Dubbed The Sultan of Saratoga, New York-bred gelding Fourstardave earned his place in Saratoga Race Course lore by winning at least one race at the track for eight consecutive years (1987-1994).
Bred and owned by Richard Bomze and trained by Leo O’Brien, Fourstardave won 21 of his 100 lifetime starts and finished in the top three 55 times, with earnings of $1,636,737. Upon his retirement, Fourstardave was honored at Siro’s restaurant, where he was presented with an edible key to the city and had a small nearby lane named in his honor (Fourstardave Way).
The New York Racing Association has recognized him with a Grade I race and a sports bar in the lower carousel at the Race Course. Fourstardave died in 2002 at the age of 17 and was buried at the track’s Clare Court, joining Mourjane and A Phenomenon. (They’re the only three horses buried there; a fourth, Go For Wand, is buried in Saratoga’s infield.)
Here Are Three Things You Should Know About Fourstardave:
1. In the 1991 Daryl’s Joy Stakes at the Saratoga Race Course, Fourstardave set a track record for 1 1/16 miles on turf, covering the distance in 1:38.91. The record stood until 2015 (when it was beaten by Ironicus). The Daryl’s Joy was later renamed The Fourstardave.
2. Fourstardave raced at 13 different tracks in his career. He competed in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Hampshire, Minnesota and even Hong Kong. Twenty-one of his races took place at Saratoga. He won nine of those, including six stakes races.
3. In 1997, at the age of 12, Fourstardave competed in a steeplechase exhibition race at the Kentucky Horse Park to raise money for charity. He finished second.
