Tag: Kelso

Kelso (April 4, 1957 – October 16, 1983) was an American thoroughbred race horse considered among the best racehorses of the 20th century. In the list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century by The Blood-Horse magazine Kelso ranks 4th, behind only Man o’ War (1st), Secretariat (2nd) and Citation (3rd). In his long and illustrious career, it is safe to say that Kelso beat more great or very good thoroughbreds than any other horse in the history of American Racing. The list reads like a who’s who of the first half of the 1960’s, including Carry Back, Gun Bow, Bald Eagle, Tompion, Never Bend, Beau Purple, Quadrangle, Roman Brother, Crimson Satan, Jaipur, Malicious, Ridan, Saidam, Pia Star, Garwol and Guadalcanal, just to name a few, while spotting his opponents many pounds under handicap conditions.
Kelso’s breeding was less than stellar. Born at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky, he was sired by a well-known racehorse who was an unproven stallion, Your Host….