The Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame added its 40th member Sunday afternoon with the induction of Demonstrative. In addition, Palace Malice was recognized as Aiken's 2014 Horse of the Year.
More than 100 people turned out to honor two of Aiken's finest equine athletes. They filled all the seats underneath the tent in the courtyard of the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum, and they stood in the back and along the sides.
After accepting a silver trophy, Demonstrative's owner, Jacqueline Ohrstrom, described the 8-year-old gelding as "sort of a once-in-a-life-time horse."
The credit for Demonstrative's success, she said, should go to his trainer, Richard Valentine; his regular rider, Robert Walsh, and Valentine's assistant, Laird George.
Ohrstrom, who called the induction "a great honor," also told the crowd about Valentine's purchase of Demonstrative at a sale in England in 2010.
"He rang me up and said, 'I've found the most wonderful horse for you; he's bred by Gainsborough Farm, and he's by Elusive Quality,' " Ohrstrom said.
Her reply, she recalled, was "Wonderful, but I'll never be able to afford him."
Fortunately for Valentine and Ohrstrom, some of the auction's major buyers attended a big luncheon on the day that Demonstrative went through the sale ring, and Valentine was able to buy him for 25,000 guineas, or about $42,000.
Last year, Demonstrative won the Eclipse Award for champion steeplechase horse after winning three consecutive grade I stakes races. He trained and raced in Aiken in 2011, and he recently came back here for an afternoon canter in Hitchcock Woods.
Now, Demonstrative divides his time between Camden and The Plains, Virginia.
"We enjoyed our time here, but my business grew and we sort of outgrew Aiken," Valentine said. "We wish there was a way we could put up some hurdles and train here year-round."
Demonstrative also was a finalist for the Eclipse Award for champion steeplechase horse in 2012.
Other members of the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame include Kelso, Shuvee, Pleasant Colony, Swale and Forty Niner.
Palace Malice won the grade I Metropolitan Handicap while putting together a four-race win streak last year. He was a finalist for the Eclipse Award for champion older male.
In addition, Palace Malice was the Aiken-Trained Horse of the Year in 2013 when he won the grade I Belmont Stakes and was a finalist for the Eclipse Award for champion 3-year-old male.
Only one other horse, Quality Road, has been the Aiken-Trained Horse of the Year twice, earning the honor in 2009 and 2010.
Dogwood Stable owns Palace Malice in partnership with Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky.
"It's wonderful to receive an award from my hometown for the second year in a row," said Dogwood President Cot Campbell.
Palace Malice is in Florida preparing for his 2015 racing campaign. The 5-year-old horse is scheduled to return to competition in the grade III Westchester Stakes on May 2 at Belmont Park in New York. Last year, he won that race by 9 ¾ lengths.