Going to the Winner's Circle, (sculpture).

Going to the Winner's Circle, (sculpture).

Reardon, Gwen, sculptor.

Going to the Winner's Circle, (sculpture).

Thoroughbred Native Dancer with Jockey Eric Guerin Up, (sculpture).

Dedicated Aug. 1, 2015.

Sculpture: bronze with painted jockey silks and saddlecloth; Base: granite.

(On front of granite base:) Welcome to / Saratoga Springs

Thoroughbred Native Dancer is portrayed in a trot, his proper left front hoof off the ground, his head looking forward, eyes and ears alert, his tail flowing. Jockey Eric Guerin, in the silks of Alfred G. Vanderbilt's Sagamore Farm of Maryland, with cap and riding boots has both hands on the reins, and feet in stirrups, and on his racing saddle, as he looks down on his mount who has again carried him to victory. The sculpture and base stand before a bank of flowers and a stepped semi-circular masonry wall, which contain fountain jets, at the intersection of Union Avenue and Circular Street in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Animal -- Portrait -- Native Dancer

Portrait male -- Guerin, Eric -- Full length

Occupation -- Sport -- Jockey

Outdoor Sculpture -- New York -- Saratoga Springs

Administered by City of Saratoga Springs, Saratoga Springs, New York

Located Centennial Park, Union Avenue & Circular Street, Saratoga Springs, New York

The sculpture was commissioned by, and was the gift of, MaryLou Whitney and John Hendrickson for the Centennial Celebration of Saratoga Springs City Charter in 2015. MaryLou Whitney and John Hendrickson for the Centennial Celebration of Saratoga Springs City Charter 1915-2015 also donated a new park, named Centennial Park, at the intersection of Union Avenue and Circular Street. This pocket park is formed from and adjoins well known Congress Park. The benefactors commissioned equine artist Gwen Reardon to create a sculpture of the famous thoroughbred race horse Native Dancer with Jockey Eric Guerin in the saddle, returning once again to the Saratoga Winner’s Circle. Native Dancer, a stalwart in thoroughbred racing and breeding, raced in the colors of Sagamore Farms for owner Alfred G. Vanderbilt, and won every time he went to the post at Saratoga Race Course. As a 2-year-old he won all nine of his starts including the Flash Stakes, The Saratoga Special, the Grand Union Hotel and the Hopeful Stakes all in the month of August 1952 at the Spa. Native Dancer suffered his only ever defeat, in the Kentucky Derby of 1953, losing by a head, after possibly being fouled. He returned that summer to Saratoga and won the Travers Stakes, known as the Midsummer Derby, which has been run since 1864. Native Dancer became widely known through the then new medium of television, as his shiny grey coat made him easily recognizable on the black and white displays. The sculpture has been placed to greet visitors, as they move west on Union Avenue from the racetrack to the City of Saratoga Springs. IAS files contain copies of articles from the Saratogian (Saratoga Springs, NY) Aug. 1, 2015, Times Union (Saratoga Springs, NY), Aug. 1, 2015, and This is Horse Racing, Sept 2, 2014.

Orzell, Bill, 2016.

Saratogian (Saratoga Springs, NY) Aug. 1, 2015.

Times Union (Saratoga Springs, NY), Aug. 1, 2015.

Saratogian (Saratoga Springs, NY) Aug. 1, 2015.

Times Union (Saratoga Springs, NY), Aug. 1, 2015.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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