Undefeated Black Caviar received a rare distinction Feb. 21 when she became only the second active racehorse to be inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.
The Bel Esprit mare scored her 23rd win in as many career starts Feb. 16 in a race named in her honor, the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (Aus-I), and joins two-time W.S. Cox Plate (Aus-I) winner and three-time Australian Horse of the Year Sunline as the only other horse in training to be enshrined.
A 13-time group I winner and two-time Australian Horse of the Year trained by Peter Moody, Black Caviar was one of 10 racing greats in the 2013 induction class, joining three other horses, two jockeys, a trainer, and three associates when honored during ceremonies at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne.
The high point of the evening came when inaugural Hall of Fame member Carbine, who carried a record 66 kilograms (145 pounds) to victory in the 1890 Melbourne Cup, was elevated to Legend status alongside Phar Lap, Makybe Diva, Bart Cummings, Arthur 'Scobie' Breasley, and Tommy Smith.
Horses inducted along with Black Caviar were Australia's most famous steeplechaser Crisp; 1951 Melbourne Cup winner Delta; and Star Kingdom, an imported English sprinter who was known not only for his achievements as a racehorse but also for his a legacy as a stallion in the 1950s and 1960s.
Also inducted were jockeys Hughie' Cairns, who in 1926 became the first rider to win the Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup in the one year, and Geoff Lane, who was Victoria's champion apprentice of the late 1950s.
Bruce McLachlan, a winner of 16 Brisbane training titles, was the lone trainer inducted, while the three associates honored were Sydney farrier Albert O'Cass, prominent South Australian bloodstock agent and administrator David Coles, and totalizator inventor Sir George Julius.
Membership in the Australian Racing Hall of Fame stands at 142.
