Discovery (USA)
March 3, 1931 – August 28, 1958
Display (USA) x Ariadne (USA), by Light Brigade (GB)
Family 23-b
March 3, 1931 – August 28, 1958
Display (USA) x Ariadne (USA), by Light Brigade (GB)
Family 23-b
A slow-developing horse, Discovery was one of the better 3-year-olds of 1934 but came into his own at 4 and 5. Gifted with all the toughness of his sire Display but free of his sire's tempestuous temperament, Discovery proved a tremendous weight carrier. The 139 pounds he lugged to victory in the 1935 Merchants and Citizens' Handicap at Saratoga is still the modern American record for the highest weight successfully carried in a route race on the flat. As a sire, Discovery was fairly successful but made a lasting mark on pedigrees through a few key daughters.
Race record
63 starts, 27 wins, 10 seconds, 10 thirds, US$195,287
1933:
1934:
1935:
1936:
Honors
Assessments
Discovery was rated #37 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).
Discovery was ranked second among American 3-year-old males of 1934 by The Blood-Horse.
As an individual
A massively built, handsome chestnut with excellent conformation, Discovery stood 16.1 hands. He was ordinarily a game performer but would give up and refuse to extend himself further if repeatedly slammed off stride, a tendency rivals' jockeys sometimes used to their advantage. He also had a quirk of preferring to run on the rail if he could. The gentlemanly nature he showed during his racing career extended into his stud career.
As a stallion
Discovery's highest sire ranking was in 1944, when he was fifth on the American general sire list; he was also seventh in 1948, ninth in 1949 and 10th in 1946. He ranked four times among the top 10 American broodmare sires, peaking at 3rd in 1953. According to Jockey Club records, Discovery sired 217 winners (72.6%) and 25 stakes winners (8.4%) from 299 named foals. He typically passed on his own soundness and durability. Discovery is a Solid chef-de-race in the Roman dosage system.
Notable progeny
Conniver (USA), Dispose (USA), Find (USA), Geisha (USA), Knockdown (USA), Loser Weeper (USA), Miss Disco (USA), My Recipe (USA), Too Timely (USA), Traffic Court (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Bed o' Roses (USA), Bold Ruler (USA), Cordially (USA), Hasty Road (USA), Independence (USA), Intentionally (USA), Lake Delaware (USA), Native Dancer (USA), Traffic Judge (USA)
Connections
Discovery was bred by Walter J. Salmon's Mereworth Farm. He was owned first by Adolphe Pons and then by Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, who purchased the colt for US$25,000 as a juvenile after the colt had won two of his first 13 starts. Discovery was trained by John R. Pryce prior to his sale and by Joseph H. “Bud” Stotler thereafter. Discovery stood at Vanderbilt's Sagamore Farm in Maryland throughout his career. He was pensioned in 1957 and was humanely destroyed in 1958 due to chronic foot pain from an earlier episode of laminitis.
Pedigree notes
Discovery is inbred 4x5 to Bend Or and 5x5 to St. Simon. His dam Ariadne is a half sister to the stakes winner Adria (by Hourless). His second dam Adrienne (by His Majesty) is a half sister to the good stakes winners Coquette (second dam of 1946 Kentucky Oaks winner First Page) and Celandria, both by Celt. His third dam Adriana (by Hamburg) is a half sister to the good stakes winners Goldsmith (by Meddler) and Broom Flower (by Broomstick).
Books and media
Discovery is one of 205 stallions whose accomplishments at stud are profiled in Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, The Australian Bloodhorse Review), a massive reference work written by Jennifer Churchill, Andrew Reichard and Byron Rogers.
