Strike Out
{{Short description|American Standardbred racehorse}}
{{For|the baseball term|Strikeout}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox racehorse
|horsename= Strike Out
|image=
|caption=
|breed= Standardbred
|sire= Bret Hanover (US)
|grandsire= Adios (US)
|dam= Golden Miss (US)
|damsire= Ensign Hanover (US)
|sex= Stallion
|foaled= 1969
|death_date= July 4, 1998
|country= United States
|colour= Chestnut
|breeder= Castleton Stud
|owner= Beejay Stable
|trainer= John Hayes
|record= 44: 29-9-1
|earnings= $454,064
|wins= Roosevelt Futurity (1971)
Florida Breeders (2YO) (1971)
Hanover Stakes (2YO) (1971)
Adios Pace (1972)
Prix d'Été (1972)
Battle of Saratoga (1972)
Best of All (1972)
Geers Stakes (1972)
Hanover Stakes (3YO) (1972)
Reynolds Memorial (1972)
Gaines Memorial (1972)
Tattersalls (1972)
Beaver Pace (1972)
Florida Breeders (3YO) (1972)
Little Brown Jug (1972)
|awards= 1971 USA 2 Year Old Colt Pacer of the Year
1971 CTA 2 Year Old Colt Pacer of the Year
1972 USA 3YO C&G Pacer of the Year
|honors= Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame (1976)
|updated=}}
Strike Out (1969–1998) was a Standardbred North American Harness racing champion.
Background
Strike Out was foaled in 1969 at Castleton Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, and is by Bret Hanover out of the mare Golden Miss.
He was purchased at a yearling auction for $15,000 by Beejay Stables of Oshawa, Ontario, a partnership between harness-racing trainer/driver John Hayes and Montreal, Quebec, textile executives, the Shapiro brothers, Robert, Conrad, and Leo. For Hayes, who recognized the horse's talent, it was an opportunity for which he had been waiting a long time.
Racing career
As a two-year-old pacer, Strike Out earned more money than any horse in his age group and was named by Harness Tracks of America (HTA) and the United States Trotting Association (USTA) as the top harness horse his age in North America. In 1972 he became the first horse to win a Canadian harness race with a $100,000 purse. That year he went on to race in the United States, capturing the important Adios Stakes in a dead heat with Jay Time,[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=u2BVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oj4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=4490,3389644&dq=strike+out+adios+stakes&hl=en Rare dead heat in Adios Stakes] the Fox Stake, the Roosevelt Futurity,[https://www.nytimes.com/1971/10/02/archives/strike-out-wins-81216-futurity-silent-majority-1110-pick-fourth-in.html Strike Out wins $81,216 Futurity] the Beaver Pace and other major races all over North America, including the Prix d'Été at Montreal's Blue Bonnets Raceway. By the end of the summer, his owners had set their sights on the most prestigious race of all, the Little Brown Jug in Delaware, Ohio. Strike Out, was trained by Bruce K. Nickells for two months the previous winter, before he won the Jug with a time of 1:56.3 which set a world record for a three-year-old pacer on a half mile track.
On September 21, 1972, driven by Keith Waples, Strike Out became the first Canadian owned horse to win the Little Brown Jug. Not only did he do it in straight heats, but he won setting a world record[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ysYdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qSgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2752,1139870&dq=strike+out+little+brown+jug&hl=en Strike Out wins Little Brown Jug] over a half-mile track for a 3-year-old pacer in a time of 1:56 3/5. Strike Out was named by the HTA and USTA as top three-year-old.
Stud career
After compiling a 29-9-1 record in 44 races, Strike Out was retired to stud at the end of the 1972 season. While retaining a half interest in him, Beejay Stables sold the $15,000 bargain-basement colt for $1.5 million. His son, Striking Image became the first 2 year old Standardbred Horse ever to run a mile in the time of 1:55. Strike Out also went on to sire 1979 Jug winner Hot Hitter.
In 1976 Strike Out was part of the inaugural class inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.[http://www.canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com/standardbred/1976/Strike_Out.html Strike Out at the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908012207/http://www.canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com/standardbred/1976/Strike_Out.html |date=September 8, 2008 }}
Strike Out died on July 4, 1998, and was buried in the horse cemetery at Castleton Farms.
Pedigree <ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.allbreedpedigree.com/strike+out2 |title=Strike Out |publisher=Select Web Ventures, LLC. |date=2021-10-11 |access-date=2021-10-11}}</ref>
{{Pedigree
|name = Strike Out, chestnut colt, 1969
|f = Bret Hanover
|m = Golden Miss
|ff = Adios
|fm = Brenna Hanover
|mf = Ensign Hanover
|mm = Miss Pluto Scott
|fff = Hal Dale
|ffm = Adioo Volo
|fmf = Tar Heel
|fmm = Beryl Hanover
|mff = Billy Direct
|mfm = Helen Hanover
|mmf = McKinney Scott
|mmm = Lu Dene Pluto
|ffff = Abbedale
|fffm = Margaret Hal
|ffmf = Adioo Guy
|ffmm = Sigrid Volo
|fmff = Billy Direct
|fmfm = Leta Long
|fmmf = Nibble Hanover
|fmmm = Laura Hanover
|mfff = Napoleon Direct
|mffm = Gay Forbes
|mfmf = Dillon Volo
|mfmm = Helen Dillon
|mmff = Peter Scott
|mmfm = Diabla McKinney
|mmmf = Peter Pluto
|mmmm = Morganetta
}}