The Whitney family remain to this day a leading name in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing.

In both of Artful's first two starts at age two at Saratoga Race Course (a track that William Collins Whitney had a hand in rejuvenating), her stablemate was declared to win against her.

Artful's victory was also over a field of exceptional strength (and said at the time to be the finest juvenile field ever assembled): the Canadian champion Oiseau, the fillies and future classic winners Tanya and Agile, and the unbeaten filly Tradition.

That record stood for fifty years, only broken on a straight course and under a much lighter burden of 115 pounds.

In her three-year-old season, Artful won two sprints to prepare for the Brighton Handicap which she took "pulling up," (slowing down).