The terror of starting crews throughout the five years he raced, Display probably could have sported a considerably better race record had he not been in the habit of squandering his prodigious energies with his pre-race behavior. Eyewitnesses testified to his dragging two or three assistant starters all over the track for as much as 10 or 15 minutes before many of his races, and it was a rare day when Display didn't act up at the post. He still managed to win 23 of his 103 starts while consistently racing in good company and gained grudging respect for his toughness, stamina and no-holds barred attitude. He was not a particularly successful sire but left a lasting mark in pedigrees by siring the great Discovery.
Race record
103 starts, 23 wins, 25 seconds, 27 thirds, US$256,526
1925:
1926:
1927:
1928:
1929:
Assessments
Ranked eighth among American juvenile males of 1925 by The Blood-Horse.
Ranked fifth among American 3-year-old males of 1926 by The Blood-Horse.
Ranked fourth among American handicap males of 1927 by The Blood-Horse.
Ranked sixth among American handicap males of 1928 by The Blood-Horse.
Ranked sixth among American handicap males of 1929 by The Blood-Horse.
As an individual
A bay horse, Display was short-coupled with excellent legs and an Arabian-type head. He was infamous for his extremely difficult disposition and was a particularly bad actor at the post. His disposition did not improve after he went to stud. When The Blood-Horse's J. A. Estes saw Display at Mereworth Stud, he found the horse confined to a paddock with boarded sides to prevent his seeing out. Estes recalled that Display roamed his small territory constantly while wearing heavy chains on each forefoot and a muzzle on his head. The consensus of those who knew him was that the horse was not treacherous; he simply possessed an extremely dominant nature and bitterly resented being forced to man's will, a resentment probably amplified by the rough treatment commonly meted out by starting crews of that day.
As a stallion
The Jockey Club credits Display with 178 winners (59.1%) and 11 stakes winners (3.7%) from 301 named foals.
Notable progeny
Discovery (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Display was bred and owned by the senior Walter J. Salmon's Mereworth Stud. He was trained by Thomas J. Healey. He died of a heart attack at Mereworth in August 1944.
Pedigree notes
Display is inbred 3x5 to 1880 Derby Stakes winner Bend Or, 4x5 to nine-time English champion sire St. Simon and 5x5 to St. Simon's sire Galopin, winner of the 1895 Derby Stakes and a three-time English champion sire. He is a half brother to minor stakes winners Teheran (by Omar Khayyam) and Mad Career (by Mad Hatter). He is also a half brother to Citrus (by Swift and Sure), dam of multiple juvenile stakes winner Perpetuate (by Infinite) and second dam of multiple stakes winner Skin Deep, and to Give Over (by Flight of Time), dam of steeplechase stakes winner Rebel Coat (by Gino Rex).
Display's dam Cicuta is by dual Classic-placed stakes winner Nassovian and is a half sister to 1929 Hardwicke Stakes winner Posterity (by Son-in-Law) and to Conine (by 1910 Derby Stakes winner Lemberg), third dam of two-time American champion steeplechaser Elkridge. She was produced from the Spearmint mare Hemlock, whose dam, 1906 Oaks Stakes winner Keystone II (by Persimmon) also produced 1919 St. Leger Stakes winner Keysoe (by Swynford), 1927 Doncaster Cup winner Bythorne (by Swynford), 1920 Derby Stakes runner-up Archaic (by Polymelus) and Trestle (by Swynford), winner of the two-mile Northumberland Plate.
Books and media
Display is profiled in Chapter 5 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: August 16, 2020
Race record
103 starts, 23 wins, 25 seconds, 27 thirds, US$256,526
1925:
- Won Niagara Stakes
- 2nd Grey Stakes Handicap (CAN, 8FD, Old Woodbine)
- 2nd Queen City Club Stakes (USA)
- 2nd Walden Handicap (USA, 8FD, Pimlico)
- 3rd Pimlico Futurity (USA, 8FD, Pimlico)
1926:
- Won Preakness Stakes (USA, 9.5FD, Pimlico)
- Won Latonia Championship Stakes (USA, 14FD, Latonia)
- 2nd Cincinnati Derby (USA, 10FD, Coney Island; new track record 2:02)
- 2nd American Derby (USA, 12FD, Washington Park)
- 2nd Champlain Handicap (USA, 9FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Pierrepont Handicap (USA)
- 2nd Saratoga Cup (USA, 14FD, Saratoga)
- 3rd Empire City Handicap (USA, 10FD, Empire City)
- 3rd Travers Stakes (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- 3rd Chesapeake Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Havre de Grace)
- 3rd Havre de Grace Handicap (USA, 9FD, Havre de Grace)
- 3rd Bowie Handicap (USA, 12FD, Pimlico)
- 3rd Washington Handicap (USA, 10FD, Laurel)
1927:
- Won Baltimore Autumn Handicap (USA, 8f+70yD, Pimlico)
- Won Champlain Handicap (USA, 9FD, Saratoga)
- Won Ontario Jockey Club Handicap (CAN)
- Won Pimlico Cup Handicap (USA, 18FD, Pimlico)
