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Hanover was a great grandson of Lexington (the “blue horse”) and grandsire of Sir Barton, first winner of the Triple Crown.
In the month of May, a young man’s fancy turns to ... the horse. More accurately, to horse racing. Despite the fact there has not been a Triple Crown winner in a generation, once the blanket of roses is placed on the winner of the Kentucky Derby, we all join in what is slowly becoming the myth of that same horse winning the Preakness and Belmont stakes.
And just 18 months ago, we were caught up in the quest of Zenyatta to retire unbeaten, only to have our hearts broken with her sole loss in 20 starts.
But before there was Zenyatta, before there was Secretariat; before there was Man o’ War, there was Hanover. Competing in a time that preceded the Triple Crown, Hanover (1884-1899) was a great-grandson of Lexington (memorialized today as the ubiquitous “Blue Horse”) and had the famed American Thoroughbred foundation sire Glencoe in both his sire and dam lines.
As a yearling, Hanover was bought by the Dwyer Brothers Stable to be a stablemate for Tremont, later considered the best two-year-old bred in the United States during the 19th century. Tremont ran a quarter-mile yearling trial in 22.5 seconds –– a mark Hanover beat in a workout.
Trained by future Hall of Famer Frank McCabe, Hanover won all three races of his maiden year. During that same year, Tremont won 13 races in the span of 10 weeks. The stress was too much, however, and Tremont was retired.
Now the pride of the Dwyer Bothers Stable, as a three-year-old, Hanover was entered in 27 races, including the Belmont. In races ranging from four furlongs (about half a mile) to two miles, he won 20 times and finished out of the money just once. Hanover won the Belmont by 15 lengths. Including the three wins as a two-year-old, Hanover had a string of 17 consecutive wins. The following year, Hanover began to show lameness in his front right hoof and was taken off the track after three loses. The nerve in that leg was severed to prevent further pain.
Beginning his fifth year, Hanover lost three of his first four starts, but finished with nine wins in 17 races, and again out of the money just once. At his retirement, Hanover’s record over 50 races was 32 wins, 14 places, two shows, and out of the money just those two times. More importantly, for his owners, Hanover had won more money than any other American horse up to that time: $118,887 –– as much as $130 million in today’s dollars. (Zenyatta’s lifetime earnings were a paltry $7.3 million, but she ran only 20 races.) It should be noted, moreover, that Hanover frequently went up against top horses and carried large handicaps. Unfortunately, Hanover raced in a day and age when trainers and owners showed little regard for the health of their horses.
Upon his permanent retirement from the track, Hanover was sold to Col. Milton Young to stand at stud at famed McGrathiana Farm just outside Lexington on Newtown Pike (now the University of Kentucky’s Cold Stream Research Park). There he was America’s leading sire for four consecutive years –– a record that would stand for nearly three-quarters of a century. (Bold Ruler tied the record in 1966, and set a new record of seven consecutive years in 1969.)
In late 1898, Hanover colicked (a general term applied to equine gastrointestinal ails –– and the leading cause of death among horses). He was placed on a restricted diet as a means of cure. According to his handlers, the diet put him in a foul mood. Kicking his stall, he re-injured his front right hoof. Unable to feel pain in that leg, the kicking lead to breaking his coffin bone (the bone encased by the hoof). Infection set in, and Hanover was euthanized in March 1899.
But the story does not end there.
According to an article in the September 1, 1906, edition of “The Thoroughbred Record,” Hanover’s remains were exhumed, the broken bone replaced, and his skeleton was mounted for display. Hanover is now one of two famous equine skeletons in Fayette County viewable by the public. His is at the Lexington History Museum. His great-grandsire Lexington is on display at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Final tribute was paid when Hanover was included in the first class of horses inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1955.
Hanover’s most lasting contribution to the racing world, however, is one of the products of his breeding seasons, Lady Sterling, dam to Sir Barton, winner of the first Triple Crown in 1919 –– which pretty much makes Hanover the granddaddy of that now-elusive trophy.