Fort Marcy | Horse Profile

Horse > Fort Marcy

Fort Marcy

Bred in Virginia by prominent owner Paul Mellon, Fort Marcy was foaled April 2, 1964. By Amerigo (a son of Nearco) out of a Princequillo mare, Fort Marcy won just once in 10 starts as a 2-year-old in 1966. It was a switch to turf the following year which unlocked Fort Marcy’s potential.

As a 3-year-old, Fort Marcy won seven races from 18 starts. The highlight of his sophomore campaign was a victory over Damascus in the Washington D.C. International, one of just four defeats Damascus suffered that year, and earned Fort March the Champion Turf Horse title.

Fort Marcy raced well again in 1968, winning the Sunset Handicap and finishing in the money on many occasions. He was named the Thoroughbred Racing Association’s Turf Horse of the Year but lost the DRF version of the award to Dr. Fager, who in one turf start in a fantastic year beat Fort Marcy into third in the United Nations Handicap.

As a 5-year-old in 1969, Fort Marcy produced some more outstanding efforts, though that year he played second-fiddle to the South African horse Hawaii, who won the Champion Turf Horse award after beating Fort Marcy in the United Nations Handicap and the Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont Park. But Fort Marcy’s best was yet to come.

In 1970, Fort Marcy became the first galloper to earn a Horse of the Year title through what was primarily a turf campaign. Victories in the United Nations Handicap, Man o’ War Stakes, and Washington International helped him to the Daily Racing Form title, though he was beaten in the Thoroughbred Racing Association version of the title by the filly Personality. Both polls rated him the Champion Turf Horse.   

A champion turf horse in 1967, 1968 and 1970, Fort Marcy was also named Horse of the Year and Champion Older Male in 1970 by Daily Racing Form. In 1970, he won the D.C. International for the second time and also scored victories in the United Nations Handicap and Man o’ War Stakes.  

Fort Marcy was retired at the end of the 1971 racing season with 21 wins in 75 starts and earnings of $1.1 million. He died in 1991 at Rokeby Farm in Upperville, Virginia, and was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1998.