Cigar Matches Record.

Cigar Matches Record. The following report is from an August 1996 article in the Encarta Yearbook. . Cigar Wins 16th Straight Race, Matching Record Streak by Citation Thoroughbred horse racing star Cigar galloped to his 16th consecutive victory on July 13, 1996, matching the record winning streak of racing legend Citation nearly a half century ago. The six-year-old bay horse won by 3-1/2 lengths in a ten-horse field in the Arlington Citation Challenge at Arlington Park outside Chicago, Illinois. Cigar began his winning streak in late 1994 when trainer Bill Mott switched the horse from turf races to dirt races. In October 1995 Cigar won North America's premier race, the $3-million Breeder's Cup Classic, breaking the stakes record by nearly a full second. He won against international competition in the March 1996 Dubai World Cup. Already the all-time highest money winner in North American racing, Cigar increased his lifetime earnings to $8,819,815 in the Citation Challenge. The race, which was planned specifically to draw Cigar to Arlington Park, had a total purse of $1.05 million. The Citation Challenge was a handicap race, in which horses carry differing weights to even out the competition, and was run over a 1-1/8-mile course. Cigar carried the top weight of 59 kg (130 lb). As of the end of July, Mott was planning to give Cigar his shot to beat Citation's record string of victories in the 1-1/4-mile, $1-million Pacific Classic, to be held on August 10 at the Del Mar racetrack in California. The Pacific Classic is not a handicap race; all horses carry the same amount of weight except three-year-olds, who carry slightly less weight as a concession to their lesser experience. Cigar is owned by Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation founder Allen Paulson, who named the horse after an aviation checkpoint located over the Gulf of Mexico. Cigar was bred in Maryland and is based in California. Jockey Jerry Bailey has ridden Cigar throughout the historic winning streak. Most of Citation's victories in his streak from 1948 through 1950 were in his spectacular 1948 three-year-old season, during which the great horse swept Thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown with seeming ease and won 19 of his 20 races. A leg injury sidelined Citation in 1949. During his career, Citation had a famous rivalry with the Irish-bred horse Noor that produced world record times. Citation also became the first horse in the world to win $1 million. Citation's jockey was racing legend Eddie Arcaro, and Citation raced for Calumet Farm, a fixture of Thoroughbred racing that has produced many champions through its more than 60 years in the sport. Citation was sired by Bull Lea, the stallion who was the cornerstone of Calumet's breeding program. Source: Encarta Yearbook, August 1996. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.