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Ballot (horse)

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Ballot
Circa 1908.
SireVoter
GrandsireFriar's Balsam
DamCerito
DamsireLowland Chief
SexStallion
Foaled1904
CountryUnited States
ColourChestnut
BreederCastleton Stud
OwnerJames R. Keene
TrainerJames G. Rowe Sr.
Record37: 20-5-6
EarningsUS$154,545
Major wins
Double Event Stakes (part 1) (1906)
Matron Stakes (1906)
Neptune Stakes (1906)
Century Handicap (1907, 1908)
Edgemere Handicap (1907)
First Special Stakes(1907)
Great Republic Stakes (1907)
Second Special Stakes(1907)
Election Day Handicap (1907)
Invincible Handicap (1907)
Iroquois Stakes (1907)
Advance Stakes (1908, 1910)
Suburban Handicap (1908)
Equality Stakes (1908)
Broadway Stakes (1909)
Awards
American Champion Older Male Horse
(1908, 1910)
Honours
Ballot Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack
Last updated on April 4, 2010

Ballot (April 18, 1904 – May 16, 1937) was an American two-time Champion Thoroughbred racehorse and damsire of the very important sire, Bull Lea.[1]

Bred and raced by James R. Keene, owner of Castleton Stud in Lexington, Kentucky, he was out of the farm's broodmare Cerito and sired by Voter, their 1897 Metropolitan Handicap winner and the retrospective American Champion Older Male Horse of 1899.

Trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, James Rowe, at age two Ballot won important races in 1906 but was overshadowed by that year's Champion, Salvidere. However, the following year he began winning consistently and set a new track record for a mile and a half in winning the Second Special Handicap at Gravesend Race Track.[2] At age four in 1908 Ballot set a new world record at Sheepshead Bay Race Track for a mile and five sixteenths on dirt in winning the first of two editions of the Advance Stakes.[3] His performances in 1908 earned him retrospective American Champion Older Male Horse honors.

Ballot raced in England in 1909 but met with little success on their grass racecourses. Returning to the United States for the 1910 season, he immediately returned to top form.[4] His biggest win of the year came in the Advance Stakes in which he beat King James by two lengths.[5] Ballot finished second in the August 4 Saratoga Handicap on a track described as a "sea of mud" by the Chicago Tribune and came out of the race with a foreleg injury that ended his racing career.[6] His win in the Advance Stakes combined with top three finishes in other major races earned Ballot retrospective honors as the Co-American Champion Older Male Horse of 1910.

As a sire

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Retired to stud duty, Ballot stood at his owner's farm in 1911 then was sent to stud in England. He returned to the United States in 1913 where he was the sire of many stakes winners and for seven straight years was near the top of the leading American sire's list.[7] Through his daughter, Forever (b. 1917), Ballot was the damsire of 1928 Belmont Stakes winner Vito. Through another daughter, Rose Leaves (b. 1916), Ballot left his most significant mark as the damsire of Bull Lea, a five-time Leading sire in North America and a four-time Leading broodmare sire in North America.

Sire line tree

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Pedigree

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Pedigree of Ballot, bay stallion, 1904
Sire
Voter
Friar's Balsam Hermit Newminster
Seclusion
Flower of Dorset Breadalbane*
Imperatrice
Mavourneen Barcaldine Solon
Ballyroe
Gaydene Albert Victor
Flora MacDonald*
Dam
Cerito
Lowland Chief Lowlander Dalesman
Lufra
Bathilde Stockwell*
Babette
Merry Dance Doncaster Stockwell*
Marigold
Highland Fling Scottish Chief*
Masquerade (family: 14)

* Ballot is inbred 5S x 4D x 4D to the stallion Stockwell, meaning that he appears fifth generation once (via Breadalbane) on the sire side of his pedigree, and fourth generation twice on the dam side of his pedigree.

* Ballot is inbred 5S x 4D to the stallion Scottish Chief, meaning that he appears fifth generation (via Flora MacDonald) on the sire side of his pedigree, and fourth generation on the dam side of his pedigree.

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References

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  1. ^ New York Times - May 16, 1937
  2. ^ "Ballots Many Remarkable Displays Of Speed". Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives. 1908-06-26. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  3. ^ New York Times - July 2, 1908
  4. ^ Pittsburg Press - May 26, 1910
  5. ^ New York Times - June 28, 1910
  6. ^ Atlanta Constitution - August 10, 1910 article titled "Ballot Will Race No More"
  7. ^ Thoroughbred Heritage
  8. ^ Sire Line: Camel
  9. ^ Darley Arabian Sire Line: Newminster Branch
  10. ^ American Classic Pedigree: Ballot
  11. ^ Biography: Hermit
  12. ^ Three Bars: Inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 1989.
  13. ^ The Legendary Three Bars: A Sire That Influenced Modern Performance Horses
  14. ^ The Story of Three Bars
  15. ^ The Three Bars (TB) Bloodline
  16. ^ OQHA: Three Bars
  17. ^ Rocket Bar: Inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 1992.
  18. ^ Sugar Bars: Inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 1994.
  19. ^ OQHA: Sugar Bars
  20. ^ Lightning Bar: Inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2008.
  21. ^ Steel Bars
  22. ^ Mr Bar None: Inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2014.
  23. ^ OQHA: Mr Bar None
  24. ^ a b c d Kid Meyers and the AQHA Supreme Champion Title
  25. ^ Kid Meyers
  26. ^ OQHA: Kid Meyers
  27. ^ The Ole Man: Inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2018.
  28. ^ Throwback: The Ole Man
  29. ^ Zippo Pat Bars: Inducted into the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame in 2002.