Bolingbroke (horse)

Bolingbroke (foaled 1937 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won top-level races on New York State tracks including the Manhattan Handicap three times. In his 1942 Manhattan win, under jockey Herb Lindberg, Bolingbroke set a new United States record time of 2:27 3/5 for 1 1/2 miles on dirt while defeating the 1941 U.S. Triple Crown winner, Whirlaway.^[1]

Bred by major racing stable and racetrack owner Joseph E. Widener at his Elmendorf Farm in Fayette County, Kentucky, Bolingbroke was a son of Equipoise, a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee and six-time U.S. National Champion, including twice as Horse of the Year.^[2] Bolingbroke’s dam was Wayabout, also owned by Joseph Widener. Wayout’s other notable progeny in racing was Whiffenpoof, a gelded foal of 1946. Their damsire was Fair Play, another successful runner and outstanding stallion that was a three-time Leading sire in North America (1920, 1924, 1927) and also as the Leading broodmare sire in North America (1931, 1934, 1938). Fair Play too was voted a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame member as part of the 1956 class of inductees.