all in Legends

In the United States there were stables such as Calumet Farm that dominated horse racing for decades.

In Canada, the gold standard begins and ends with Sam-Son Farm.

Founded in 1972 by Ernie Samuel, Sam-Son has left an imprint on racing and breeding in Canada that has been second to none.

With one of Pennsylvania’s marquee annual races upon us this weekend in the Grade 2, $500,000 Penn Mile Stakes at Penn National Race Course, we thought it time to pay tribute some of the greatest racehorses in Pennsylvania history.

We’ve all heard the old saying about “best laid plans” – they don’t always work out as expected. Such was the case when Hal Price McGrath, owner of McGrathiana Farm, sent out two colts to compete in the 1875 Kentucky Derby, the inaugural edition of the historic race.

To understand the brilliance of Point Given, focus on all that he accomplished rather than what he did not do.

He rattled off four consecutive victories in $1 million races in 2001, ruling the Preakness, Belmont Stakes, Haskell Invitational and Travers. “T-Rex,” as trainer Bob Baffert liked to call him for his imposing physique, joined Man o’ War (1920), Whirlaway (1941), Native Dancer (1953) and Damascus (1967) in sweeping the Preakness, Belmont and Travers.

His rallies from the back of the pack were breathtaking; in fact, they defied logic. Sixty years after his late-running exploits captured the attention of racing fans across the nation, the name “Silky Sullivan” is still brought to the forefront whenever a horse closes from far back to win a race.

But, of course, there will never be another horse quite like Silky Sullivan, because Silky Sullivan’s feats were Herculean in proportion and the stuff legends are made of.

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