Round Table | Horse Profile

Horse > Round-Table

Round Table

Round Table was born at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky on April 6th, 1954, the same night that his rival Bold Ruler was born on the same farm. Both were Hall of Fame racehorses, with Round Table putting together one of the greatest turf careers in the United States – and he was outstanding on dirt as well.

Bred by Claiborne Farm, Round Table was by Princequillo out of Knight’s Daughter, a mare bred by England’s King George VI – whose daughter Queen Elizabeth II would visit Round Table in 1984 when the horse was 30.

Round Table was raced mostly by Arthur B. Hancock Jr., owner of Claiborne Farm, and Oklahoma oil businessmen Travis Kerr, to whom Hancock sold an 80 percent share in the horse early in his 3-year-old career.

As a 2-year-old, Round Table won five of his 10 starts, including the 1956 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland, but he would rise to greater heights the next year.

After winning the 1957 Blue Grass Stakes, Round Table finished third in the Kentucky Derby before heading to California. He met defeat in the Californian Stakes, but then won 11 consecutive races. These included the Hollywood Gold Cup and the Hawthorne Gold Cup on dirt, and the American Derby and United Nations Handicap on turf. He missed out on Horse of the Year to Bold Ruler but was named Champion Turf Horse.

Over the course of the 1958 season, Round Table would prove to be the class of the sport once again. On dirt, he won the three-race Strub Series, San Antonio Handicap, Santa Anita Handicap (in track record time, carrying 130 pounds), and Hawthorne Gold Cup, among others, while his turf successes included the Arlington Handicap. Not only did he retain Champion Turf Horse, he also won Champion Older Horse and Horse of the Year.

Round Table won nine of his 14 races as a 5-year-old, including repeat triumphs in the Arlington Handicap and United Nations Handicap. He won his third consecutive Champion Turf Horse award.

With 66 starts through a busy four-season career, Round Table racked up a record of 43-8-5. Notably, his turf record was 14 wins in 16 starts. He was also the third horse to earn more than $1 million after Citation and Nashua, and ended his career with a record $1,749,869.

Round Table lived until 1987, when he died at the age of 33. A major success at stud, his descendants include champion racehorses and sires such as Apalachee, Advocator, King’s Bishop, Seattle Slew, Sir Tristram, A.P. Indy, Silver Charm, and Mineshaft.