From the first crop of Gallant Fox and foaled at Claiborne Farm, Omaha remains as the only Triple Crown winner sired by a Triple Crown winner. Sir Barton had won all three races in 1919, however the concept of a “Triple Crown” accomplishment comprising of victories in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont was not acknowledged by name until the father-son duo of Gallant Fox and Omaha.
With a penchant for slow starts, Omaha showed his talent as he won at five furlongs in :58 3/5 for his lone victory in nine starts as a 2-year-old. He continued to show promise with strong, late-closing finishes to be fourth in the Saratoga Special, Hopeful and Futurity Stakes. And, with good seconds in the Sanford, Junior Champion, and Champagne Stakes, Omaha was regarded as a Classic prospect for the following season, but not considered the top prospect of rising sophomores.
With a win in his first start that season, Omaha again was off slowly and finished third in the Wood Memorial. Starting from the tenth post position in a 17-horse field in the Kentucky Derby, Omaha’s habit for a slow start for once might have been a help. Staying wide, jockey Willie Saunders kept Omaha out of trouble through the early stages of the Derby as he drew off to win by 1 1/2 lengths after taking the lead as they turned for home. With another patented off the pace move, Omaha stormed to a 6-length victory in the Preakness, just missing the track record at Pimlico. In true ‘old school’ tradition, Omaha ran in the one mile Withers Stakes, finishing second before posting a resounding victory in the third jewel of the Triple Crown. With two weeks’ rest after his Belmont victory, Omaha was third in the Brooklyn Handicap in his first test against older horses. One week afterward, Omaha won the Dwyer Stakes before shipping to Chicago to post an impressive win in the Arlington Classic over two top fillies, Black Helen and Bloodroot, in record time.
Owner William Woodward shipped Omaha to England to run as a 4-year-old in hopes that his late-running style and ability to get a distance would be effective in their premier races. He won a small stakes at Kempton in his first try, then captured the Queen’s Plate. In the grueling 2 1/2 mile test of the Ascot Gold Cup, Omaha put up a gallant effort but lost to a nose to the filly Quashed. In his last career start, Omaha was second in the Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket.
Unlike his Triple Crown-winning sire, Omaha had an unsuccessful career at stud.
Inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame, 1965