Exterminator
Exterminator, 1922
Sire:	McGee
Grandsire:	White Knight
Dam:	Fair Empress
Damsire:	Jim Gore
Sex:	Gelding
Foaled:	1915
Country:	USA
Colour:	Chestnut
Breeder:	F. D. "Dixie" Knight
Owner:	J. Cal Milam Willis Sharpe Kilmer. Racing silks: Green, brown sash, orange sleeves, green cap.
Trainer:	J. Cal Milam Henry McDaniel
Record:	99: 50-17-17
Earnings:	$252,996
Major Racing Wins & Honours & Awards
Major Racing Wins
Kentucky Derby (1918) Saratoga Cup (1918, 1919, 1920, 1921) Pimlico Cup (1919, 1920, 1921) Toronto Autumn Cup (1920, 1921, 1922) Autumn Gold Cup (1921 & 1922) Brooklyn Handicap (1922) Philadelphia Handicap (1923)
Racing Awards
U.S. Champion Older Male Horse (1920, 1921, 1922) United States Horse of the Year (1922)
Honours
United States Racing Hall of Fame (1957) #29 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century
Infobox last updated on: September 22, 2006. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A gelding is a castrated animal—in English, a castrated male horse. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Chestnuts. ... The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. ... The Brooklyn Handicap is a race for thoroughbred horses. ... Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse is a American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. ... The Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. ... The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. ... In 1999, The Blood-Horse magazine compiled a list of what its staff members considered to be the top 100 racehorses of the 20th Century who had competed in the United States. ...

Exterminator (May 30, 1915 - September 26, 1945) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 1918 Kentucky Derby, and in 1922 won Horse of the Year honors. May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Thoroughbred race horses The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known as a race horse. ... Horse-racing is an equestrian sporting activity which has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times were an early example, as was the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. ... The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. ... The Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. ...

The lanky chestnut colt was bred by F. D. "Dixie" Knight (Mrs. M.J. Mizner, Knight's mother, was said to be the actual breeder) and foaled at Almahurst Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. Exterminator was sired by McGee who also produced Donerail, the winner of the 1915 Kenturky Derby. At the Saratoga Paddock sale of 1916, he was bought as a yearling for $1,500 by J. Cal Milam who trained his own horses. The big colt grew fast, reaching 16.3 hands at two but he was awkward and coarse looking. For this reason, Milam had him gelded. On June 30, 1917 at Latonia Race Track in Covington, Kentucky, Exterminator made his debut in a six-furlong maiden race that he won by three lengths. Sent to race in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, he suffered a muscle sprain and Milam gave him time off to grow into his size, which by now was 17 hands. Still, he had earned $1,500 and a potential nomination to the Kentucky Derby. Lexington, Kentucky, United States, known as the Horse Capital of the World, is located in the heart of the Bluegrass region. ... Donerail was the winner of the 1913 Kentucky Derby. ... A gelding is a castrated animal—in English, a castrated male horse. ... Latonia Race Track c. ... Downtown Covington has many wooded streets and historic buildings Covington is a city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. ... Nickname: Motto: The river and the land sustain us. ...

Before Exterminator could begin his third season, Milam sold him to Willis Sharpe Kilmer for $9,000 and a pair of fillies, quite a bit of money for the times...especially as Kilmer had only authorized his future U.S. Hall of Fame trainer, Henry McDaniel, to pay about $700 for a "workhorse." Kilmer bought Exterminator to help his prized colt, Sun Briar in his workouts. (Kilmer had purchased his colt at the same sale Milam bought his, but for $5,000.)

Kilmer didn't think much of his new purchase; he called him "that Truck Horse," or "the goat." Exterminator was supposed to stay behind Sun Briar merely to urge him on to greater effort, but he ran easily beside Sun Briar unless held back. Even then, it was no effort to match Sun Briar...and Sun Briar had topped his juvenile division, winning 5 of 9 starts. Henry McDaniel was impressed by Exterminator's understanding of his job. He pressed when he was supposed to, held back when necessary. McDaniel considered him the most intelligent thoroughbred he'd ever known. Unfortunately, Sun Briar, who had won U.S. Two-yr-Old Champion Colt honors, developed ringbone and Kilmer suddenly had no horse for the Derby. He was urged to run Exterminator by McDaniel, but wouldn't hear of running "that goat" in his colors. It took Colonel Matt Winn, president of Churchill Downs, to convince him. Winn had seen the colt's workouts and was very impressed. Eclipse Award for Outstanding Two-Year-Old Male Horse is a American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. ... Ringbone is exostosis (bone growth) in the pastern or coffin joint of a horse. ... Matt Winn & some Kentucky Derby favorites, Time magazine cover, May 10, 1937 Colonel Martin J. Matt Winn (1861 - October 6, 1949) was a prominent personality in American thoroughbred horse racing history and president of Churchill Downs racetrack, home to the Kentucky Derby race that he made famous. ... Composite image of Churchill Downs on Derby Day, 1901 Churchill Downs, located on Central Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky, is a thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby. ...

