A champion juvenile, Porterhouse was not a great horse over the course of his career but was always dangerous when the weights were right and the distance was not too far. He sired a lot of winners at stud but only a few that showed significant class.
Race record
70 starts, 19 wins, 8 seconds, 12 thirds, US$519,460
1953:
1955:
1956:
1957:
1958:
Honors
American co-champion 2-year-old male (1953)
Assessments
Co-highweighted with Turn-to at 126 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1953, 2 pounds above the other co-champion 2-year-old male, Hasty Road, and Artismo.
Rated at 116 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1955, 14 pounds below champion High Gun.
Rated at 117 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1956, 15 pounds below champion Swaps.
Rated at 118 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1957, 10 pounds below champion Dedicate.
Rated at 115 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1958, 17 pounds below co-highweights Bold Ruler and Gallant Man and 16 pounds below Round Table, the official divisional champion.
As an individual
A smallish, plain brown horse, Porterhouse was a well-made animal of workmanlike rather than elegant type. He had a good shoulder, clean limbs, a straight, strong hind leg, and a good disposition. He could be faulted for being slightly over at the knee. He broke in the air in his last race at two and strained his back, an injury that may have given him intermittent problems for the remainder of his racing career. He was essentially a sprinter-miler though he could carry his speed further when he got an ideal trip.
As a stallion
According to records maintained by The Jockey Club, Porterhouse sired 187 winners (67.5%) and 15 stakes winners (5.4%) from 277 named foals.
Notable progeny
Farewell Party (USA), Our Cheri Amour (USA), Port Wine (USA)
Connections
Porterhouse was bred by Liz Whitney (then married to Dr. E. Cooper Person, Jr.), who raced him in the name of her Llangollen Farm. Trained by Charlie Whittingham. He stood at The Stallion Station in Kentucky, where he died in 1971.
Pedigree notes
Porterhouse is inbred 4x4 to 1923 French champion sire Teddy. He is a half brother to Golden Emblem II (by Tulyar), dam of 1971 Will Rogers Stakes winner Whittingham (by Command Pilot).
Porterhouse is out of Red Stamp, described as a “smallish bright bay” and “a good mother” by Daily Racing Form writer Charles Hatton. A winner of eight of her 23 starts, Red Stamp is a half sister to stakes winner Blue Cyprus (by Blue Larkspur), second dam of 1957 Californian Stakes winner Social Climber and third dam of 1976 Japanese Horse of the Year Tosho Boy and Grade 3 winner Confederate Yankee. She is also a half sister to Pray Do (by Pilate), dam of stakes winners Ordained (by Endeavour II), Wear and Tear (by War Relic), Welcome Effort (by Endeavour II) and Welcome Pardner (by Pleiades II). In addition, Red Stamp is a half sister to Audrey (by Princequillo), dam of stakes winner Prince Mito (by Endeavour II), and to Tanned (by More Sun), third dam of 1991 Matriarch Stakes (USA-G1) winner Countus In.
Red Stamp and her siblings are out of the minor stakes winner Peggy Porter (by The Porter), whose dam Pretty Peggy (by Light Brigade) is a full sister to Glimmer, dam of 1938 Sheridan Handicap winner Shining Heels (by Flying Heels), and a half sister to 1925 Clipsetta Stakes winner Mary Kinkead (by Peter Quince). The next dam in the tail-female line, Hermosa, is a half sister to stakes winners Wheelwright (by Mazagan) and Superintendent (by Ogden) and is by the English import Oddfellow out of My Beauty, an English-bred daughter of 1894 Two Thousand Guineas and Derby Stakes winner Ladas.