- Won Toronto Cup Handicap (CAN, 9FD, Old Woodbine)
- Won Washington Handicap (USA, 10FD, Laurel)
- 2nd Jockey Club Gold Cup (USA, 16FD, Belmont; moved up from t3rd on disqualification of first-place Brown Bud)
- 2nd Post Handicap (USA)
- 2nd Twin City Handicap (USA, 10FD, Belmont)
- 2nd Bowie Handicap (USA, 12FD, Pimlico)
- 2nd Thanksgiving Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Bowie)
- 2nd Dixie Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Pimlico)
- 2nd Toronto Autumn Cup Handicap (CAN, 10FD, Old Woodbine)
- 2nd Brookdale Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- 3rd Brooklyn Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- 3rd Gadsden D. Bryan Memorial Handicap (USA)
1928:
- Won Hawthorne Gold Cup (USA, 10FD, Hawthorne; new track record 2:03)
- Won Toronto Autumn Cup Handicap (CAN, 10FD, Old Woodbine)
- 2nd Saratoga Cup (USA, 14FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Pimlico Cup Handicap (USA, 18FD, Pimlico)
- 2nd Bowie Handicap (USA, 12FD, Pimlico)
- 2nd Washington Handicap (USA, 10FD, Laurel)
- 3rd Jockey Club Gold Cup (USA, 16FD, Belmont)
1929:
- Won Baltimore Autumn Handicap (USA, 8f+70yD, Pimlico)
- 2nd Arlington Handicap (USA, 9FD, Arlington Park)
- 3rd Whitney Stakes (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- 3rd Windsor Hotel Cup Handicap (CAN)
- 3rd Crusaders Special Handicap (USA)
- 3rd Dixie Handicap (USA, 9.5FD, Pimlico)
- 3rd King Edward Gold Cup Handicap (CAN, 8.5FD, Old Woodbine)
- 3rd Pimlico Spring Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Pimlico)
- 3rd Washington Handicap (USA, 10FD, Laurel)
Assessments
Ranked eighth among American juvenile males of 1925 by The Blood-Horse.
Ranked fifth among American 3-year-old males of 1926 by The Blood-Horse.
Ranked fourth among American handicap males of 1927 by The Blood-Horse.
Ranked sixth among American handicap males of 1928 by The Blood-Horse.
Ranked sixth among American handicap males of 1929 by The Blood-Horse.
As an individual
A bay horse, Display was short-coupled with excellent legs and an Arabian-type head. He was infamous for his extremely difficult disposition and was a particularly bad actor at the post. His disposition did not improve after he went to stud. When The Blood-Horse's J. A. Estes saw Display at Mereworth Stud, he found the horse confined to a paddock with boarded sides to prevent his seeing out. Estes recalled that Display roamed his small territory constantly while wearing heavy chains on each forefoot and a muzzle on his head. The consensus of those who knew him was that the horse was not treacherous; he simply possessed an extremely dominant nature and bitterly resented being forced to man's will, a resentment probably amplified by the rough treatment commonly meted out by starting crews of that day.
As a stallion
The Jockey Club credits Display with 178 winners (59.1%) and 11 stakes winners (3.7%) from 301 named foals.
Notable progeny
Discovery (USA)
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Display was bred and owned by the senior Walter J. Salmon's Mereworth Stud. He was trained by Thomas J. Healey. He died of a heart attack at Mereworth in August 1944.
Pedigree notes
Display is inbred 3x5 to 1880 Derby Stakes winner Bend Or, 4x5 to nine-time English champion sire St. Simon and 5x5 to St. Simon's sire Galopin, winner of the 1895 Derby Stakes and a three-time English champion sire. He is a half brother to minor stakes winners Teheran (by Omar Khayyam) and Mad Career (by Mad Hatter). He is also a half brother to Citrus (by Swift and Sure), dam of multiple juvenile stakes winner Perpetuate (by Infinite) and second dam of multiple stakes winner Skin Deep, and to Give Over (by Flight of Time), dam of steeplechase stakes winner Rebel Coat (by Gino Rex).
Display's dam Cicuta is by dual Classic-placed stakes winner Nassovian and is a half sister to 1929 Hardwicke Stakes winner Posterity (by Son-in-Law) and to Conine (by 1910 Derby Stakes winner Lemberg), third dam of two-time American champion steeplechaser Elkridge. She was produced from the Spearmint mare Hemlock, whose dam, 1906 Oaks Stakes winner Keystone II (by Persimmon) also produced 1919 St. Leger Stakes winner Keysoe (by Swynford), 1927 Doncaster Cup winner Bythorne (by Swynford), 1920 Derby Stakes runner-up Archaic (by Polymelus) and Trestle (by Swynford), winner of the two-mile Northumberland Plate.
Books and media
Display is profiled in Chapter 5 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
- Display's nickname was “The Iron Horse.”
- Display was the second leading money earner in American racing history behind Zev at the time of his retirement.
- The Display Stakes was inaugurated at the old Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada, in 1956. It is currently carded for 2-year-olds at 7 furlongs on the main track at the modern Woodbine Racetrack.
Photo credit
Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: August 16, 2020