Donerail's sole claim to fame is as the answer to the trivia question, “Who was the longest-priced Kentucky Derby winner of all time?” He rolled home in 1913 at odds of over 91-1, generating a record US$184.90 payoff on a two-dollar pari-mutuel ticket. Following his Derby upset, he won several small stakes races in Canada before fading into obscurity.
Race record
62 starts, 10 wins, 11 seconds, 10 thirds, US$15,166
1912:
1913:
1914:
1916:
As an individual
A bay horse, Donerail was big-boned and of sturdy make like most of McGee's progeny. He apparently broke down at the end of his 4-year-old season and could not start at all at 5, and never regained his earlier form afterward.
As a stallion
Donerail was briefly advertised at Glen-Helen Farm in Kentucky at a US$50 fee but does not appear to have ever sired any registered Thoroughbred foals. He was gelded in 1918 following his last race, ending his stud career.
Connections
Donerail was bred, owned, and trained by Thomas P. Hayes, who donated him to the Army Remount Service in December 1917. However, the horse apparently never received the required inspection by Army commissioners and was put back into training in the spring of 1918. By the time he made his final start as an 8-year-old in May 1918, Donerail was owned by R. Marsden. He was purchased by John E. Madden following that race with the intent of preparing him for racing on the New York circuit, but there are no records indicating that he ever started again.
Pedigree notes
Donerail is outcrossed through five generations. He is a half brother to Sir Catesby (by Sir Dixon), who won the 1913 Latonia Cup, and to the stakes-winning juveniles Punch Bowl (by Ornament) and Jane Frances (by Uncle; second dam of four stakes winners).
Donerail and his siblings were produced from Algie M., a half sister to stakes winner Jack Young (by Lamplighter). Algie M.'s dam Johnetta (by Bramble), in turn, is a full sister to juvenile stakes winner Wrestler and is out of Guildean (by Ballinkeel), whose half sister Helen Nichols (by Iroquois) won four stakes races. Produced from Orphan Girl (by Muggins), Guildean is also a half sister to Nellie Van (by Enquirer), dam of 1902 Saratoga Cup winner Advance Guard (by Great Tom). The female line traces to an unnamed daughter of Bowie (known as the Bowie Mare or the Buie Mare) and cannot be linked to any of the Bruce Lowe families.
Books and movies
Fun facts
Last updated: February 15, 2020
Race record
62 starts, 10 wins, 11 seconds, 10 thirds, US$15,166
1912:
- 3rd Golden Rod Selling Stakes (USA, 6FD, Churchill Downs)
- 3rd Rosedale Stakes (USA, 5.5FD, Latonia)
1913:
- Won Kentucky Derby (USA, 10FD, Churchill Downs; new track record 2:04-4/5)
- Won Canadian Sportsmen's Handicap (CAN, 8.5FD, Fort Erie)
- 2nd Windsor Special (CAN, 9FD, Windsor)
- 2nd Dominion Handicap (CAN, 10FD, Fort Erie)
- 2nd Blue Grass Stakes (USA, 9FD, LEX)
- 3rd Midsummer Handicap (CAN, 7FD, Hamilton)
1914:
- Won Hamilton Cup (CAN, 10FD, Hamilton)
- Won Belle Island Handicap (CAN, 8FD, Windsor)
- Won Walkerville Handicap (CAN, 9FD, Windsor)
- 2nd Latonia Autumn Inaugural (USA, 8.5FD, Latonia)
- 2nd Leland Hotel Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Lexington)
- 2nd Leonard Hotel Handicap (USA, 9FD, Lexington)
- 3rd Independence Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Latonia)
- 3rd George Hendrie Memorial Handicap (CAN, 8FD, Windsor)
- 3rd Phoenix Hotel Handicap (USA, 8FD, Lexington)
1916:
- 2nd Legrange Handicap (USA, 9FD, Douglas Park)
As an individual
A bay horse, Donerail was big-boned and of sturdy make like most of McGee's progeny. He apparently broke down at the end of his 4-year-old season and could not start at all at 5, and never regained his earlier form afterward.
As a stallion
Donerail was briefly advertised at Glen-Helen Farm in Kentucky at a US$50 fee but does not appear to have ever sired any registered Thoroughbred foals. He was gelded in 1918 following his last race, ending his stud career.
Connections
Donerail was bred, owned, and trained by Thomas P. Hayes, who donated him to the Army Remount Service in December 1917. However, the horse apparently never received the required inspection by Army commissioners and was put back into training in the spring of 1918. By the time he made his final start as an 8-year-old in May 1918, Donerail was owned by R. Marsden. He was purchased by John E. Madden following that race with the intent of preparing him for racing on the New York circuit, but there are no records indicating that he ever started again.
Pedigree notes
Donerail is outcrossed through five generations. He is a half brother to Sir Catesby (by Sir Dixon), who won the 1913 Latonia Cup, and to the stakes-winning juveniles Punch Bowl (by Ornament) and Jane Frances (by Uncle; second dam of four stakes winners).
Donerail and his siblings were produced from Algie M., a half sister to stakes winner Jack Young (by Lamplighter). Algie M.'s dam Johnetta (by Bramble), in turn, is a full sister to juvenile stakes winner Wrestler and is out of Guildean (by Ballinkeel), whose half sister Helen Nichols (by Iroquois) won four stakes races. Produced from Orphan Girl (by Muggins), Guildean is also a half sister to Nellie Van (by Enquirer), dam of 1902 Saratoga Cup winner Advance Guard (by Great Tom). The female line traces to an unnamed daughter of Bowie (known as the Bowie Mare or the Buie Mare) and cannot be linked to any of the Bruce Lowe families.
Books and movies
- An Unlikely Trio: The Winners of the 1913 Kentucky Derby tells the story behind Donerail's Derby. It was written by Eddie Price and released as a paperback by Millers Mill Publishing in 2017.
- Donerail's story is recounted in “The Longest Odds,” the second chapter of Greatest Kentucky Derby Upsets. A compilation by Blood-Horse Publications staff, the book was released In 2007 by Eclipse Press.
Fun facts
- Donerail was named for a small Kentucky community which served as a flag station on the Queen & Crescent Railway.
- Donerail's victory made Thomas Hayes the second man to breed, own, and train a Kentucky Derby winner, a feat first accomplished in 1902 when Major Thomas C. McDowell filled all three roles for Alan-a-Dale.
- Hayes actually had no intent of running Donerail in the Kentucky Derby, believing the colt to be outclassed. According to J. R. “Buddy” Treacy, it was his father, Hayes' good friend William J. Treacy, who talked Hayes into entering the colt and paid the entry fee. Treacy was well rewarded for his faith in Donerail as the US$100 bet he placed on the colt yielded US$10,000 when the bookie paid off at the 100-1 odds he had quoted.
- Roscoe Goose, who won aboard Donerail, had actually tried to get the mount on Derby favorite Ten Point during the weeks leading up to the race. (Ten Point ended up running second.) After retiring from the saddle in 1918, Goose became a well-regarded trainer and mentored several good jockeys, among them two-time Kentucky Derby winner Charley Kurtsinger (who won the Triple Crown aboard War Admiral in 1937) and Eugene James, who won the 1932 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes with Burgoo King.
- Algie M., the dam of Donerail, was represented by three stakes winners in 1913 after Donerail won the Derby, Sir Catesby won the Latonia Cup, and Punch Bowl won two juvenile stakes events—a rare hat trick for any mare.
Last updated: February 15, 2020