Racing Career
As a three-year-old, Bold Ruler won the 1957 Flamingo Stakes while breaking a track record, and then won the Wood Memorial Stakes. In the U.S. Triple Crown races, Bold Ruler went off as the heavy 6:5 favorite in the Kentucky Derby, but faded down the homestretch after fighting Arcaro's restraint. He finished fourth behind longshot winner Iron Liege and future Hall of Famers Gallant Man (which was mistakenly pulled up at the 16th pole by jockey Bill Shoemaker) and Round Table. In the Preakness Stakes, Bold Ruler bounced back to win convincingly. In the Belmont Stakes, Bold Ruler finished third after he was forced through exceptionally fast early fractions by Gallant Man's rabbit. Gallant Man set a new stakes record that day that remained until Bold Ruler's son Secretariat broke it in 1973. He went on to win other important races, and his performances that year earned him the U.S. 3-Yr-Old Champion Male and Champion Sprinter honors. In the Horse of the Year poll organised by the publishers of Daily Racing Form he received 16 votes to beat Gallant Man (9 votes) and Dedicate (4 votes). Dedicate was controversially selected over Bold Ruler in the rival Thoroughbred Racing Assoction award, but Bold Ruler's win in a third poll conducted by Turf and Sport Digest magazine made him the "consensus" choice as Horse of the Year.
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