Citation (April 11, 1945 – August 8, 1970) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the eighth winner of the American Triple Crown. He won 16 consecutive stakes races and was the first horse in history to win .
Background
Owned and bred by Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, Citation was a bay colt by Bull Lea from the imported mare Hydroplane (GB), who was by the leading sire Hyperion. Although Citation was bred in Kentucky, his pedigree was largely European. He also traces back through his father Bull Lea to two outstanding horses from New Zealand (Trenton and Carbine), both sired by English sire Musket, the much loved and revered superstar of the late 1800s. As a descendant of the broodmare Glasalt, Citation was related to the 2000 Guineas winner Colorado: the same branch of Thoroughbred "Family" 3-l later produced the Preakness Stakes winner Gate Dancer.
Citation was trained by the Hall of Fame inductee Ben Jones and his son, Hall of Famer Horace A. "Jimmy" Jones. The horse was originally ridden by Al Snider and later by Eddie Arcaro and Steve Brooks.
Racing career
1947: two-year-old season
Citation won his first start as a two-year-old at the Havre de Grace racetrack on April 22, 1947. The race was a 4 1/2 furlong sprint on a sloppy track. He won by 3/4 of a length in :54 1/5. He broke the Arlington Park track record over five furlongs in his third start. For the year, he raced nine times, winning eight starts and earning $155,680. His only loss came at the heels of his stablemate, Bewitch, in the Washington Park Futurity, which the filly won in stakes record time for six furlongs. Citation racked up victories in the Elementary Stakes, Futurity Trial, Futurity Stakes, and Pimlico Futurity. He was named champion two-year-old.
1948: three-year-old season
Citation started the 1948 racing season with two victories over older horse Armed, who had been named Thoroughbred racing's 1947 Horse of the Year, in an allowance race and the Seminole Handicap. It is rare for a three-year-old to defeat older horses so early in the year, let alone a top handicap star such as Armed.
After Citation won the Everglades Stakes and the Flamingo Stakes at Hialeah Park, Snider drowned while fishing off the Florida Keys. Calumet Farm hired Arcaro, one of Snider's friends. In Arcaro's first start on Citation, they lost to Saggy in the Chesapeake Trial Stakes. This was the last race that Citation lost for almost two years.
Citation reversed the loss to Saggy in the Chesapeake Stakes at Havre de Grace Racetrack, which he won over Bovard by 4 lengths, with Saggy well back. Citation followed with his final Kentucky Derby prep, a win in the Derby Trial Stakes.
In the Kentucky Derby, ridden by Arcaro, Citation won by 3 lengths over his stablemate, eventual 1949 Horse of the Year Coaltown, and Arcaro gave the widow of former jockey Al Snider a share of his Derby purse money. Citation was then sent to Baltimore where he won the Preakness Stakes by 5 lengths. There was a 4-week gap between the Preakness and Belmont and Citation's trainer thought he should run in a race during that time as a "warm-up" for Cy's Belmont. It was decided Cy would run in the Jersey Stakes which he won by an easy 11 lengths. Now he was ready to go to Belmont Park in New York. On June 12, 1948, Citation became the eighth Triple Crown winner by capturing the Belmont Stakes, winning it by 8 lengths and tying the stakes record of 2:28 set by the sixth Triple Crown winner, Count Fleet.
Citation then won the Stars and Stripes Handicap, equaling Armed's track record. He next won the American Derby and the Sysonby Mile. After that came the Jockey Club Gold Cup at , which he won by seven lengths over 1947 Preakness winner Phalanx. He then won the Empire City Gold Cup.
In Citation's next start, he deterred potential challengers and won the Pimlico Special in a rare walkover. Citation then traveled to California, where he finished the year with two wins, including in the Tanforan Handicap at Tanforan Racetrack.
By the end of his three-year-old season, Citation had a record of 20 starts, 19 wins and $709,470, for a new single season record. His total career record now stood at 27 victories and two seconds in 29 starts and earnings of $865,150. He had also amassed a 15-race winning streak. For his performances, Citation was named Horse of the Year, gaining 161 of a possible 163 votes in the poll conducted by Turf and Sport Digest magazine. Toward the end of his three-year-old season, he developed an osselet.