Maximilian J. "Max" Hirsch (July 12, 1880 - April 3, 1969) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 172 days remaining. ... Year 1880 (MDCCCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... April 3 is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 272 days remaining. ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... 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. ... 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. ... In horse racing, a trainer is responsible for preparing a horse for races. ...

Born in Fredericksburg, Texas, Hirsch became one of the most successful trainers in Thoroughbred horse racing history. Hirsch conditioned horses for various owners including Virginia Fair Vanderbilt but is best known for his work with the King Rach Stable whom he joined in the 1930s and for whom he trained until his death in 1969. Fredericksburg is a city in Gillespie County, Texas, United States. ... Thoroughbred horse racing in the United Kingdom is governed by the Horseracing Regulatory Authority (the HRA) which makes and enforces the rules, issues licences or permits to trainers and jockeys, and runs the races through their race course officials. ... King Ranch logo - the running W brand King Ranch, located in south Texas between Corpus Christi, Texas and Brownsville, Texas, is one of the worlds largest ranches (larger than Rhode Island). ...

Max Hirsch won the first of his four Belmont Stakes in 1928 with Vito. In 1936, he won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes with Bold Venture and in 1946 captured the U.S. Triple Crown with Assault. Hirsch won his third Kentucky Derby with Middleground in 1950 who also won the Belmont Stakes. The Belmont Stakes is a prestigious Grade I stakes race held yearly in June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. ... The Kentucky Derby, the worlds preeminent horse race, is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses, staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. ... The Preakness Stakes is a classic 1 3/16 mile (1. ... The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (Triple Crown for short, but the term is also used in other sports, and thus the full name should be used when it could cause confusion) consists of three races for three-year-old thoroughbred horses. ... Middleground was the name of a winning thoroughbred race horse. ...

Hirsch trained Hall of Fame horses Stymie, Grey Lag and Sarazen. He said Sarazen's win over the French Champion Epinard in the tird race of the 1924 International Specials was his greatest thrill in racing. Hirsch's other notable horses include the 1954 Belmont Stakes and Jockey Club Gold Cup winner, High Gun. A small chestnut born on April 4, 1941 (who started out running with his head high, but unfortunately, also running slowly), Stymie was one of the greatest bargains in thoroughbred racing history. ... 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. ... Sarazen (1921-1940) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. ... International Special No. ... The Jockey Club Gold Cup is a prestigious thoroughbred horse race open to horses three years old and upward, established in 1919. ...

Max Hirsch was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1959. His son Buddy followed in his footsteps and too was voted into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. 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. ...

References

• Texas Sports Hall of Fame article on Max Hirsch and the International Special No.3
• Max Hirsch at the United States' National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame