Petition

A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication.

In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some official and signed by numerous individuals. A petition may be oral rather than written, and in this era may be transmitted via the Internet.

Legal

Petition can also be the title of a legal pleading that initiates a legal case. The initial pleading in a civil lawsuit that seeks only money (damages) might be called (in most U.S. courts) a complaint. An initial pleading in a lawsuit that seeks non-monetary or "equitable" relief, such as a request for a writ of mandamus or habeas corpus, custody of a child, or probate of a will, is instead called a petition.

Early history

In pre-modern Imperial China petitions were always sent to an Office of Transmission (Tongzheng si or 通政司) where court secretaries read petitions aloud to the emperor. Petitions could be sent by anybody, from a scholar-official to a common farmer, although the petitions were more likely read to the emperor if they were persuasive enough to impeach questionable and corrupt local officials from office. When petitions arrived to the throne, multiple copies were made of the original and stored with the Office of Supervising Secretaries before the original written petition was sent to the emperor.

Petition (horse)

Petition (1944–1964) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was officially rated the second-best two-year-old in Britain in 1946 when he won the New Stakes, Richmond Stakes, Gimcrack Stakes and Champagne Stakes. He won on his debut in 1947 but sustained an injury when finishing unplaced in the 2000 Guineas and failed to win in two subsequent races that year. In 1948 he returned to his best form to beat a strong field in the Eclipse Stakes. He was retired to stud where he became a successful and influential breeding stallion.

Background

Petition was a brown horse bred by his owner, Sir Alfred Butt. He was sired by Fair Trial, whose other offspring included Palestine, Festoon and Court Martial. Petition's dam Art Paper, won two races and had produced the Dewhurst Stakes winner Paper Weight.

The colt was sent into training with Frank Butters at his Fitzroy stable in Newmarket, Suffolk.

Racing career

1946: two-year-old season

As a two-year-old, Petition was ridden in most of his races by Harry Wragg. He made his racecourse debut at York Racecourse in May finishing third in the Eglington Stakes. In the following month, he was sent to Royal Ascot for the New Stakes (the race now known as the Norfolk Stakes) over five furlongs. He started at odds of 7/4 and won from Goldsborough with the future Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe Migoli in third. The opposition to Petition in the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood Racecourse was not strong and he won easily at odds of 1/5. In August he started 13/8 favourite for the Gimcrack takes over six furlongs at York and won from Sayajirao a colt who went on to win the Irish Derby and the St Leger Stakes in the following year. Petition ended his season in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster Racecourse in September. Edgar Britt, an Australian jockey, took over from Wragg on Petition, and the colt won his fourth consecutive race at odds of 21/20.

Petition (disambiguation)

Petition may refer to:

See also