Teleprompter (11 April 1980 – October 2003) was a British thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the fifth running of the Arlington Million in 1985, a victory that helped change the rules of racing in Europe.
Teleprompter did not win again in 1983 but was placed in his four remaining races, most notably the Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket Racecourse in October when he started favourite and finished second by a head to the four-year-old Sagamore.
Ridden by Brian Rouse, he took the lead soon after the start and was never overtaken, winning by a length from the Vincent O'Brien-trained favourite Salmon Leap.
The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in October was then a Group Two race and represented the highest level of competition open to Teleprompter in his home country.
He was ridden by Willie Carson and started at odds of 11/2 against five opponents including the leading three-year-old colt Chief Singer, the Coronation Stakes winner Katies, and the four-year-old Sackford, who had won the race in 1983.
[7] Teleprompter again finished unplaced on his seasonal debut but then failed by only a short-head against Prismatic in Lockinge Stakes (then a Group Two race) at Newbury Racecourse.
In July he was ridden by Tony Ives as won his second Pacemaker International, beating Northern Plain by six lengths and then finished second to Parliament in the Land of Burns Stakes.
[8] In August Teleprompter was accompanied by his fellow British challengers King of Clubs and Free Guest as he was sent to contest the fifth running of the Arlington Million in Chicago.
The race was briefly under threat as many of the racecourse buildings had been destroyed by a fire on 31 July,[9] but temporary stands were erected and a crowd of 35,000 were in attendance for what was known as the "Miracle Million".
[10] The American-trained runners included Gate Dancer, Greinton, Both Ends Burning (Oak Tree Invitational Stakes), Kings Island (Sunset Handicap) and Dahar (Prix Lupin).
Unusually he was settled towards the rear of the field and struggled to obtain a clear run before making ground in the straight and finishing second to the 2000 Guineas winner Shadeed.
On his final appearance of the year he was sent back to the United States and moved up in distance for the Breeders' Cup Turf over one and a half miles at Belmont Park.
His only victory came in October when he won the Breeder' Cup prep Mile, a newly created race run at Phoenix Park Racecourse.
In November he ended his season with a run in the Washington, D.C. International at Laurel Park Racecourse where he started slowly and finished fifth behind Lieutenant's Lark.