Loser Weeper

{{Infobox racehorse | horsename = Loser Weeper | image = | caption = | sire = [[Discovery (horse)|Discovery]] | grandsire = [[Display (horse)|Display]] | dam = Outdone | damsire = [[Pompey (horse)|Pompey]] | sex = [[Stallion (horse)|Stallion]] | foaled = 1945 | country = [[United States]] | color = [[Chestnut (coat)|Chestnut]] | breeder = [[Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr.]] | owner = [[Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr.]] | trainer = [[Bill Winfrey]] | record = 63: 16-5-7 | earnings = [[United States dollar|US$]]235,945 | race = [[Metropolitan Handicap]] (1949) [[Valley Forge Handicap]] (1949, 1950) [[Vosburgh Handicap]] (1949) [[Bay Shore Handicap]] (1949) [[Dixie Stakes|Dixie Handicap]] (1950) Edward Buke Handicap (1950) [[Butler Handicap]] (1950) [[Suburban Handicap]] (1950) | awards = | honors = | updated= }}

'''Loser Weeper''' (1945–1960) was an American [[Thoroughbred]] racehorse bred and raced by [[Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr.|Alfred Vanderbilt Jr.]] and trained by future [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame|U.S. Racing Hall of Fame]] inductee, [[Bill Winfrey]]. At the time of his retirement from racing in 1951, a major media publication for horse racing referred to Loser Weeper as "one of [[Discovery (horse)|Discovery's]] outstanding sons."

==Background== A foal of 1945, Loser Weeper was bred by Alfred Vanderbilt Jr.'s [[Sagamore Farm]] in [[Reisterstown, Maryland]]. His sire Discovery was purchased as a three-year-old by Vanderbilt and earned [[American Horse of the Year]] honors for him as well as a place in the U. S. Racing Hall of Fame.

Loser Weeper's dam was stakes winner Outdone, a daughter of the 1925 [[Belmont Futurity Stakes|Belmont Futurity]] winner, [[Pompey (horse)|Pompey]]. As a result of his breeding, Loser Weeper is a full brother to [[Miss Disco]], the dam of the very influential [[Leading sire in North America|National Champion]] and [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] sire [[Bold Ruler]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/05/16/archives/red-smith-sagamore-and-the-preakness.html|title=Red Smith - Sagamore and the Preakness|publisher=[[New York Times]], page 29 |date=1975-05-16|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref> Through another daughter, Delmarie, Pompey was also the damsire of [[Count Turf]], winner of the [[1951 Kentucky Derby]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kentuckyderby.com/history/year/1951 |title=1951 |publisher=Kentuckyderby.com |date= |access-date=2016-06-20 |archive-date=2016-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920135812/https://www.kentuckyderby.com/history/year/1951 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Racing career== As a three-year-old Loser Weeper did not have a significant win but did run second in the [[Kent Stakes]] and third in both the [[Dwyer Stakes]] and the race named for his sire, the [[Discovery Stakes|Discovery Handicap]]. He started to make an impact in racing as a four-year-old when in May 1949 he won the prestigious [[Metropolitan Handicap|Met Mile]] at [[Belmont Park]] under future [[Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame]] inductee [[Hedley Woodhouse]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1940s/drf1949051601/drf1949051601_3_1|title=Metropolitan Goes to Loser Weeper|publisher=Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives |date=1949-05-16|access-date=2020-05-27}}</ref> He ended the year with other important victories in the [[Bay Shore Handicap|Bay Shore]] and [[Vosburgh Handicap]]s plus the first of back-to-back wins in the [[Valley Forge Handicap]] at New Jersey's [[Garden State Park Racetrack|Garden State Park]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/ |title=Thomas H. Burns |publisher=Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives |date=1942-06-27 |access-date=2019-01-01 |archive-date=2020-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506002706/https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

At age five in 1950, Loser Weeper had his best year in racing. On May 1, he won the Edward Burke Handicap at [[Havre de Grace Racetrack]] in Maryland <ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1950050201/drf1950050201_41_1|title=Havre De Grace Statistics|publisher=Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives |date=1950-05-02|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> then seven days later won his second Valley Forge Handicap in New Jersey, defeating future Canadian Hall of Famer [[Arise (horse)|Arise]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1950050801/drf1950050801_5_1|title=Loser Weeper Nips Arise at Wire: Takes Valley Forge Second Year in Row |publisher=Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives |date=1950-05-08|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> Returning to Maryland, on May 14 Loser Weeper captured the 49th edition of the [[Dixie Stakes|Dixie Handicap]] at [[Pimlico Race Course|Pimlico]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1950051501/drf1950051501_1_5|title=Loser Weeper Registers Easy Triumph in Dixie|publisher=Daily Racing Form at University of Kentucky Archives |date=1950-05-15|access-date=2019-05-28}}</ref>

