The title ofAmerican Champion Older Dirt Male Horse is an AmericanThoroughbredhorse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of theEclipse Awards program as the award forChampion Older Male Horse.
The award originated in 1936 when theDaily Racing Form (DRF) began naming an annual champion. In the same year, the Baltimore-basedTurf and Sports Digest magazine instituted a similar award. Starting in 1950, the Thoroughbred Racing Associations (TRA) began naming its own champion. The following list provides the name of the horses chosen by these organizations. Whenever there were different champions named, the horses are listed side-by-side with the one chosen as champion by theDaily Racing Form noted with the letters (DRF), the one chosen by the Thoroughbred Racing Associations by the letters (TRA) and the one chosen byTurf and Sports Digest by the letters (TSD). Prior to 1971 this award was referred to as "Champion Handicap Male Horse". TheDaily Racing Form version was open to any horse, three years old and up and this award was given to some Champions at the age of three, such asCitation,Buckpasser,Damascus andArts and Letters.
Champions from 1887 through 1935 were selected retrospectively by a panel of experts as published byThe Blood-Horse magazine.[1]
In 2015, theDaily Racing Form, the Thoroughbred Racing Associations, and theNational Turf Writers Association decided that the award would be renamed and awarded to older horses proficient in dirt and main track races.[2]
| Year | Horse | Age | Trainer | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Coaltown | 4 | Ben A. Jones | Calumet Farm |
| 1948 | Citation (DRF) | 3 | Ben A. Jones | Calumet Farm |
| 1948 | Shannon II (TSD)[7] | 7 | William Molter | Neil S. McCarthy |
| 1947 | Armed | 6 | Ben A. Jones | Calumet Farm |
| 1946 | Armed | 5 | Ben A. Jones | Calumet Farm |
| 1945 | Stymie | 4 | Hirsch Jacobs | Ethel D. Jacobs |
| 1944 | Devil Diver | 5 | John M. Gaver Sr. | Helen Hay Whitney |
| 1943 | Market Wise (TSD)[8] | 5 | George W. Carroll | Louis Tufano |
| 1943 | Devil Diver (DRF) | 4 | John M. Gaver Sr. | Helen Hay Whitney |
| 1942 | Whirlaway | 4 | Ben A. Jones | Calumet Farm |
| 1941 | Mioland (DRF) | 4 | Tom Smith | Charles S. Howard |
| 1941 | Big Pebble (TSD)[9] | 5 | William B. Finnegan | Edward S. Moore |
| 1940 | Challedon | 4 | Louis J. Schaefer | William L. Brann |
| 1939 | Kayak II | 4 | Horatio Luro | Charles S. Howard |
| 1938 | Seabiscuit | 5 | Tom Smith | Charles S. Howard |
| 1937 | Seabiscuit | 4 | Tom Smith | Charles S. Howard |
| 1936 | Discovery | 5 | Bud Stotler | Alfred G. Vanderbilt II |
| Year | Horse | Age | Trainer | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1886 | Troubadour | 4 | John W. Rogers | Samuel S. Brown |
| 1885 | Freeland | 6 | John W. Rogers | Edward Corrigan |
| 1884 | General Monroe | 6 | Walter C. Rollins | E. J. McElmeel |
| 1884 | Drake Carter | 4 | Green B. Morris | Morris & Patton |
| 1883 | Eole | 5 | Evert V. Snedecker | Frederick Gebhard |
| 1882 | Hindoo | 4 | James G. Rowe Sr. | Dwyer Brothers Stable |
| 1881 | Glenmore | 6 | William Jennings Sr. | William Jennings Sr. |
| 1881 | Checkmate | 6 | not found | James T. Williams |
| 1880 | Monitor | 4 | R. Wyndham Walden | George L. Lorillard |
| 1879 | Bramble | 4 | James G. Rowe Sr. | Dwyer Brothers Stable |
| 1878 | Parole | 5 | William Brown | Pierre Lorillard IV |
| 1877 | Ten Broeck | 5 | Harry Colston | Frank B. Harper |
| 1877 | Parole | 4 | William Brown | Pierre Lorillard IV |
| 1876 | Tom Ochiltree | 4 | R. Wyndham Walden | George L. Lorillard |
| 1876 | Ten Broeck | 4 | Harry Colston | Frank B. Harper |
| 1875 | Preakness | 5 | Charles S. Littlefield | Milton H. Sanford |
| 1875 | Springbok | 5 | Col. David McDaniel | Col. David McDaniel |
| 1874 | Springbok | 4 | Col. David McDaniel | Col. David McDaniel |
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