Fun facts
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: October 27, 2024
Race record
63 starts, 27 wins, 10 seconds, 10 thirds, US$195,287
1933:
- 2nd Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (USA, 8FD, Latonia)
- 2nd Walden Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Pimlico)
- 3rd Hopeful Stakes (USA, 6.5FD, Saratoga)
- 3rd Breeders' Futurity (USA, 6FD, Latonia)
- 3rd Richard Johnson Stakes (USA, 6FD, Havre de Grace)
1934:
- Won Rhode Island Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Narragansett Park; new world record 1:55)
- Won Potomac Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Havre de Grace)
- Won Maryland Handicap (USA, 10FD, Laurel)
- Won Whitney Stakes (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- Won Brooklyn Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- Won Kenner Stakes (USA, 9.5FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Classic Stakes (USA, 10FD, Arlington Park)
- 2nd Kentucky Derby (USA, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd American Derby (USA, 10FD, Washington Park)
- 3rd Preakness Stakes (USA, 9.5FD, Pimlico)
- 3rd Havre de Grace Handicap (USA, Havre de Grace)
- 3rd Chesapeake Stakes (USA, Havre de Grace)
1935:
- Won Hawthorne Gold Cup (USA, 10FD, Hawthorne)
- Won Detroit Challenge Cup (USA, 9.5FD, Detroit; equaled track record 1:58-1/5)
- Won Brooklyn Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct; new world record 1:48-1/5)
- Won Arlington Handicap (USA, 10FD, Arlington Park; new track record 2:01-1/5)
- Won Bunker Hill Handicap (USA, 9FD, Suffolk Downs)
- Won Butler Handicap (USA, 9FD, Empire City)
- Won Cincinnati Handicap (USA, 10FD, Cincinnati)
- Won Stars and Stripes Handicap (USA, 9FD, Arlington Park)
- Won Merchants' and Citizens' Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Saratoga)
- Won Whitney Stakes (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- Won Wilson Stakes (USA, 8FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Narragansett Special (USA, 9.5FD, Narragansett Park)
- 2nd Suburban Handicap (USA, 10FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Massachusetts Handicap (USA, 9FD, Suffolk Downs)
- 3rd Rockingham Park Handicap (USA, 9FD, Rockingham)
1936:
- Won Brooklyn Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- Won Saratoga Handicap (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- Won San Carlos Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Santa Anita)
- Won Whitney Stakes (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- Won Wilson Stakes (USA, 8FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Narragansett Special (USA, 9.5FD, Narragansett Park)
- 2nd Saratoga Cup (USA, 14FD, Saratoga)
Honors
- National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 1969)
- Saratoga Hoofprints Walk of Fame (inducted as part of the inaugural class in 2013)
- American Horse of the Year (1935)
- American champion handicap male (1935, 1936)
Assessments
Discovery was rated #37 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).
Discovery was ranked second among American 3-year-old males of 1934 by The Blood-Horse.
As an individual
A massively built, handsome chestnut with excellent conformation, Discovery stood 16.1 hands. He was ordinarily a game performer but would give up and refuse to extend himself further if repeatedly slammed off stride, a tendency rivals' jockeys sometimes used to their advantage. He also had a quirk of preferring to run on the rail if he could. The gentlemanly nature he showed during his racing career extended into his stud career.
As a stallion
Discovery's highest sire ranking was in 1944, when he was fifth on the American general sire list; he was also seventh in 1948, ninth in 1949 and 10th in 1946. He ranked four times among the top 10 American broodmare sires, peaking at 3rd in 1953. According to Jockey Club records, Discovery sired 217 winners (72.6%) and 25 stakes winners (8.4%) from 299 named foals. He typically passed on his own soundness and durability. Discovery is a Solid chef-de-race in the Roman dosage system.
Notable progeny
Conniver (USA), Dispose (USA), Find (USA), Geisha (USA), Knockdown (USA), Loser Weeper (USA), Miss Disco (USA), My Recipe (USA), Too Timely (USA), Traffic Court (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Bed o' Roses (USA), Bold Ruler (USA), Cordially (USA), Hasty Road (USA), Independence (USA), Intentionally (USA), Lake Delaware (USA), Native Dancer (USA), Traffic Judge (USA)
Connections
Discovery was bred by Walter J. Salmon's Mereworth Farm. He was owned first by Adolphe Pons and then by Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, who purchased the colt for US$25,000 as a juvenile after the colt had won two of his first 13 starts. Discovery was trained by John R. Pryce prior to his sale and by Joseph H. “Bud” Stotler thereafter. Discovery stood at Vanderbilt's Sagamore Farm in Maryland throughout his career. He was pensioned in 1957 and was humanely destroyed in 1958 due to chronic foot pain from an earlier episode of laminitis.
Pedigree notes
Discovery is inbred 4x5 to Bend Or and 5x5 to St. Simon. His dam Ariadne is a half sister to the stakes winner Adria (by Hourless). His second dam Adrienne (by His Majesty) is a half sister to the good stakes winners Coquette (second dam of 1946 Kentucky Oaks winner First Page) and Celandria, both by Celt. His third dam Adriana (by Hamburg) is a half sister to the good stakes winners Goldsmith (by Meddler) and Broom Flower (by Broomstick).
Books and media
Discovery is one of 205 stallions whose accomplishments at stud are profiled in Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, The Australian Bloodhorse Review), a massive reference work written by Jennifer Churchill, Andrew Reichard and Byron Rogers.
Fun facts
- After Discovery's second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, jockey Johnny Bejshak complained that his mount's chances had been compromised by the infield crowd. For the final 3 furlongs, Bejshak claimed that his colt was jumping people who were stretched out under the fence. If true, it certainly didn't help Discovery against Cavalcade, who won handily by 2-1/2 lengths.
- Discovery carried an average weight of 130 pounds in his 19 starts at 4. In 14 starts at 5, he carried an average of 132 pounds, including an impost of 143 pounds for the Merchants' and Citizens' Handicap (he finished fifth).
- The Discovery Handicap was inaugurated in 1944. It is currently run as a Grade 3 race over 9 furlongs on dirt for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct.
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: October 27, 2024