all in Legends

To truly understand the importance of Bold Ruler, it should be pointed out that he is best known for his accomplishments in the breeding shed rather than the racetrack.

As innocuous as that might seem, it actually speaks volumes because Bold Ruler enjoyed an exceptional career on the racetrack.

He won the 1957 Preakness Stakes. He was a consensus Horse of the Year choice in 1957 as well as the year’s top 3-year-old. In 1958, he was voted champion sprinter. He set or matched four track records.

It’s hard to believe that 21 years have passed since the magical run of Smarty Jones captured the attention of not just racing fans, but sports fans around the world in the spring of 2004.

Stakes races like the Belmont or the Woodward stand as tributes to those who make significant contributions to horse racing, their names reflective of what those Pillars of the Turf have given the sport.

On opening day of the 1954 Del Mar meet, a young rider named Bill Shoemaker was less than a month from turning 23 years old. Though still in the early chapter of what would become a storied career, the native Texan found himself the engineer of the most dominant run by any jockey that had ever competed at the seaside track.

Of all the horses that have made their mark at Saratoga over the course of the racetrack’s 150-plus years of horse racing, one horse became synonymous with the historic upstate New York venue more than any other.

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