===Most important win=== Loser Weeper's most important triumph of his career came on May 31, 1950, when he beat a strong contingent in the [[Suburban Handicap]], in which [[Ben F. Whitaker|Florence Whitaker's]] [[My Request]] finished a neck back in second place. The overwhelming favorite among bettors was [[Christopher Chenery|Christopher Chenery's]] [[1950 Kentucky Derby|Kentucky Derby]] runner-up and [[Preakness Stakes|Preakness]] winner [[Hill Prince]], who ran a crowd-shocking third. The eventual 1950 [[American Horse of the Year]] finished more than seven lengths behind Loser Weeper. In sixth place came [[W. Deering Howe|Deering Howe's]] aging [[gelding]] [[Donor (horse)|Donor]], followed by Flying Missel, the second choice of the betting public owned by [[King Ranch]], who was seventh and last.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/370830709/ |title=Loser Weeper Wins Suburban as Hill Prince Runs Third|publisher=[[Baltimore Sun]], page 17|date=1950-05-31|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref>

At New York's [[Yonkers Raceway & Empire City Casino|Empire City Race Track]], Loser Weeper won the $50,000 [[Butler Handicap]] when Three Rings was disqualified for interference after posting a race-record time for a mile and three-sixteenths that was never surpassed in the event's nineteen-year history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35655393/st-louis-post-dispatch/ |title=Loser Weeper Wins Butler When Judges Disqualify Three Rings|publisher=St. Louis Post-Dispatch, page 63|date=1950-07-16|access-date=2019-05-27}}</ref>

In addition to his important wins, Loser Weeper ran third behind Cochise and runner-up [[My Request]] in the [[Massachusetts Handicap]] at [[Suffolk Downs]]. The winning time of 2:01 4/5 broke the track record by four-fifths of a second on a track rated fast.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/06/08/archives/25000-added-race-is-won-by-cochise-brandywine-entry-clips-mark-in.html|title=$25,000 Added Race is Won by Cochise|publisher=New York Times, Section Sports, page 53|date=1950-06-08 |access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref>

==Stud record== In June 1951, Sagamore Farm manager Ralph Kercheval announced that Loser Weeper would be retired to stud. The durable winner had competed in 63 races and although none of his progeny achieved anything close to his level of success, a significant percentage of them demonstrated that durability.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pedigreequery.com/progeny/loser+weeper|title=Loser Weeper - progeny |publisher=Pedigree Query (Select Web Ventures, LLC.)|date=2020-05-29 |access-date=2020-05-29}}</ref>

==Pedigree== {{Pedigree |name = Loser Weeper, chestnut stallion, 1945 |f = [[Discovery (horse)|Discovery]] |m = Outdone |ff = [[Display (horse)|Display]] |fm = Ariadne |mf = [[Pompey (horse)|Pompey]] |mm = Sweep Out |fff = [[Fair Play (horse)|Fair Play]] |ffm = Cicuta |fmf = Light Brigade |fmm = Adrienne |mff = [[Sun Briar]] |mfm = [[Cleopatra (horse)|Cleopatra]] |mmf = Sweep On |mmm = Dugout |ffff = [[Hastings (horse)|Hastings]] |fffm = Fairy Gold |ffmf = Nassovian |ffmm = Hemlock |fmff = Picton |fmfm = Bridge of Sighs |fmmf = His Majesty |fmmm = Adriana |mfff = [[Sundridge (horse)|Sundridge]] |mffm = Sweet Briar |mfmf = Corcyra |mfmm = Gallice |mmff = Sweep |mmfm = Yodler |mmmf = Under Fire |mmmm = Cloak (family: 8-d) }}

==References== {{Portal|Horses|Sports}} {{reflist}}

[[Category:1945 racehorse births]] [[Category:1960 racehorse deaths]] [[Category:Thoroughbred racehorses]] [[Category:Racehorses bred in Maryland]] [[Category:Racehorses trained in the United States]] [[Category:American racehorses]] [[Category:Thoroughbred family 8-d]] [[Category:Vanderbilt family]]