Bred on the same Black Toney/Sardanapale cross as 1933 Kentucky Derby winner Brokers Tip, Black Maria was much sounder and more durable. She was one of the most popular runners of her time, taking on all comers regardless of age or sex. Unfortunately, she lived to produce only one foal, Black Queen, but that foal perpetuated her name in pedigrees by becoming the second dam of the important racer and sire Polynesian.
Race record
52 starts, 18 wins, 14 seconds, 6 thirds, US$110,350
1925:
1926:
1927:
1928:
Honors
As an individual
A ruggedly made black mare, Black Maria was short-coupled with an excellent shoulder, deep girth and strong hip. Her hocks were slightly out behind her.
As a producer
Black Maria's only foal was stakes-placed Black Queen (by Pompey), dam of the fine steeplechaser Adaptable (by Blenheim II) and 1939 Fashion Stakes winner Perida (by Chance Shot). Black Queen also produced Black Polly (by Polymelian), whose son Polynesian (by Unbreakable) won the 1945 Preakness Stakes and was the American champion sprinter of 1947. In addition, Black Queen produced Taj Bibi (by Sickle), dam of 1948 Arlington Classic winner Papa Redbird (by Balladier); Femme Noire (by Unbreakable), dam of stakes winner Lil's Nite Out (by Alibhai) and second dam of multiple stakes winner License Plate; and Queen of Clubs (by Roman), third dam of 1982 Italian champion 3-year-old filly Friendswood and Grade 3 winner Bronze Point.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Black Maria was bred by Colonel Phil T. Chinn's Himyar Stud according to the American Stud Book; most other references show her as having been bred by Colonel E. R. Bradley, who owned her sire Black Toney. She was owned by William R. Coe, who campaigned her in the name of his Shoshone Stable during her juvenile season. She was trained by William H. Karrick at ages 2 through 4 and by J. Lowe at age 5. Black Maria broke a leg in a paddock accident at age 9 and was humanely destroyed.
Pedigree notes
Black Maria is outcrossed through five generations. She is a half sister to juvenile stakes winner Head Cover (by Helmet). Her dam Bird Loose was produced from Poule au Pot, an unraced daughter of 1909 Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Verdun. Poule au Pot, in turn, was produced from the Palais Royal mare Fouilleopo, a full sister to the good French stakes winner Fourire and to Fourragere, dam of 1910 Grand Criterium winner Faucheur (by Perth) and third dam of 1945 Coaching Club American Oaks winner Elpis.
Books and media
Black Maria is profiled in Chapter 5 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
Photo credit
Black Maria, Laverne Fator up. Photograph by Charles C. Cook, undated. From the Keeneland Library Cook Collection; used by permission. Please contact the Keeneland Library with any questions regarding use or licensure of this photo.
Last updated: May 9, 2024
Race record
52 starts, 18 wins, 14 seconds, 6 thirds, US$110,350
1925:
- 2nd Tomboy Handicap (USA, 5.5FD, Belmont)
1926:
- Won Champion Filly Stakes (USA, 10FD, Belmont)
- Won Ladies' Handicap (USA, 8FD, Belmont)
- Won Saratoga Sales Stakes (USA, 8FD, Saratoga)
- Won Aqueduct Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- Won Twin City Handicap (USA, 10FD, Belmont)
- Won Illinois Oaks (USA, 9FD, Washington Park)
- Won October Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Jamaica)
- Won Kentucky Oaks (USA, 9FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd Coaching Club American Oaks (USA, 11FD, Belmont)
- 2nd Latonia Oaks (USA, 10FD, Latonia)
- 2nd Alabama Stakes (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- 3rd Edgemere Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- 3rd American Derby (USA, 12FD, Washington Park)
- 3rd Huron Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Saratoga)
- 3rd Pimlico Oaks (USA, 8.5FD, Pimlico)
1927:
- Won Ladies Handicap (USA, 8FD, Belmont)
- Won Continental Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Jamaica)
- Won Edgemere Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- Won Metropolitan Handicap (USA, 8FD, Belmont)
- Won Aqueduct Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- 2nd Saratoga Handicap (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Laurel Stakes (USA, 8FD, Laurel)
- 2nd Suburban Handicap (USA, 10FD, Belmont)
- 2nd Washington Handicap (USA, 10FD, Laurel)
- 2nd Carter Handicap (USA, 7FD, Aqueduct)
- 2nd Merchants' and Citizens' Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Saratoga)
1928:
- Won Whitney Stakes (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Saratoga Handicap (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Merchants' and Citizens' Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Laurel Stakes (USA, 8FD, Laurel)
Honors
- American co-champion 3-year-old filly (1926)
- American champion handicap female (1927, 1928)
As an individual
A ruggedly made black mare, Black Maria was short-coupled with an excellent shoulder, deep girth and strong hip. Her hocks were slightly out behind her.
