lexington: greatest american sire of the 19th century

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19th century thoroughbred breeding, bloodstock history, glencoe, lexington, physical description of lexington, the thoroughbred record, thoroughbred history

An outstanding racehorse who set records racing four-mile heats, Lexington had the combination of athletic talents that allowed his offspring to bridge the transition from long-distance heat racing to modern dash races decided in a single heat.

Especially when combined with some of the top-caliber broodmare sires, such as Glencoe, Lexington transformed his superior heat-racing qualities of ruggedness and quick recovery into fleet expressions of single-heat success.

As a result, the bay son of Boston led the American sires list 16 times and died as one of the most renowned stallions in the breed. His genetic legacy is the foundation of every American pedigree of the late 19th century and early 20th. Even today, Lexington is there in the far reaches of many pedigrees.

In an unsigned obituary from The Thoroughbred Record of 9 July 1875, probably by BG Bruce, we read that

Lexington was a blood bay, fifteen hands three inches high, with four white feet extending over the pastern joints; his head, though not small, was clean, bony and handsome — his nostrils being large, the jawbone uncommonly wide, and the jaws wide apart, affording abundant room for a clear and well detached throttle. His bones were not particularly large except the backbone, which was immensely so. His neck rose well from his shoulders and joined his head admirably. His shoulders were wide and well placed, particularly oblique, and rising well at the withers. His back was of medium length, coupling well back; a loin wide, slightly arched and very powerful. His body was large, round and full, being ribbed in the best possible manner, very deep through the heart, which made his legs look short. His hips were not remarkably wide, though strong. His arms were not large, and his second thigh [gaskin] was peculiarly light and thin, and to our eye, was his greatest defect. His feet and legs were small and clean, with tendons large and strong as catgut. His action was superb — bold, free, elastic, and full of power.

From this description, allied with photos and paintings of the horse, it is clear that Lexington a medium-sized, scopy, well-balanced animal with considerable power, although noted as lacking a really powerful gaskin. That last betrays his heritage as a thorough distance racer, and doubtless the great broodmare sire Glencoe, who is described as having an exceptional gaskin, provided some benefit to Lexington’s sons and daughters in that regard too.

Lexington was sent to stud in 1855 at WF Harper’s farm near Midway, Ky., and near the middle of 1856, RA Alexander bought the young stallion from owner Ten Broeck for $15,000. Thereafter, Lexington stood at Alexander’s Woodburn Stud until his death on 1 July 1875.

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when demand dries up

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breeders protective association, broodmare sales, chant, falsetto, his eminence, history of breeding, Kentucky Derby, oh chenault, patroness, sir huon, thoroughbred history, thoroughbred record

The current economic maladies are not, lamentably, new to America, or other countries, either. Rises and falls are a cyclical part of capitalist economics, and the country was thrashing in the consumptive agonies of depression during the last decade of the 19th century.

One of the results of the turmoil was to eliminate demand for racehorses, making the supply far too large. But our practical forebears did not flinch from such difficulties and found ways of tapping the excess and draining it off.

More than a century ago, they formed the Breeders Protective Association and began operating at auctions to purchase mares of little pedigree and less worth. Their premise was that “getting rid of the culls means a legitimate increase in high-class mares only, and carries with it the idea of yearlings in the future coming from representative broodmares of America. The system is the same as that which has for many years been practiced in England with the result being that yearling fillies from the better class of English matrons, when put up at auction, bring handsome prices on the basis that whether good race mares or not, their royal lineage will render them fit to enter those exclusive harems from which great racehorses emanate.” (The Thoroughbred Record, 1900)

The Breeders Protective Association purchased 194 broodmares at sales in 1898 and 1899 for a total of $3,754.60. Thus, the BPA was scooping up $50 mares, burning their registration papers, and selling them on as riding horses or whatever (there were no dog foods plants, for instance, at that time).

The practice had some of the predicted effects, making yearlings somewhat more scarce and more expensive, therefore more reasonable for breeders to produce.

There were also some surprises in the program. O.H. Chenault, who worked as agent for the BPA and was the organization’s secretary-treasurer, purchased the 16-year-old Pat Malloy mare Patroness for $75 at the Woodburn Farm dispersal in November 1897. Perhaps she fell a bit outside the organization’s price guidelines or perhaps she was just a bit too nice to dump or perhaps Chenault just got lucky.

The mare was in foal to Falsetto at the time of sale, and the next spring she produced the bay colt His Eminence. Three years later, that colt won the Kentucky Derby.

His Eminence was one of three Kentucky Derby winners sired by Falsetto. The others were Chant (1894) and Sir Huon (1906).