Omaha Struck Pay Dirt Long Before Nebraska Football Did

THE BELMONT STAKES

Only 11 horses have won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes. With Real Quiet bidding to become the 12th when he runs in the Belmont on June 6, this series looks back at the Triple Crown champions.

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Omaha was in the limelight as a 2-year-old because he was a good-looking son of Gallant Fox, who had swept the Triple Crown in 1930.

But Omaha had trouble winning in 1934. The hot-blooded colt went to the post nine times, his only win coming in a maiden race. Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons, who also had trained Gallant Fox, didn’t despair because Omaha ran several solid second-place finishes in stakes races.

With a solid foundation as a juvenile, Omaha quickly blossomed in 1935. He didn’t make his debut as a 3-year-old until April 22, winning at a mile and 70 yards. Five days later, he was a come-from-behind third in the Wood Memorial.

The Kentucky Derby would be his third race in 13 days. He went off at 4-1 at Churchill Downs, the second choice behind the mud-loving filly Nellie Flag.

Omaha and Nellie Flag broke next to each other in an 18-horse field, but it was the filly who had the rough trip. Willie “Smokey” Saunders, whose early riding tutor was George Woolf, was a young jockey who had won his first race only three years before, and in the Derby he kept Omaha to the outside, away from the trouble. Omaha took the lead with a half-mile left and won by 1 1/2 lengths, with Nellie Flag settling for fourth.

The Preakness was even easier. Omaha won by six lengths, his time missing the track record by one-fifth of a second.

Before the Belmont, Omaha was beaten by Rosemont in the Withers Stakes, but in the longer Belmont, Omaha went off the 4-5 favorite and Rosemont was 13-5. On a sloppy track, Omaha, fourth and 3 1/2 lengths behind after a mile, closed on the outside to beat Firethorn by 1 1/2 lengths. Although Sir Barton and Gallant Fox had swept the series before him, Omaha was the first horse to be recognized as the Triple Crown champion in press accounts.

Omaha won two of three starts after that, but when Fitzsimmons tried to work him at Saratoga, he came up lame. Discovery, who beat Omaha while spotting him nine pounds in the Brooklyn Handicap, was voted horse of the year. That left Omaha with the distinction of being the only Triple Crown champion not to win the horse-of-the-year title.

Omaha never raced in the United States again. His breeder and owner, William Woodward Sr., sent him to England for his 4-year-old season. The goal was the 2 1/2-mile Ascot Gold Cup.

In the Gold Cup, Omaha lost by a nose to the filly Quashed, and in the last race of his career he was beaten by a neck to the Aga Khan’s Taj Akbar, who had an 18-pound edge in the weights.

Omaha sired only seven stakes winners. After his death in 1959, he was buried near the grandstand entrance at the old Ak-Sar-Ben track in Nebraska, in the city that bears his name.

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TRIPLE CROWN WINNERS

May 26, Sir Barton: 1919

May 28, Gallant Fox: 1930

Today, Omaha: 1935

Saturday, War Admiral: 1937

Sunday, Whirlaway: 1941

Monday, Count Fleet: 1943

Tuesday, Assault: 1946

Wednesday, Citation: 1948

Thursday, Secretariat: 1973

June 5, Seattle Slew: 1977

June 6, Affirmed: 1978

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1935: THE BREAKDOWN

Date, Race, Distance

May 4, Kentucky Derby, 1 1/4 miles

(Time, Margin, Odds, Purse)

(2:05, 1 1/2 lengths, 4-1, $39,525)

Date, Race, Distance

May 11, Preakness, 13/16 miles

(Time, Margin, Odds, Purse)

(1:58 2/5, 6 lengths, 9-10, $25,325)

Date, Race, Distance

June 8, Belmont, 1 1/2 miles

(2:30 3/5, 1 1/2 lengths, 4-5, $35,480)

THE CHALLENGERS

The top three finishers in the races in 1935:

KENTUCKY DERBY

1. Omaha

2. Roman Soldier

3. Whiskolo

PREAKNESS

1. Omaha

2. Firethorn

3. Psychic Bid

BELMONT

1. Omaha

2. Firethorn

3. Rosemont

OMAHA’S RECORD

(1934-36)

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Starts 1st 2nd 3rd Purses 22 9 7 2 $154,755

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