Lexington (March 17, 1850 – July 1, 1875) was a United States Thoroughbred race horse who won six of his seven race starts. Perhaps his greatest fame, however, came as the most successful sire of the second half of the nineteenth century; he was the leading sire in North America 16 times, and broodmare sire of many notable racehorses.
Background Lexington was a bay horse with irregular white markings on his face and four white socks on his legs. and was described as having good conformation though he had a distinctive convex profile, described as a "moose head." At stud, he developed a willful and somewhat vicious temperament. He was bred by Elisha Warfield at Warfield's stud farm, The Meadows, near Lexington, Kentucky. Lexington was sired by the Hall of Fame stallion, Boston.
Racing record Under the name of "Darley" Lexington easily won his first two races for Warfield and his partner, "Burbridge's Harry", a.k.a. Harry Lewis, a former slave turned well-known horse trainer. Lewis, being black, was not allowed to enter "Darley" in races in his own name, so the horse ran in Warfield's name and colors.The Spell of the Turf by Samuel C. Hildreth and James R. Crowell, J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1926. Darley caught the eye of Richard Ten Broeck who asked Warfield to name his price. "Darley", the son of Boston, and Jarret, Lewis's son who was still enslaved, were sold in 1853 to Ten Broeck acting on behalf of a syndicate who would rename him Lexington. Affixed to Lexington's pedigree Warfield wrote: "The colt was bred by me, as was also his dam, which I now and will ever, own...E. Warfield."
A syndicate made up of Richard Ten Broeck, General Abe Buford, Captain Willa Viley, and Junius R. Ward, bought Lexington for $2,500 between heats (or during the running of his race), so tried claiming the purse money when he won. Failing that, he tried to deduct the purse money from the sale price. But Warfield held out. His new owners immediately sent Lexington to Natchez, Mississippi, to train under J. B. Pryor.
Lexington raced at age three and four and although he only competed seven times, many of his races were grueling four-mile events. Lexington won six of his seven races and finished second once. One of his wins was the Phoenix Hotel Handicap in 1853. On April 2, 1855, at the Metairie race course in New Orleans, he set a record running in 7 minutes, 19 seconds, running against time. Even with his complex and hard-fought rivalry with the horse Lecomte (also a son of Boston, both born just after Boston died), he was known as the best race horse of his day. His second match with Lecomte on April 14, 1855, was considered one of the greatest matches of the century. But Lexington had to be retired at the end of 1855 as a result of poor eyesight. His sire, Boston, had also gone blind. Conservation work in 2010 revealed that Lexington had had a massive facial infection that resulted in his going blind.
Stud record
Lexington stood for a time at the Nantura Stock Farm of Uncle John Harper in Midway, Kentucky, along with the famous racer and sire, Glencoe. Sold to Robert A. Alexander for $15,000 in 1858, reportedly the then highest price ever paid for an American horse, Lexington was sent to Alexander's Woodburn Stud at Spring Station, Kentucky.
He stood for a price of $100 until 1861, when he first led the sire list, and it was increased to $200. He stood for a limited public fee of $500, the highest in the country and comparable to the leading English stallions, in 1865 and 1866 before being restricted to private stud duties only.