As a producer
Black Maria's only foal was stakes-placed Black Queen (by Pompey), dam of the fine steeplechaser Adaptable (by Blenheim II) and 1939 Fashion Stakes winner Perida (by Chance Shot). Black Queen also produced Black Polly (by Polymelian), whose son Polynesian (by Unbreakable) won the 1945 Preakness Stakes and was the American champion sprinter of 1947. In addition, Black Queen produced Taj Bibi (by Sickle), dam of 1948 Arlington Classic winner Papa Redbird (by Balladier); Femme Noire (by Unbreakable), dam of stakes winner Lil's Nite Out (by Alibhai) and second dam of multiple stakes winner License Plate; and Queen of Clubs (by Roman), third dam of 1982 Italian champion 3-year-old filly Friendswood and Grade 3 winner Bronze Point.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Black Maria was bred by Colonel Phil T. Chinn's Himyar Stud according to the American Stud Book; most other references show her as having been bred by Colonel E. R. Bradley, who owned her sire Black Toney. She was owned by William R. Coe, who campaigned her in the name of his Shoshone Stable during her juvenile season. She was trained by William H. Karrick at ages 2 through 4 and by J. Lowe at age 5. Black Maria broke a leg in a paddock accident at age 9 and was humanely destroyed.
Pedigree notes
Black Maria is outcrossed through five generations. She is a half sister to juvenile stakes winner Head Cover (by Helmet). Her dam Bird Loose was produced from Poule au Pot, an unraced daughter of 1909 Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Verdun. Poule au Pot, in turn, was produced from the Palais Royal mare Fouilleopo, a full sister to the good French stakes winner Fourire and to Fourragere, dam of 1910 Grand Criterium winner Faucheur (by Perth) and third dam of 1945 Coaching Club American Oaks winner Elpis.
Books and media
Black Maria is profiled in Chapter 5 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
- Black Maria was named after an early 19th-century mare of the same name. Known as the “Twenty-Mile Mare,” the original Black Maria was a good runner in the 4-mile heat races then commonplace but was best known for winning the 1832 Jockey Club Purse at the old Union Course in New York, a race that stretched to five heats of 4 miles each.
- Black Maria had a habit of breaking badly as a youngster. She scored her first victory in an allowance race, her fourth start, but after finishing up the track in the important Hopeful Stakes was dropped into a six-furlong claiming race. She won without changing hands and was not risked again.
- Black Maria's Kentucky Oaks was run in such a heavy downpour that the horses could not be made out from the stands until they came into the final turn.
- A “Black Maria” was police slang for the horse-drawn and motorized vans used to transport prisoners. The term first appeared in print in 1847 in the Boston Evening Traveller and apparently spread from the United States to England and France. According to one popular legend, the vans got their name from Maria Lee, an African-American woman who ran a boarding house for sailors and was well known for both her no-nonsense attitude and her willingness to lend the police a hand when a boarder became unruly and needed to be taken into custody.
Photo credit
Black Maria, Laverne Fator up. Photograph by Charles C. Cook, undated. From the Keeneland Library Cook Collection; used by permission. Please contact the Keeneland Library with any questions regarding use or licensure of this photo.
Last updated: May 9, 2024