The Resume

(May 23, 1933-May 17, 1947)
Born in Claiborne Farm, Lexington, Kentucky
Sire: Hard Tack
Dam: Swing On
Owner: Charles S. Howard
Principal Trainer: Tom Smith
Principal Jockeys: Red Pollard and George Woolf
Record: 89 races, 33 wins, 15 places, 3 shows
Career earnings: $437,730
United States Horse of the Year (1938)
Inducted into the National Racing Museum Hall of Fame (1958)

Why he might be annoying:

He was undersized and knobby-kneed.
He repeatedly balked at the techniques of original trainer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons.
He failed to win in his first ten races.
After three undistinguished years, his owners unloaded him for $7,500 to Charles Howard.

Why he might not be annoying:

He tied a record by winning seven consecutive stakes races (1937).
He won the ‘Match of the Century’ against Triple Crown winner War Admiral (November 1, 1938).
After retiring to stud with a leg injury, he returned to racing at age seven and won the Hundred Grand Santa Anita Handicap (1940).
He became a symbol of hope to Americans during the Great Depression.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 2007 Most Annoying 301-400 (Ranked: 384)
• Athletes Who Inspired a Movie
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 03]
• CBC's Top 10 Most Anticipated Sports Events [October 22, 2004] (Ranked: 6)
• Horse Faces
• Horse Owners
• Horses, Donkeys and Mules
• I am a Kentuckian
• I Died Before My 18th Birthday (Ranked: 14)
• I Died in 1947 (Ranked: 14)
• I Retired, Just Kidding
• Known By a Single Name
• Look at Me and My Pet
• Menagerie of Animals
• My Name is H20
• Profiles 20001-20250 (Ranked: 20044)

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 2442 Votes: 35.83% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 1370 Votes: 45.62% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 409 Votes: 22.00% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 12 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 14 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 29 Votes: 3.45% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 22 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 27 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 19 Votes: 26.32% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 80 Votes: 47.50% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 118 Votes: 58.47% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 181 Votes: 38.12% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 85 Votes: 34.12% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 839 Votes: 43.74% Annoying