Drosselmeyer (foaled April 1, 2007, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 2010 Belmont Stakes and the 2011 Breeders' Cup Classic. Background Drosselmeyer was sired by multiple stakes winner Distorted Humor, most famous as the sire of dual Classic winner Funny Cide. His dam was Golden Ballet, a multiple Grade 1 winner. Distorted Humor was known for his speed, while Golden Ballet's pedigree was more stamina oriented. Her sire Moscow Ballet was a son of 1971 English Triple Crown champion Nijinsky and her dam was by multiple grade I winner Slew o' Gold by Seattle Slew. Further back in her pedigree are four crosses to the outstanding broodmare La Troienne. Drosselmeyer was purchased at the 2008 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $600,000 by WinStar Farm LLC of Versailles, Kentucky, who entrusted his race conditioning to Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. The colt was named for a character from The Nutcracker ballet. Racing career Drosselmeyer raced four times at age two, earning his first win in a maiden special weight race at Churchill Downs on November 18 in his final start of 2009. To start his three-year-old campaign, Drosselmeyer won an allowance race at Gulfstream Park on January 31. He then finished fourth in his first graded stakes appearance, the Risen Star Stakes, held on February 20 at Fair Grounds Race Course. In an attempt to qualify for the 2010 Kentucky Derby, he next entered the Louisiana Derby, finishing third. However, his earnings from the two stakes races were not sufficient to qualify for the Derby. Instead, Drosselmeyer next raced in the Dwyer Stakes, on May 8, finishing a well beaten second behind the winner Fly Down. After the Dwyer, Drosselmeyer trained well despite experiencing soreness in the frogs of his hooves. Mott soaked the colt's legs in hot water and Epsom salts twice a day, and also had the horse reshod. "It looked like [the frogs] were becoming a bit of a problem, so we put on a simple aluminum bar shoe to give him a little protection," Mott said. "I think we could have run into some trouble had we not done it. As a trainer, that's a gratifying part of it." In the 2010 Belmont Stakes held on June 5, Drosselmeyer and his new jockey Mike Smith went off at odds of 13-1. With the winners of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness