Damascus

Damascus (April 14, 1964 – August 8, 1995) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1967 Horse of the Year after winning the Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, Travers Stakes, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Woodward Stakes, and Dwyer Stakes. Damascus also came third in the Kentucky Derby that year. In a race many consider the "Race of the Century," Damascus won the 1967 Woodward by 10 lengths over both Dr. Fager and Buckpasser after his connections, as well as those of Buckpasser, used stablemates to set a blistering pace that weakened Dr. Fager who never was able to rate. In Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century, Dr. Fager is ranked 6th and Buckpasser is ranked 14th, while Damascus is ranked 16th. In the Dwyer Stakes, Damascus closed from 12 lengths back and carried 16 pounds more than the second placed horse. Background Damascus was sired by Sword Dancer (1959's Horse of the Year) out of Kerala (by My Babu) foaled at the Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. He was owned and bred by Edith Woodward Bancroft, whose father, William Woodward Sr., owned Belair Stud and won five Belmonts in the 1930s. Edith Bancroft inherited the famed Belair white silks with red polka dots and scarlet cap but never used Belair as a stable name. Damascus was trained by Hall of Famer Frank Whiteley Jr. and ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Bill Shoemaker.