Editing 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 (horse)|Adios]] (US)  
|dam= Golden Miss (US)
|damsire= Ensign Hanover (US)
|sex= [[Stallion]]
|foaled= 1969
|death_date= July 4, 1998
|country= United States 
|colour= [[Chestnut (coat)|Chestnut]]
|breeder= [[Castleton Lyons|Castleton Stud]]
|owner= [[John Hayes (harness racer)#|Beejay Stable]]
|trainer= [[John Hayes (harness racer)|John Hayes]]
|record= 44: 29-9-1
|earnings= $454,064
|wins= Roosevelt Futurity (1971)<br>Florida Breeders (2YO) (1971)<br>Hanover Stakes (2YO) (1971)<br>[[Adios Pace]] (1972)<br>[[Prix d'Été]] (1972)<br>Battle of Saratoga (1972)<br>Best of All (1972)<br>Geers Stakes (1972)<br>Hanover Stakes (3YO) (1972)<br>Reynolds Memorial (1972)<br>Gaines Memorial (1972)<br>Tattersalls (1972)<br>Beaver Pace (1972)<br>Florida Breeders (3YO) (1972)<br>[[Little Brown Jug (horse racing)|Little Brown Jug]] (1972)
|awards= 1971 USA 2 Year Old Colt Pacer of the Year<br>1971 CTA 2 Year Old Colt Pacer of the Year<br>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|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 (harness racer)|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 (racehorse)|Adios Stakes]] in a dead heat with Jay Time,<ref>[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]</ref> the Fox Stake, the Roosevelt Futurity,<ref>[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]</ref> 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 (horse racing)|Little Brown Jug]] in [[Delaware, Ohio]]. Strike Out, was trained by [[Bruce Nickells|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 [[Canadians|Canadian]] owned horse to win the [[Little Brown Jug (horse racing)|Little Brown Jug]]. Not only did he do it in straight heats, but he won setting a world record<ref>[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]</ref> 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.<ref>[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 }}</ref>

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 (horse)|Adios]]
|fm = Brenna Hanover
|mf = Ensign Hanover
|mm = Miss Pluto Scott
|fff = Hal Dale
|ffm = Adioo Volo
|fmf = [[Tar Heel (horse)|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
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1969 racehorse births]]
[[Category:1998 racehorse deaths]]
[[Category:American Standardbred racehorses]]
[[Category:Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Racehorses trained in Canada]]
[[Category:Horse racing track record setters]]
[[Category:Little Brown Jug winners]]