Omaha (USA)
March 24, 1932 -- April 24, 1959
Gallant Fox (USA) x Flambino (USA), by Wrack (GB)
Family 17-b
March 24, 1932 -- April 24, 1959
Gallant Fox (USA) x Flambino (USA), by Wrack (GB)
Family 17-b
A huge colt with a rather nasty disposition while racing, Omaha was slow to mature but came into his own at 3. The third winner of the American Triple Crown, he is the only one sired by another winner of the American Triple Crown, 1930 champion Gallant Fox. At 4, Omaha was sent to England in an attempt to capture the historic Gold Cup at Ascot and came within a whisker of doing so, losing to the excellent filly Quashed in a performance that excited tremendous admiration. He returned to his native land for stud duty but proved a failure.
Race record
22 starts, 9 wins, 6 seconds, 2 third, US$154,705 (including converted foreign earnings)
1934:
1935:
1936:
Honors
Assessments
Omaha was rated #61 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005). His ranking was the lowest for any of the 11 American Triple Crown winners of the 20th century.
As an individual
Omaha was a huge, rangy, long-striding chestnut horse. His height has been variously given at 16.2½ to 17 hands. He was nearly too big to fit in a standard starting gate and was usually housed in two stalls with the partition between them removed. He was quick enough to break his maiden in a 5-furlong sprint at 2, but his forte was stamina and he never won a stakes at a mile or less. He was typically slowly away at the barrier and lacked tactical speed, though he could deliver a long sustained drive. Omaha hated being bumped or crowded by other horses and would try to bite offenders if possible; thus, he always had to be taken to the outside to make his run. He became extremely keyed up before the start of his last two races in England, possibly contributing to both defeats. In his last home in Nebraska, he ended up becoming a beloved member of the Porter family and was remembered by Grove Porter as a kindly animal, though one whose size and strength commanded respect. He was paraded in the Ak-Sar-Ben track infield on several occasions and photographed with small children riding on his back.
As a stallion
According to Jockey Club records, Omaha sired 85 winners (41.2%) and 7 stakes winners (3.4%) from 206 named foals. He sired nothing approaching his own class. By the time he reached his final home in Nebraska, his stud fee had dropped to a $25 charitable donation.
Notable progeny of daughters
Doubledogdare (USA), Flaring Top (USA), Summer Tan (USA)
Connections
Omaha was bred and owned by William Woodward, Sr., the master of Belair Stud. He was trained by James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons in the United States and by Captain Cecil Boyd-Rochfort in England. A tendon injury suffered in training prevented Omaha's making a second attempt at the Ascot Gold Cup in 1937, and he entered stud in Kentucky in 1938 at Claiborne Farm. After proving a disappointment there, he was leased to The Jockey Club's Lookout Stallion Station in Avon, New York, in 1943. In 1950 he moved to the farm of Grove Porter near Nebraska City, Nebraska, about 44 miles from Omaha, where he was a popular tourist attraction. He died on April 24, 1959, and was buried at the now-defunct Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack in its "Circle of Champions." When the track was demolished, Omaha's bones were left in place based on a gentleman's agreement between Grove Porter and William Woodward.
Pedigree notes
Omaha is inbred 4x4 to 1904 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) winner Ajax and 5x5 to nine-time English leading sire St. Simon, an unbeaten champion on the Turf. He is a full brother to Flares, winner of the 1936 Champion Stakes and 1938 Ascot Gold Cup in England. He is also a half brother to multiple stakes winner Fleam (by General Lee). Omaha's dam Flambino won the 1927 Gazelle Stakes and was third in the Belmont Stakes and Coaching Club American Oaks. She is a daughter of 1921 Coaching Club American Oaks winner Flambette (by Durbar II) and is a half sister to La France (by Gallant Fox's sire Sir Gallahad III), dam of 1939 dual Classic winner Johnstown (by Jamestown) and 1937 champion 2-year-old filly Jacola (by Jacopo; dam of 1947 American champion 3-year-old male Phalanx, by Pilate) and to Gallette (also by Sir Gallahad III), dam of 1946 American champion handicap female Gallorette (by Challenger II).
Books and media
Fun facts
Last updated: April 25, 2023
Race record
22 starts, 9 wins, 6 seconds, 2 third, US$154,705 (including converted foreign earnings)
1934:
- 2nd Sanford Stakes (USA, 6FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Junior Champion Stakes (USA, 8FD, Aqueduct)
- 2nd Champagne Stakes (USA, 6.5FD, Belmont)
1935:
- Won Kentucky Derby (USA, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Preakness Stakes (USA, 9.5FD, Pimlico)
- Won Belmont Stakes (USA, 12FD, Belmont)
- Won Classic Stakes (USA, 10FD, Arlington Park; new track record 2:01-2/5)
- Won Dwyer Stakes (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- 2nd Withers Stakes (USA, 8FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Brooklyn Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- 3rd Wood Memorial Stakes (USA, 8f+70yD, Jamaica)
1936:
- Won Victor Wild Stakes (ENG, 12FT, Kempton)
- Won Queen's Plate (ENG, 16FT, Kempton)
- 2nd Ascot Gold Cup (ENG, 20FT, Ascot)
- 2nd Prince of Wales's Stakes (ENG, 12FT, Newmarket)
Honors
- National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 1965)
- Nebraska Sports Hall of Fame (inducted in 2015)
- American champion 3-year-old male (1935)
Assessments
Omaha was rated #61 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005). His ranking was the lowest for any of the 11 American Triple Crown winners of the 20th century.