The morning of the race, it poured with rain. The track was deep in mud. Not since he was a two-year-old had Exterminator raced, and none of his races could be considered a suitable prep for the prestigious Kentucky Derby. Ridden by a disappointed Willie Knapp, who'd expected to be up on Sun Briar, Exterminator went off at odds of 30-1 to the heavily favored War Cloud. Exterminator raced at the back until the field turned for home, then he turned it on, flying down the track, passing one horse after the other. Nearing the wire, he was coming on stronger than ever, taking on Escoba, who was all that stood between Exterminator and the roses. He won the Derby by a length. War Cloud (1915-1923) was an British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first horse to compete in all three U.S.Triple Crown races. ...

Willie Knapp became an instant fan of the tall chestnut gelding. Many years later he said of the champion: "When he was at his best, Exterminator could have beaten Man O' War or Citation or Kelso or any other horse that ever lived on any track doing anything." Man O War, (March 29, 1917 Nursery Stud farm, Lexington, Kentucky - November 1, 1947, Faraway Farm) [1] is considered by many to be the greatest US thoroughbred racehorse of all time. ... Citation (April 11, 1945 - August 8, 1970) was a American thoroughbred horse-racing Triple Crown champion. ... // Early Career Kelso, born on April 4, 1957 was an American thoroughbred race horse and is considered to be among the best racehorses of the Twentieth century. ...

When Man O' War was three, Kilmer tried for a match race between the two horses. Somehow, Man O' War's owner, Samuel Riddle, although seeming to agree, never managed to have that happen. Samuel Doyle Riddle (July 1, 1861 - January 8, 1951) He was born in Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, a small town southwest of Philadelphia given the family name in honor of his grandfather. ...

As a gelding, Exterminator went on to compete in 99 races, winning 50, finishing second and third, 17 times each. His lifetime earnings amounted to $252,996. Beaten in the Brooklyn Handicap by Grey Lag, Exterminator got better as he got older and later defeated Gray Lag in the same race. The Daily Racing Form named Exterminator U.S. Champion Older Male Horse three straight times from 1920 through 1922. The Brooklyn Handicap is a race for thoroughbred horses. ... Gray Lag was a thoroughbred race horse born in Kentucky in 1918 and bred by a man everyone called King of the Turf, John E. Madden. ... The Daily Racing Form, LLC (DRF) is a broadsheet newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois by Frank Brunell. ... Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse is a American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. ...

100 race start myth

Found frequently and in long time error is the assertion that Exterminator started in 100 races. Per the research and subsequent book (Exterminator - #18 in the Thoroughbred Legends series) author Eva Jolene Boyd reviewed all records of his starts and the record keeping by the Daily Racing Form and found evidence that he only had 99 official racing starts. The Daily Racing Form, LLC (DRF) is a broadsheet newspaper founded in 1894 in Chicago, Illinois by Frank Brunell. ...

The 100th "start" was an exhibition run by himself alone at Hawthorne Race Course in Cicero, Illinois September 1922. It was not for purse money and of his win, place or show finishes none are uplifted by this walkover effort in a public workout. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Incorporated Town in 1869. ...

Post Racing

Racing until the age of 9, a relatively old age for a horse, Exterminator was called by his many fans "Old Bones," or "The Galloping Hatrack," (amongst the stable lads, he was "Old Shang"). He was retired in 1924 to a life of grass and leisure, with a succession of companion ponies, all named Peanuts, at his side.

Exterminator lived until he was thirty, passing away on September 26, 1945 in his stall at Sun Briar Court; which has since been razed. At the time of his death it was reported that he was bured beside several of the companion ponies (all named "Peanuts") although no markers exist today reflecting their grave. Exterminator's grave stone is in former La France Pet Cemetery now renamed Whispering Pines Pet Cemetery, Binghamton, New York and is shared with fellow Kilmer owned and raced horses: Sun Briar (b. 1915 - d.1943) and the mare Suntinca (b. 1929 - d. 1947). Binghamton is a city located in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. ...

Modern Recognition

In 1957, Exterminator was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and in The Blood-Horse ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, he was ranked #29. The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers. ... The Blood-Horse is an international weekly news magazine about Thoroughbred horses, horse breeding, and horseracing. ... In 1999, The Blood-Horse magazine compiled a list of what its staff members considered to be the top 100 racehorses of the 20th Century who had competed in the United States. ...

References

• Exterminator's pedigree and photo
• Exterminator's page in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

• Exterminator, One of the Greatest

• Exterminator's Kentucky Derby
• Boyd, Eva Jolene. Exterminator Eclipse Press (2002) ISBN 978-1581500875
• Grave of Exterminator