Sire Dick Welles Dam Glena Foaled 1916 Owner J. K. L. Ross Sex Gelding | Grandsire King Eric Damsire Free Knight Country United States Trainer H. Guy Bedwell Earnings 99,782 USD | |
 | ||
Billy Kelly (foaled 1916 in Kentucky, died 1926 in Canada) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the champion two-year-old in 1918 when he won 14 of 17 starts. Favored for the 1919 Kentucky Derby, he lost to his stablemate, the then lightly regarded Sir Barton. Billy Kelly would go on to win 39 races from 69 starts. He was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2015.
Contents
Background
Billy Kelly was foaled in 1916 at Woodlawn Farm in Erlanger, Kentucky, bred by Jerome Respess. He was sold as a yearling for $1,500 to trainer William Perkins, who then sold a half interest to W. F. Polson. After two stakes wins at the 1918 Saratoga meeting, Commander J. K. L. Ross bought Billy Kelly for $27,500. Following the sale, he was trained by H. Guy Bedwell.
Named after a sports editor for a newspaper in Buffalo, Billy Kelly was a small, lightly made gelding and "as plain as a horse could be." A contemporary said he "looked like a lean mule."
Racing career
During his two-year-old campaign in 1918, Billy Kelly won 14 of 17 starts and earnings of $33,783, equivalent to $537,912 in 2016. He won four stakes races at Saratoga in the span of three weeks. He even raced against his elders in two all-aged races and won four times carrying 130 pounds or more pounds. A narrow loss to Eternal in a match race at Laurel led to the two sharing the honor of the season's juvenile champion. Billy Kelly's wins that year included:
At age three and beyond, Billy Kelly was overshadowed by stablemate Sir Barton, even though Billy Kelly finished ahead of Sir Barton eight of the twelve times they met. He was widely considered to be one of the best sprinters of his time, but also won at distances up to 1 1⁄4 miles. He was a durable and dependable runner who excelled under high weight assignments.
He was the favorite for the 1919 Kentucky Derby, with Sir Barton (then still a maiden) entered as his pacemaker. Sir Barton set the expected quick pace, but never faltered so Billy Kelly would only finish second. It was the first time that stablemates had run 1–2 in the Derby. Billy Kelly's second-place finish also made Ross the winner of a $50,000 "horse-and-horse" bet with gambler Arnold Rothstein regarding Billy Kelly and his two-year-old rival Eternal, who ran 10th in the race.
His wins at ages three and up included:
Out of the money just six times, Billy Kelly might have had an even better record if he had not been the victim of race fixing. After he won his first six starts as a five-year-old, someone pushed a sponge deep into one of his nostrils, which interfered with his ability to breathe. Billy Kelly finished unplaced and in obvious distress in three straight races before the sponge was discovered and removed. This may have done permanent damage to Billy Kelly's lungs and heart, for although he won three straight races after the sponge was removed, he bled heavily in his next outing. He only flashed his old form once afterward, when finishing second to Exterminator in the 1922 Harford Handicap.
Retirement and Honors
After a brief stint as a hunter and an unsuccessful comeback to racing, Billy Kelly was pensioned in 1923. He was found dead in his stall at Ross's farm in Canada in the summer of 1926: the autopsy revealed an enlarged heart. He was buried in a field overlooking the St. Lawrence River.
In 2015, Billy Kelly was elected to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Horses, jockeys and trainers from the past are nominated by those in the racing industry, historians and members of the public. The Historic Review Committee then selects a maximum of three finalists to be considered for election. The finalists are required to receive 75% approval from the Historic Review Committee to gain election to the Hall of Fame.