Beau Purple (foaled in 1957) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He is most famous for defeating the champion gelding Kelso and champion colt Carry Back in three of their four meetings.
Background Thoroughbred breeder Grayce Mar of Long Island initially sold Wall Street mutual-fund developer Jack Dreyfus the mare Water Queen, out of which Beau Purple was the first horse ever born and bred by Hobeau Farm."The Suffolk Slant", Newsday (Suffolk Edition), 9 May 1960, p.75, Newsday archive on Newspapers.com He was trained by George P. Odom until mid 1962, when H. Allen Jerkens, a 1975 inductee into the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame, took over.
Racing career After winning the 1960 Derby Trial Stakes, Beau Purple was withdrawn from the Kentucky Derby as a result of a sore left front shin."Beau Purple Scratched from Derby",Milwaukee Sentinel, 5 May 1960, p.47 of 55, Google News. This injury kept him out of the U.S. Triple Crown series and severely limited his racing for nearly two years. He ran only four times in 1961, but had his best year at age five in 1962. Among his major wins, Beau Purple set a new track record at Belmont Park for the miles distance in defeating Kelso in the 1962 Man o' War Stakes, and he twice broke the track record for a mile and a quarter on dirt at Aqueduct Racetrack"Beau Purple Sets Track Record in Brooklyn Handicap",Reading Eagle, 22 July 1962, p.31 of 95, Google News. in winning both the 1962 Suburban Handicap and Brooklyn Handicap. In February 1963, Beau Purple beat Kelso for the third time, making it three of four wins over Kelso in his career, when he won the Widener Handicap at Hialeah Park Race Track in Florida."Beau Purple Beats Kelso in Widener",The Pittsburgh Press, 23 February 1963, p.39 of 91, Google News.
Pedigree
References
Sources Beau Purple's pedigree and partial racing stats, PedigreeQuery.com.