Hill Prince
Meadow Stable's 1950 Preakness Champion and Horse of the Year
Long prior to Secretariat's record-breaking victory in the 1973 Preakness Stakes, the Meadow racing stable won the second jewel in the Triple Crown in 1950 with a home-bred colt named Hill Prince.
1950 ushered in a new era of racing with the rise to prominence of the Virginia-based breeding operation and stable owned by Christopher T. Chenery who had purchased several cheap fillies in 1939, including a $750 yearling he would name Hildene, who would become The Meadow’s foundation mare. In 1946 Chenery bred Hildene to Princequillo — a promising but still unproven stallion standing for a $250 stud fee at Claiborne Farm. The result of that pairing produced Hill Prince, who would become the Meadow Stable's first champion and classic winner, and ultimately be elected into Thoroughbred racing's Hall of Fame.
Early Career
Hill Prince started his career off with a bang as a juvenile in 1949 for trainer Casey Hayes, winning six of his seven starts, including victories in the Cowdin Stakes, breaking the 6 ½-furlong track record at Aqueduct in the slop, and his only defeat coming in his first stakes attempt, the Sapling Stakes, in which he broke poorly and rallied from last to finish second. Chenery's breeding acumen was properly rewarded when Hill Prince was named champion 2-year-old by the nationally recognized Daily Racing Form poll.
Out for almost seven months, Hill Prince returned in April 1950, coming from far back to win the Experimental Free Handicap No. 1 going six furlongs. Ten days later he ran in the 1 1/16 mile Experimental Free Handicap No. 2, finishing ninth after a disastrous trip in which he stumbled and was impeded. But the rugged bay colt then bounced back big time by defeating King Ranch’s Hopeful winner Middleground in the April 22 Wood Memorial, which marked the beginning of a terrific rivalry.
With his regular rider the great Eddie Arcaro aboard, Hill Prince faced Middleground again in the Kentucky Derby. However, after being caught in close quarters he finished second, 1 ¼ lengths behind Middleground who was piloted by 16-year-old apprentice jockey Bill Boland. Only one week later, Hill Prince and Middleground renewed their battle for a third time in the one-mile Withers Stakes at Belmont, with Hill Prince turning the tables on his Derby conqueror, winning by 1 ½ lengths in a sharp 1:35 4/5.
Preakness Stakes
The two antagonists were back at it a week later in the May 20 Preakness Stakes, and this time Hill Prince crushed Middleground, winning the race by five lengths over a sloppy track. The chart caller described the action as follows: (Hill Prince) wrested control along the backstretch... allowed to race well off the rail on the bend... drew clear when roused and continued to increase his advantage while being ridden out.
It would be the first classic victory for Chenery and The Meadow, and its spoils included a $50,000 added purse and the impressive winning owner's trophy. Patterned from the original Woodlawn Vase created by Tiffany & Co. in 1860, Preakness owners' trophies are considered to be among the most beautiful and coveted in all of sports.
Among the earliest of Preakness owners' trophies in existence, the magnificent and distinctive piece stands over two feet tall. Few realize that this grand work of art, with all its sterling silver ornamental fluting and florals, actually tells the story of horse racing from the bottom up. At its base are a mare, foal and stallion referencing the importance of breeding and lineage; the trophy's center bowl contains the four representations of Nike, the winged goddess of victory; and the top showcases a statuesque Thoroughbred modeled after the pinnacle runner Lexington — one of the sport's most influential stallions who sired Preakness, the namesake winner of Pimlico's 1870 opening day stakes.
Passed down from Mr. Chenery to his daughter Margaret Carmichael — Penny Chenery's sister — the historic trophy remains a part of the family collection and currently resides on display at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville.
Later Career
Getting back to the racing career of Hill Prince, his triumph in Baltimore set up a much-anticipated rematch with Middleground in the Belmont Stakes.
But Casey Hayes made the dubious decision to first run his Preakness winner back in just 10 days later on May 30 against older horses in the 1 ¼-mile Suburban Handicap, which meant Hill Prince having to run four times in the month of May alone. To make matters worse, Hayes would do it without Arcaro, replacing him with new jockey Hedley Woodhouse, who had never ridden the colt before. In the race Hill Prince battled for the lead for three-quarters of a mile before giving way to finish a good third by 2 ¾ lengths despite giving the first two finishers a good deal of weight on the scale.
Although he was still favored in the Belmont, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when an exhausted Hill Prince tired to finish seventh, beaten four lengths in the Belmont by Middleground, thus ending their short but intense rivaly with a loss, yet winning their head-to head battles 3-2.
But Hayes wasn’t through. He ran Hill Prince back two weeks later in the 1 ¼-mile Dwyer Handicap, and after setting the pace, the Meadow colt finished second by 1 ½ lengths to Greek Song. Finally given two months off, he returned a fresh horse and rattled off impressive victories in the American Derby and Jerome Handicap under 129 pounds before nailing down Horse of the Year honors with a front-running four-length score in the prestigious two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup over Citation’s famed conqueror Noor.
Hill Prince would go on to win three more stakes in 1951 and 1952, including the Sunset Handicap at Hollywood Park, the New York Handicap at Belmont, and the San Marcos Handicap at Santa Anita, while placing in four other stakes, including a head defeat to Belmont Stakes winner Counterpoint in his attempt at a second consecutive Jockey Club Gold Cup.
He stood at Claiborne Farm where he sired 23 stakes winners, but is probably best known as the broodmare sire of racing’s first two Filly Triple Crown winners, Dark Mirage in 1968 and Shuvee in 1969.
Hill Prince died in 1970 at age 23 and was interred at Meadow Stud where he was born. In 1991 he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame. And now you know the rest of the 1950 Preakness winner's story!
1950 Track Program and Official Race Chart
