Chris Evert (1971-2001) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Hall of FameThe National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
ChampionThe Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
ThoroughbredThe Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word "thoroughbred" is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
fillyA filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
racehorseHorse racing is an equestrian sport that has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times are an early example, as is the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. It is inextricably associated with gambling...
. Carl Rosen (1918-1983), owner of clothing manufacturer
Puritan Fashions Corp.Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Calvin Klein also gave his name to a range of perfumes, including CK One and CK Be , now owned by Coty Inc...
, purchased the filly at a
Keeneland yearling saleThe Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene...
. He named her for the rising young star
tennisTennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....
player
Chris EvertChristine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world number 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. According to the Women's Tennis...
, whom he had signed to endorse his company's line of
sportswearSportswear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or exercise.Typical sport-specific garments include short pants, tracksuits, T-shirts, polo shirts and trainers. Specialised garments include wet suits and salopettes. It also includes some underwear, such as the jockstrap...
.
Chris Evert began racing at age two. Of her five starts, she won four and finished second in the other. At age three, she dominated her class, winning the
U.S. Filly Triple CrownThe Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, formerly known as the Filly Triple Crown, is a set of three horse races in the United States which is open to three year old fillies...
and earning the
Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old FillyThe American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971....
.
In 1974, Aaron Jones, the owner of
West CoastThe "West Coast", "Western Seaboard", or "Pacific Coastline" are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. It most often comprises California, Oregon and Washington...
based filly Miss Musket, issued a challenge to Chris Evert's owner for their horses to meet in a
match raceA match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.The term may be best known as a regatta for two sailing boats racing around a course...
.
Chris Evert (1971-2001) was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Hall of FameThe National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
ChampionThe Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
ThoroughbredThe Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word "thoroughbred" is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
fillyA filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
racehorseHorse racing is an equestrian sport that has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times are an early example, as is the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. It is inextricably associated with gambling...
. Carl Rosen (1918-1983), owner of clothing manufacturer
Puritan Fashions Corp.Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Calvin Klein also gave his name to a range of perfumes, including CK One and CK Be , now owned by Coty Inc...
, purchased the filly at a
Keeneland yearling saleThe Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene...
. He named her for the rising young star
tennisTennis is a sport played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a strung racquet to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court....
player
Chris EvertChristine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world number 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. According to the Women's Tennis...
, whom he had signed to endorse his company's line of
sportswearSportswear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or exercise.Typical sport-specific garments include short pants, tracksuits, T-shirts, polo shirts and trainers. Specialised garments include wet suits and salopettes. It also includes some underwear, such as the jockstrap...
.
Chris Evert began racing at age two. Of her five starts, she won four and finished second in the other. At age three, she dominated her class, winning the
U.S. Filly Triple CrownThe Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, formerly known as the Filly Triple Crown, is a set of three horse races in the United States which is open to three year old fillies...
and earning the
Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old FillyThe American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971....
.
The Match Race
In 1974, Aaron Jones, the owner of
West CoastThe "West Coast", "Western Seaboard", or "Pacific Coastline" are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. It most often comprises California, Oregon and Washington...
based filly Miss Musket, issued a challenge to Chris Evert's owner for their horses to meet in a
match raceA match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.The term may be best known as a regatta for two sailing boats racing around a course...
. Miss Musket's record included winning the
Hollywood OaksThe Hollywood Oaks is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the first week of June at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. The Grade II event is open to three-year-old fillies...
, and her confident owner offered to put up $100,000 if Chris Evert's owner would match it. Hollywood Park Racetrack offered another $150,000 to the winner-take-all race that they would host and would bill as the Hollywood Special Stakes. Carl Rosen could not pass up that kind of money and accepted the offer for a match race to be held on July 20, 1974. Chris Evert won by an astounding 50 lengths, the large purse significantly contributing to her becoming 1974's leading money earner in U.S. Thoroughbred racing.
At age four, Chris Evert won two more times but was retired early after competing in only four races. Rosen decided to use her as the foundation mare to establish his own
horse breedingHorse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. While feral and wild horses breed successfully without human assistance, planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired...
operation at
Three Chimneys FarmThree Chimneys Farm is an American thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Midway, Kentucky established in 1972 by Mr. & Mrs. Robert N. Clay. Widely known as one of the world's preeminent horse farms, Three Chimneys has been home to a number of famous horses including U.S. Triple Crown champion...
in
Midway, KentuckyMidway is a city in Woodford County, Kentucky, United States. Its population was 1,620 at the 2000 census. It is located midway between Frankfort and Lexington along the single-track railroad between them. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is home to a...
. As a broodmare, Chris Evert produced
graded stakes raceA graded stakes race is a term applied by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
winners Wimbledon Star and the filly Six Crowns, who was sired by the great
SecretariatSecretariat was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, who in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in twenty-five years, setting new race records in two of the three events in the Series – the Kentucky Derby , and the Belmont Stakes – records that still stand today.Secretariat was the...
. Six Crowns in turn produced
Eclipse AwardThe Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
and
Breeders' Cup JuvenileThe Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup....
winner
Chief's CrownChief's Crown was an American-bred Thoroughbred race horse who won the 1984 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Two-Year-Old Male Horse....
.
Chris Evert was inducted into the
National Museum of Racing and Hall of FameThe National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
in 1988. Pensioned in 1990, at age 30 she was humanely
euthanizedAnimal euthanasia is the act of inducing humane death in an animal. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress....
on January 8, 2001 due to the infirmities of old age. She was buried at Three Chimneys Farm's broodmare cemetery.