racehorse. In the Blood-Horse magazine's list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, the gelding Roamer was ranked #99.

Roamer's father was a "teaser" stallion named Knight Errant who jumped a fence to get at Rose Tree II, a blind English-bred claiming mare—hence the name of the unexpected ill-bred foal, Roamer. The result was a small bay born in 1911 who was gelded almost immediately.

Roamer was bred in Kentucky by the sons of Col. Ezekiel F. Clay of Runnymede Farm, who had sent out some of the best of America's 19th Century champion racehorses: Hall of Famer Ben Brush, winner of the 1896 Kentucky Derby; Hall of Famer Hanover (topped the U.S. sire list 4 times); Runneymede (second in 1882's Derby behind Apollo); and Hall of Famer Miss Woodford (1st U.S. horse to go over $100,000 in earnings).

Roamer raced for the Clay brothers as a two-year-old. One of the brothers entered him in a $1,000 selling race, only to see him claimed, and had to buy him back for $2,005. He was then sold for $2,500 to New York City publisher Andrew Miller, the secretary/treasurer of Saratoga. (Miller, one of the founders of Life magazine, was a classmate of Teddy Roosevelt at Harvard, and in 1900 helped purchase and revive the Saratoga Race Course.) At that point, Roamer's training was taken over by A. J. "Jack" Goldsborough.