Exterminator Horse Profile

Horse > Exterminator

Exterminator's Accomplishments

• At 3 Years WON Kentucky Derby, Carrollton Handicap, Ellicott City Handicap, Pimlico Autumn Handicap, Latonia Cup, Thanksgiving Handicap
  • 2ND Latonia Derby, Kenner Stakes, National Handicap
  • 3RD Washington Handicap, Bowie Handicap, Cohoes Handicap
• At 4 Years WON Ben Ali Handicap, Camden Handicap, Galt House Handicap, Saratoga Cup, Pimlico Cup Handicap,
  • 2ND Champlain Handicap, Harford County Handicap, Havre de Grace Handicap, Annapolis Handicap, Latonia Cup
  • 3RD Kentucky Handicap, Delaware Handicap, Merchants’ and Citizens’ Handicap
• At 5 Years WON Long Beach Handicap, Brookdale Handicap, Windsor Jockey Club Handicap, George Hendrie Memorial Handicap,
  Saratoga Cup, Autumn Gold Cup, Toronto Autumn Cup, Ontario Jockey Club Cup, Pimlico Cup
  • 2ND Saratoga Handicap, Champlain Handicap
  • 3RD Suburban Handicap, Frontier Handicap

Exterminator's Kentucky Derby

May 11, 1918 - The 44th Winner

Time: :24 1/5, :49 1/5, 1:16 1/5, 1:43 3/5, 2:10 4/5. Track muddy. Went to post at 5:19. At post 2 minutes. Start good and slow. Won handily; second and third driving.

EXTERMINATOR moved up fast after going three-quarters and, slipping through next to the inner rail, raced into the lead and outstayed ESCOBA in the final drive. ESCOBA raced for- wardly from the start and made a resolute effort in the last eighth, but tired in the last sixteenth. VIVA AMERICA showed the most early speed, but found the distance a trifle too far for her. *WAR CLOUD met with much interference on the first two turns, but remained close up to the last quarter, where he tired and dropped back. SEWELL COMBS raced well for three-quarters. JAS. T. CLARK was sharply cut off when he moved up fast at the half-mile ground. 

• Scratched- Aurum, Jim Heffering.
• Winner - Ch.g. by *McGee-Fair Empress, by Jim Gore. Trained by Henry McDaniel; bred in Kentucky by F. D. Knight.
• $15,000 added. Net to winner $14,700; second $2,500; third $1,000; fourth $275.
• Overweight- Viva America, 1 pound.
• 70 nominations.
• Equipment: b-     spurs
• *Foreign Bred

Kentucky Derby Results for Exterminator:

Who was the horse Exterminator?

A lanky chestnut that went by the name of Exterminator was born on May 30th 1915. He was sired by McGee, who had recently fathered the 1913 Kentucky Derby winner Donerail as well. Known for his enormous size, Exterminator was considered a late bloomer because it took so long to fill out his frame.

Exterminator won two of his four races as a juvenile. He spanned 17 hands at this point in his life, and was sold as an early 3-year-old to owner Willis Sharpe Kilmer for $9,000.

Kilmer had initially intended to use Exterminator as a workhorse to help train U.S. Champion 2-year-old Colt, Sun Briar. But the training sessions didn’t fit Kilmer’s hopes at all. Exterminator was far too talented to be held back, and impressed trainer Henry McDaniel extensively.

The ongoing tension between Kilmer and Exterminator was well known at the time. Sun Briar had developed ringbone and would not be able to compete in the 1918 Kentucky Derby. Still, Kilmer held fast that he would not run the horse he called “the goat” for his awkward gait. McDaniel urged otherwise, and further endorsement by the owner of Churchill Downs, Colonel Matt Winn, helped Kilmer change his mind.

Exterminator went off as a 30/1 longshot in the Derby with Willie Knapp in the saddle, but he beat Escoba by a length to win the 1918 Kentucky Derby.

Exterminator had a series of close defeats in his next five races but won several good races in the fall. He won seven races in total as a 3-year-old.

Back as a 4-year-old, Exterminator won nine of 21 starts, including the Saratoga Cup and Pimlico Cup. As a 5-year-old, he won 10 of 17 starts, winning the Saratoga Cup and Pimlico Cup again, as well as the Brookdale Handicap and Jockey Club Handicap. He was rated as Champion Older Male, though plans for a race with the 3-year-old sensation Man o’ War never eventuated.

Exterminator was back in good form again as a 6-year-old in 1921, winning eight of 16, and again was regarded as Champion Older Male, losing Horse of the Year to Grey Lag, who beat him in the Brooklyn Handicap.

Returning once again as a 7-year-old in 1922, Exterminator had a fantastic season. He won 10 of his 17 races, including victories in the Clark Handicap, Kentucky Handicap (carrying 138 pounds), Saratoga Cup, and the Brooklyn Handicap, where he turned the tables on Grey Lag by a head. This time he was Horse of the Year.

Exterminator ran at the age of eight and nine, and though he won races, wasn’t quite the same force. He finished his career with 50 wins, 11 seconds and 15 thirds from 99 starts, and earnings of $221,227. The popular and hardy gelding was inducted in to the Hall of Fame in 1957.