As an individual
Omaha was a huge, rangy, long-striding chestnut horse. His height has been variously given at 16.2½ to 17 hands. He was nearly too big to fit in a standard starting gate and was usually housed in two stalls with the partition between them removed. He was quick enough to break his maiden in a 5-furlong sprint at 2, but his forte was stamina and he never won a stakes at a mile or less. He was typically slowly away at the barrier and lacked tactical speed, though he could deliver a long sustained drive. Omaha hated being bumped or crowded by other horses and would try to bite offenders if possible; thus, he always had to be taken to the outside to make his run. He became extremely keyed up before the start of his last two races in England, possibly contributing to both defeats. In his last home in Nebraska, he ended up becoming a beloved member of the Porter family and was remembered by Grove Porter as a kindly animal, though one whose size and strength commanded respect. He was paraded in the Ak-Sar-Ben track infield on several occasions and photographed with small children riding on his back.
As a stallion
According to Jockey Club records, Omaha sired 85 winners (41.2%) and 7 stakes winners (3.4%) from 206 named foals. He sired nothing approaching his own class. By the time he reached his final home in Nebraska, his stud fee had dropped to a $25 charitable donation.
Notable progeny of daughters
Doubledogdare (USA), Flaring Top (USA), Summer Tan (USA)
Connections
Omaha was bred and owned by William Woodward, Sr., the master of Belair Stud. He was trained by James “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons in the United States and by Captain Cecil Boyd-Rochfort in England. A tendon injury suffered in training prevented Omaha's making a second attempt at the Ascot Gold Cup in 1937, and he entered stud in Kentucky in 1938 at Claiborne Farm. After proving a disappointment there, he was leased to The Jockey Club's Lookout Stallion Station in Avon, New York, in 1943. In 1950 he moved to the farm of Grove Porter near Nebraska City, Nebraska, about 44 miles from Omaha, where he was a popular tourist attraction. He died on April 24, 1959, and was buried at the now-defunct Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack in its "Circle of Champions." When the track was demolished, Omaha's bones were left in place based on a gentleman's agreement between Grove Porter and William Woodward.
Pedigree notes
Omaha is inbred 4x4 to 1904 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) winner Ajax and 5x5 to nine-time English leading sire St. Simon, an unbeaten champion on the Turf. He is a full brother to Flares, winner of the 1936 Champion Stakes and 1938 Ascot Gold Cup in England. He is also a half brother to multiple stakes winner Fleam (by General Lee). Omaha's dam Flambino won the 1927 Gazelle Stakes and was third in the Belmont Stakes and Coaching Club American Oaks. She is a daughter of 1921 Coaching Club American Oaks winner Flambette (by Durbar II) and is a half sister to La France (by Gallant Fox's sire Sir Gallahad III), dam of 1939 dual Classic winner Johnstown (by Jamestown) and 1937 champion 2-year-old filly Jacola (by Jacopo; dam of 1947 American champion 3-year-old male Phalanx, by Pilate) and to Gallette (also by Sir Gallahad III), dam of 1946 American champion handicap female Gallorette (by Challenger II).
Books and media
- “Omaha” is the third chapter in Marvin Drager's The Most Glorious Crown (2005, Triumph Books).
- Omaha is the third of the 13 American Triple Crown winners featured in Edward Bowen's The Lucky 13: The Winners of America's Triple Crown of Horse Racing (2019, Lyon Press).
- “A 'Savage' Racehorse by the Name of Omaha” is the 12th chapter in Jim Bolus' Derby Magic (1997, Pelican Publishing Company).
- Omaha is profiled in Chapter 6 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
- Omaha was the only American Triple Crown winner not to win Horse of the Year honors during his Triple Crown season by official voting or general consensus.
- Omaha's Belmont victory made trainer "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons the first man to train two winners of the American Triple Crown; he had previously trained the colt's sire, Gallant Fox, who swept the series in 1930.
- Two stories exist as to the origin of Omaha's name. One is that Woodward chose the name of a city known for its beef processing industry in response to friends' comments about the colt's “beefiness" as a yearling. The other, published in the New York Times, stated that Woodward wanted a name beginning with “O” in honor of the colt's great ancestors Ormonde and Orme.
- A monument to Omaha is located in Stinson Park in the Ak-Sar-Ben Village development near Omaha, Nebraska.
- A portrait of Omaha hangs in the Horsemen's Park simulcast facility in Omaha. The portrait originally hung in the Turf Room at Ak-Sar-Ben, but the name of the artist is unknown.
- According to the New York Racing Association's 2016 Belmont Stakes media guide, the Ak-Sar-Ben racetrack "Circle of Champions" where Omaha was buried is now next to a home economics and culinary arts building on the University of Nebraska-Omaha's campus. Because of this, "giving it to Omaha" has become the culinary arts students' slang for throwing an unsuccessful cooking project out the window.
Last updated: April 25, 2023