Fun facts
Last updated: March 21, 2020
Race record
70 starts, 19 wins, 8 seconds, 12 thirds, US$519,460
1953:
- Won National Stallion Stakes (Males) (USA, 5FD, Belmont)
- Won Christiana Stakes (USA, 5.5FD, Delaware)
- Won Futurity Stakes (USA, 6.5FD, Belmont)
- Also finished first in the Saratoga Special (USA, 6FD, Saratoga) but disqualified to last
1955:
- Won San Carlos Handicap (USA, 7FD, Santa Anita)
- Won Lakes and Flowers Handicap (USA, 7FD, Hollywood)
- 3rd Santa Anita Handicap (USA, 10FD, Santa Anita)
- 3rd Hollywood Premiere Handicap (USA, 6FD, Hollywood)
- Also equaled the Santa Anita track record of 1:09 for 6 furlongs on dirt
1956:
- Won Santa Barbara Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Santa Anita)
- Won Palos Verdes Handicap (USA, 6FD, Santa Anita)
- Won Californian Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Hollywood)
- Won San Carlos Handicap (USA, 7FD, Santa Anita)
- Won Lakes and Flowers Handicap (USA, 6FD, Hollywood)
- 2nd Hollywood Premiere Handicap (USA, 6FD, Hollywood)
- 3rd Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap (USA, 10FD, Hollywood)
- 3rd Argonaut Handicap (USA, 8FD, Hollywood)
- 3rd Christopher J. Fitzgerald Handicap (USA, 7FD, Santa Anita)
1957:
- Won Hollywood Express Handicap (USA, 5.5FD, Hollywood; new world record 1:02-2/5)
- Won Los Angeles Handicap (USA, 7FD, Hollywood)
- 2nd Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap (USA, 10FD, Hollywood)
- 3rd Sunset Handicap (USA, 13FD, Hollywood)
- 3rd Hollywood Premiere Handicap (USA, 6FD, Hollywood)
- 3rd San Pasqual Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Santa Anita)
1958:
- 2nd San Bernardino Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Santa Anita)
- 2nd San Carlos Handicap (USA, 7FD, Santa Anita)
- 3rd Santa Anita Handicap (USA, 10FD, Santa Anita)
- 3rd San Pasqual Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Santa Anita)
Honors
American co-champion 2-year-old male (1953)
Assessments
Co-highweighted with Turn-to at 126 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1953, 2 pounds above the other co-champion 2-year-old male, Hasty Road, and Artismo.
Rated at 116 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1955, 14 pounds below champion High Gun.
Rated at 117 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1956, 15 pounds below champion Swaps.
Rated at 118 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1957, 10 pounds below champion Dedicate.
Rated at 115 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older males of 1958, 17 pounds below co-highweights Bold Ruler and Gallant Man and 16 pounds below Round Table, the official divisional champion.
As an individual
A smallish, plain brown horse, Porterhouse was a well-made animal of workmanlike rather than elegant type. He had a good shoulder, clean limbs, a straight, strong hind leg, and a good disposition. He could be faulted for being slightly over at the knee. He broke in the air in his last race at two and strained his back, an injury that may have given him intermittent problems for the remainder of his racing career. He was essentially a sprinter-miler though he could carry his speed further when he got an ideal trip.
As a stallion
According to records maintained by The Jockey Club, Porterhouse sired 187 winners (67.5%) and 15 stakes winners (5.4%) from 277 named foals.
Notable progeny
Farewell Party (USA), Our Cheri Amour (USA), Port Wine (USA)
Connections
Porterhouse was bred by Liz Whitney (then married to Dr. E. Cooper Person, Jr.), who raced him in the name of her Llangollen Farm. Trained by Charlie Whittingham. He stood at The Stallion Station in Kentucky, where he died in 1971.
Pedigree notes
Porterhouse is inbred 4x4 to 1923 French champion sire Teddy. He is a half brother to Golden Emblem II (by Tulyar), dam of 1971 Will Rogers Stakes winner Whittingham (by Command Pilot).
Porterhouse is out of Red Stamp, described as a “smallish bright bay” and “a good mother” by Daily Racing Form writer Charles Hatton. A winner of eight of her 23 starts, Red Stamp is a half sister to stakes winner Blue Cyprus (by Blue Larkspur), second dam of 1957 Californian Stakes winner Social Climber and third dam of 1976 Japanese Horse of the Year Tosho Boy and Grade 3 winner Confederate Yankee. She is also a half sister to Pray Do (by Pilate), dam of stakes winners Ordained (by Endeavour II), Wear and Tear (by War Relic), Welcome Effort (by Endeavour II) and Welcome Pardner (by Pleiades II). In addition, Red Stamp is a half sister to Audrey (by Princequillo), dam of stakes winner Prince Mito (by Endeavour II), and to Tanned (by More Sun), third dam of 1991 Matriarch Stakes (USA-G1) winner Countus In.
Red Stamp and her siblings are out of the minor stakes winner Peggy Porter (by The Porter), whose dam Pretty Peggy (by Light Brigade) is a full sister to Glimmer, dam of 1938 Sheridan Handicap winner Shining Heels (by Flying Heels), and a half sister to 1925 Clipsetta Stakes winner Mary Kinkead (by Peter Quince). The next dam in the tail-female line, Hermosa, is a half sister to stakes winners Wheelwright (by Mazagan) and Superintendent (by Ogden) and is by the English import Oddfellow out of My Beauty, an English-bred daughter of 1894 Two Thousand Guineas and Derby Stakes winner Ladas.
Fun facts
- Porterhouse was the first stakes winner and first champion trained by “The Bald Eagle,” Charlie Whittingham, a member of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame.
- A porterhouse steak is a composite cut comprising a T-shaped cut of the lumbar vertebrae with tenderloin on one side of the bone and strip steak on the other. It is one of the most expensive steak cuts and is best cooked by grilling or broiling. It may have taken its name from one of several “Porter House” hotels or restaurants of the 19th century.
Last updated: March 21, 2020