Called "The Blind Hero of Woodburn", Lexington became the leading sire in North America sixteen times, from 1861 through 1874, and then again in 1876 and 1878.Ahnert, Rainer L. (editor in chief), Thoroughbred Breeding of the World, Pozdun Publishing, Germany, 1970 Lexington was the sire of the undefeated Asteroid and Norfolk.Hollingsworth, Kent, The Kentucky Thoroughbred, University Press, Kentucky, 1985 Nine of the first fifteen Travers Stakes were won by one of his sons or daughters. Among his noted progeny are: +FoaledNameSexMajor Wins/Achievements1857IdlewildMareNotable racer1860Lexington OffspringCincinnatiStallionGeneral Ulysses S. Grant's favorite horse. He was depicted in numerous statues of Grant that remain to this day.1861AsteroidStallionUndefeated1861KentuckyStallionTravers Stakes (1864), US Racing Hall of Fame inductee1861NorfolkStallionUndefeated, Jersey Derby (1864)1864HiraMareDam of Himyar1865General DukeStallionBelmont Stakes (1868), American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt1867KingfisherStallionBelmont Stakes (1870), Travers Stakes (1870)1867PreaknessStallionNamesake of the Preakness Stakes, Manhattan Stakes (1873), US Racing Hall of Fame inductee1868Harry BassettStallionBelmont Stakes (1871), US Racing Hall of Fame inductee1868MonarchistStallionGrand National Handicap (1871),1870Tom BowlingStallionTravers Stakes (1873), US Racing Hall of Fame inductee1872Tom OchiltreeStallionPreakness Stakes (1875), US Racing Hall of Fame inductee1873Neecy HaleMareKentucky Oaks (1876)1873ShirleyGeldingPreakness Stakes (1876)1873SultanaMareTravers Stakes (1876), Retrospective Champion Three-Year-Old Filly (1876)1875Belle of NelsonMareKentucky Oaks (1878)1875Duke of MagentaStallionPreakness Stakes (1878), Belmont Stakes (1878), Travers Stakes (1878), US Racing Hall of Fame inductee Racing Museum HoF Retrieved 2010-11-11Australian Stud Book: Lexington (USA) - progeny Retrieved 2010-9-30
Lexington's three Preakness Stakes winners equaled the record of another great sire, Broomstick.
In all Lexington sired 236 winners who won 1,176 races, ran second 348 times and third 42 times for $1,159,321 in prize money.Becker, Friedrich, The Breed of the Racehorse, The British Bloodstock Agency, London, c.1935
During the American Civil War, horses were forcibly conscripted from the Kentucky farms to serve as mounts in the bloody fray. Lexington, 15 years old and blind, had to be hidden away to save him from such a fate. He was sent to Illinois for this purpose.
Lexington died at Woodburn on July 1, 1875, and was buried in a casket in front of the stables. A few years later, in 1878, his owner, through the auspices of J.M. Toner, donated the horse's bones to the U.S. National Museum (the Smithsonian Institution). The pioneering taxidermist Henry Augustus Ward of Ward's Natural Science in Rochester, New York, was called in to supervise the disinterment and preparation of the skeleton. For many years the specimen was exhibited in the Osteology Hall of the National Museum of Natural History. In 1999, Lexington was part of the exhibition "On Time", at the National Museum of American History, where he helped illustrate the history of the first mass-produced stopwatch that split time into fractions of seconds—which was supposedly developed to document Lexington's feats on the race course. In 2010, Smithsonian conservators prepared the skeleton for loan to the International Museum of the Horse in Lexington, Kentucky, in time for the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, the first time these games had been held outside of Europe.
Lexington's dominance in the pedigrees of American-bred Thoroughbreds, and the fact that the British Thoroughbred breeders considered him not a purebred, was a large factor in the so-called Jersey Act of 1913, in which the British Jockey Club limited the registration of horses not traced completely to horses in the General Stud Book. +Summary of Stud CareerYearRank in Sire ListStartersRaces wonMoney Won18597th710$6,70018602nd1237$22,29518611st1327$22,24518621st514$9,70018631st1025$14,23518641st1338$28,44018651st3187$58,75018661st34112$92,79518671st3386$54,03018681st3692$68,34018691st3681$56,37518701st3582$120,36018711st40102$109,09518721st2882$71,51518731st2371$71,56518741st2370$51,89918753rd3033$32,24518761st2134$90,57018772nd2029$32,81518781st1636$60,19518797th1519$17,439.50188017th912$9,297.50188117th67$1,055188217th31$255Totals4991,187$1,102,211 Lexington did additionally have one foal start in 1858 as a two-year-old, finishing second in a single start.
Honors Lexington was part of the first group of horses inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1955. The Belmont Lexington Stakes runs every year at Belmont Park in honor of Lexington, as does the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland Race Course.
