Count Fleet was a very successful racehorse that not only did fantastic on the race track, but also produced fantastic offspring.
Lineage and description
Count Fleet was born on March 24, 1940 in Kentucky, America. He was a bay stallion and his father was the 1928 Kentucky Derby winner, Reigh Count. Count Fleet has become very old, he died on December 3, 1973 at the age of 33 years.
Career
Two years
As a two-year-old, Count Fleet was trained by Don Cameron and ridden by Longden. He first lost a number of races, but as a two-year-old he already managed to take his first victory. In the Champagne Stakes he won everyone’s respect by winning 6 horse lengths from the best horses in the country. In the Walden Stakes he managed to win by more than 30 lengths. At the end of the season, he won 10 of the 15 races he entered, running in the money every time.
Three years
Count Fleet dominated the North American race tracks. In his third year of life, and thus second year of racing, he never lost. He managed to win the Wood Memorial, where he unfortunately also injured himself. He recovered quickly and also managed to win the Preakness Stakes. Count Fleet looked unbeatable and also won the Triple Crown this year. In the last race for the Triple Crown (the Belmont Stakes) he won by 25 horse lengths. At the end of the season, he was Champion 3-year-old and was awarded Horse of the Year 1943.
Retirement
Count Fleet retired at the age of four from injuries to one leg. His owner didn’t want to take any chances and Count Fleet went into breeding. He had started a total of 21 times, of which he won 16 times.
Count Fleet as a breeding stallion
Count Fleet had a successful career as a stallion. 38 of his descendants were Stakes winners. His most famous descendants are Count Turf (Kentucky Derby), Counterpoint (Belmont Stakes) and One Count (Belmont Stakes). One of Count Fleet’s daughters gave birth to the legendary Kelso (see my article about him) who won the Kentucky Derby in 1965.
Prizes of honor
Count Fleet has been inducted into the US Racing Hall of Fame and is ranked 5th in the top 100 of 20th century American racehorses. There is also a race named after him, the Count Fleet Skates.