Editing Native Dancer (section)

==Background==
Native Dancer was bred by [[Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr.]] and raced for him as a homebred. He was foaled at Scott Farm near [[Lexington, Kentucky]] but was raised at Vanderbilt's [[Sagamore Farm]] in [[Glyndon, Maryland|Glyndon]], [[Maryland]], and is generally considered a Maryland-bred.<ref name=Marylands>{{cite web |title=Everyone Wants to Get in the Act, But Native Dancer Is Maryland's |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/04/05/archives/everyone-wants-to-get-in-the-act-but-native-dancer-is-marylands.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=20 July 2019 |date=5 April 1953}}</ref> Native Dancer was sired by the 1945 [[Preakness Stakes]] winner, [[Polynesian (horse)|Polynesian]], who was otherwise known as a sprinter.<ref name=Gotham /> His dam Geisha won only once in her eleven starts and produced no other stakes winners, though her daughter Orientation became a multiple stakes producer.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hunter |first1=Avalyn |title=American classic pedigrees (1914-2002) : a decade-by-decade review of Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont winners, plus Kentucky Oaks and Coaching Club American Oaks |year=2003 |publisher=Eclipse Press |isbn=1-58150-095-5 |pages=278–280 |edition=1st}}</ref><ref name="Ahnert">{{cite book|last=Ahnert (editor in chief)|first=Rainer L.|title=Thoroughbred Breeding of the World|year=1970|publisher= Pozdun Publishing|location= Germany|pages=426–7}}</ref> Geisha was sired by [[Discovery (horse)|Discovery]], an outstanding distance horse and weight-carrier. Discovery was also the broodmare sire of [[Leading sire in North America|leading sire]] [[Bold Ruler]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hunter |first1=Avalyn |title=Discovery (horse) |url=http://www.americanclassicpedigrees.com/discovery.html |website=American Classic Pedigrees |access-date=20 July 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

Native Dancer inherited his [[Gray (horse)|gray coat]], then quite rare in Thoroughbreds, through the female line to his fourth dam, La Grisette, a daughter of [[Roi Herode]]. Roi Herode was also the sire of [[The Tetrarch]], the "spotted wonder". Most modern gray Thoroughbreds can trace their coat to Roi Herode and his grandsire Le Sancy.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Daley |first1=Arthur |title=Sports of The Times; A Matter of Color |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/05/09/archives/sports-of-the-times-a-matter-of-color.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=27 July 2019 |date=9 May 1954}}</ref>

From his earliest days, Native Dancer was considered "an extremely nice colt". Ralph Kerchaval, the manager of Sagamore Farm, said that "he was playful, big and rough, but you could do anything with him."<ref name=Marylands /> At maturity, Native Dancer stood {{hands|16.3}} at the withers. According to Charles Hatton of the ''Daily Racing Form'', Native Dancer looked like a sprinter from the front and a stayer from the back. He was a massive horse with "suspicious-looking ankles". His [[pastern|pastern bones]] were short and somewhat too upright, making him more vulnerable to injury. He had a notably long stride but his action was hard and pounding.<ref name="ACP" /> Trainer [[Bill Winfrey]] said the colt was "a regular [[Jekyll and Hyde]]" – ordinarily quiet and tractable but with a playful streak that could make him a handful.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Daley |first1=Arthur |title=Sports of The Times; A Waltz for the Dancer |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1953/04/20/archives/sports-of-the-times-a-waltz-for-the-dancer.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=20 July 2019 |date=20 April 1953}}</ref>