On August 31, 2010, the Smithsonian loaned Lexington's skeleton to the International Museum of the Horse at the Kentucky Horse Park, to be exhibited there through August 2013."Lexington has returned to Lexington"
Lexington served as the model for the top of the Woodlawn Vase, given to the winner of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico.
Lexington was exhibited at the 1859 Great St. Louis Fair.
Legacy Lexington was the leading sire in North America a record 16 times. His sire line originally flourished, especially through Norfolk (who in turn produced champions Emperor of Norfolk and El Rio Rey), but then faced increasing competition from European imports. His last known direct male descendant was Conquering Elk (foaled 1987).The Meaning of the death of Midnight BourbonSaudi Arabia has four horses from the nearly dead St Simon sire line However, his influence on the pedigrees of the modern Thoroughbred can still be felt through his daughters, who produced winners Spendthrift, Himyar, Hanover, and Bramble.The Evolution of the American Classic Winner Himyar in turn established a sire line that has survived into the 21st century through Holy Bull,SIRE LINES OF KENTUCKY DERBY WINNERS, 1921-2020 who sired both 2005 Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo and 2000 Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Mucho Uno. In turn, Mucho Uno sired 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Mucho Macho Man, the sire of 2020 Pegasus World Cup winner Mucho Gusto. Likewise, the Spendthrift line has survived into the 21st century through Tiznow, who won the Breeders Cup Classic in consecutive years (2000, 2001); he in turn produced 2008 Belmont Stakes winner Da' Tara, and 2008 Santa Anita Derby and Travers Stakes winner Colonel John.
Lexington is the subject of the best selling novel Horse by Geraldine Brooks, published in 2022.
Sire line tree
LexingtonByerley Turk LinePortraits: LexingtonBiography: LexingtonHall of Fame: Lexington Daniel Boone Cottrill Goodwood Colton Monday Joe HookerPortraits: Joe Hooker Bonanza Ichi Ban C H Todd Surinam Don Jose Sorrento Oregon Eclipse Zaldiver Yo El Rey Rey Del Sierras Shannon Bishop California Mark L Argyle Duke of Monday Guardsman Peel Lightning D'Artagnan Optomist Mars Jongleur Promethee Osman Uncle Vic Victory Harry Edwards Uncle Tom Bulletin Jack Malone Chickamauga Muggins Camargo Damon Bazar Lexington (Embry) Thunder Avalanche Censor Frank Boston Harper Bay Jack Jim Sherwood Dan Heaney Lexington (Hunter) Joe Johnson Judge Wickliffe War DanceBiography: War DanceAmerican Classic Pedigrees: War Dance Ramadan Judge Arnett Wheatly St George Big Fellow Monmouth Stampede Bullion Chance Union Jack Copec Rogers Asteroid George Wilkes Harvey Villain Aerolite Artist Asteroid Astral Ballinkeel Blarney Ceylon Creedmore Beacon Chesapeake CincinnatiGrant the Equestrian Donerail KentuckyHall of Fame: Kentucky Silk Stocking Scratch Bertram Loadstone NorfolkPortraits: Norfolk Norfall Bradley Flood Duke of Norfolk Prince of Norfolk Alta Estil Emperor of NorfolkPortraits: Emperor of NorfolkHall of Fame: Emperor of Norfolk AmericusPortraits: AmericusBiography: Americus Jack Snipe Golden Rod Rey del Carreres Berardello Estaca Norford Cruzados Lantados Americano Norito The Czar El Rio ReyLong before Chrome, El Rio Rey brought horse racing fame to N. Nevada Scarborough Bonus Res Ulverston Keene Richards Woodburn Hardwood Ansel Bay Dick Gilroy Grinstead Gano Peru Volante Hindus Silver Cloud Clio Santiago John M Clay Harry of the West Luther Sharpcatcher Veto Edinborough Jonesboro King Lear Lee Paul Lever Leveller ApolloAmerican Classic Pedigrees: Apollo Merrill Norway