Aristides (racehorse)
Encyclopedia
Aristides was an American
Thoroughbred
racehorse
who won the first Kentucky Derby
in 1875.
In 1875 the Derby was raced at a mile and a half, the distance it would remain until 1896 when it was changed to its present mile and a quarter. There were no roses for Aristides; roses weren't introduced until Hall of Famer
Ben Brush
won in 1896.
thoroughbred
with a white star and two hind stockings, Aristides was bred by Hal Price McGrath and foaled in 1872. He was sired by the great English
stud Leamington
, which made him a half brother to another great sire, Hall of Famer
Longfellow
, who, during his racing career, was called "King of the Turf." And yet, Hal McGrath did not consider Aristides first rate, even though his dam (Sarong) was out of one of the United States
' greatest sires Lexington
, whose bloodline went back to Glencoe and Hall of Famer
Boston
.
Aristides (named for his breeder's good friend and fellow horse breeder, the Pennsylvanian Aristides Welch
who owned Erdenheim Stud and who had imported Leamington into the United States) was foaled late in the season, and was small, never standing taller than about 15 hands. It was his stablemate and half-brother, the bay Chesapeake, was expected to do well at the races.
Price McGrath was born to poverty in Woodford County, Kentucky
, and had gone west for the great California Gold Rush
. He did well enough to open a gambling house in New York
. In a single night he won $105,000, which allowed him to return to Kentucky and establish a stud farm.
Both Aristides and Chesapeake were born and bred on the McGrathiana Farm in Fayette County, Kentucky
, a short canter from Lexington
.
, two of them fillies. The track was fast, the weather was fine, and ten thousand people were in attendance. Aristides was one of two horses entered by Hal McGrath. The other, of course, was Chesapeake. Both horses wore the green and orange silks of H.P. McGrath. Trained by future Hall of Famer
,
Ansel Williamson
, an African American
, Aristides was ridden by Oliver Lewis
, also African American. McGrath expected the smaller speedball Aristides to be the "rabbit." He was to go out front fast and force the pace so that Chesapeake, ridden by Bobby Swim (a celebrated jockey, and white), could stalk the front runners, and when they and Aristides tired, would come from behind to vanquish the exhausted field.
Just as McGrath had planned, little Aristides broke in front and took the lead, but a horse called McCreery quickly overtook him near the end of the first quarter. Aristides fought back to lead again, followed by McCreery, Ten Broeck
, Volcano, and Verdigris. Chesapeake, meanwhile, was almost the last to break and wasn't doing much at the back of the pack. As the "rabbit," the willing Aristides kept gradually increasing his lead until there was really no chance that Chesapeake could ever catch up. Chesapeake was that kind of horse...and this McGrath did not plan. Aristides's jockey
, Oliver Lewis, knowing he wasn't supposed to win, looked to owner McGrath...but McGrath wisely waved him on. Both Volcano and Verdigris challenged Aristides in the stretch but it was no use—Aristides won by a long length and took the $2850 pool. Chesapeake came in 8th. (A horse who would go on to greatness came in fifth that day: Hall of Famer Ten Broeck
owned by Uncle John Harper.)
The Louisville Courier-Journal wrote: "It is the gallant Aristides, heir to a mighty name, that strides with sweeping gallop toward victory...and the air trembles and vibrates again with the ringing cheers that followed."
, the race that today is the third race in the triple crown of American thoroughbred horse racing
. He also took the Jerome Handicap
, the Withers Stakes
, the Breckinridge (beating the great Tom Ochiltree
), and won a match race over another great, Ten Broeck. He came in second in the Thespian Stakes and the Ocean Hotel Stakes and was third in the Travers Stakes
.
All in all, Aristides raced twenty one times with nine Wins, five Places, and one Show. His career earnings were $18,325, a considerable sum at the time.
In 1875, he was the American Champion Three Year Old Male.
Aristides died on June 21, 1893. In 1988, the Aristides Stakes
was inaugurated at Churchill Downs to honor him. A life-sized bronze statue of Aristides by Carl Regutti stands in the Clubhouse Gardens as a memorial.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
who won the first Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
in 1875.
In 1875 the Derby was raced at a mile and a half, the distance it would remain until 1896 when it was changed to its present mile and a quarter. There were no roses for Aristides; roses weren't introduced until Hall of Famer
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
Ben Brush
Ben Brush (horse)
Ben Brush was a high class Thoroughbred racehorse and sire who won the 1896 Kentucky Derby. He was a bay stallion by Bramble out of Roseville by Reform...
won in 1896.
Lineage
A chestnutChestnut (color)
Chestnut, also known as Indian red, is a color, a medium brownish shade of red, and is named after the nut of the chestnut tree.As Indian red, it is named after the red laterite soil found in India. It is thus an earth tone as well as a red. It is composed of naturally occurring iron oxides. Other...
thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
with a white star and two hind stockings, Aristides was bred by Hal Price McGrath and foaled in 1872. He was sired by the great English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
stud Leamington
Leamington (horse)
Leamington was a Thoroughbred racehorse, and an influential sire in the United States during the second half of the nineteenth century. He was not only a fast horse, but also showed great staying ability....
, which made him a half brother to another great sire, Hall of Famer
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
Longfellow
Longfellow (horse)
Longfellow was one of America's first great Thoroughbred racehorses and the sire of great racehorses. A legend in his own time, he was out of the first crop of the outstanding imported English stallion Leamington....
, who, during his racing career, was called "King of the Turf." And yet, Hal McGrath did not consider Aristides first rate, even though his dam (Sarong) was out of one of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' greatest sires Lexington
Lexington (horse)
Lexington was a United States Thoroughbred race horse who won six of his seven race starts. Perhaps his greatest fame came however as the most successful sire of the second half of the nineteenth century; he was the Leading sire in North America 16 times, and of his many brood mare and racer...
, whose bloodline went back to Glencoe and Hall of Famer
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
Boston
Boston (horse)
Boston , was an outstanding chestnut Thoroughbred racehorse and a Leading sire in North America three times from 1851 to 1853. He started in about 45 races, winning 40 of these, including 15 in succession...
.
Aristides (named for his breeder's good friend and fellow horse breeder, the Pennsylvanian Aristides Welch
Aristides Welch
Aristides J. Welch was an American Thoroughbred racehorse breeder.Welch owned Erdenheim Stud at Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. In 1870 he purchased the mare Maggie B. B. from Captain T. G. Moore and stood her at Erdenheim. In 1872 he purchased the sire Leamington...
who owned Erdenheim Stud and who had imported Leamington into the United States) was foaled late in the season, and was small, never standing taller than about 15 hands. It was his stablemate and half-brother, the bay Chesapeake, was expected to do well at the races.
Price McGrath was born to poverty in Woodford County, Kentucky
Woodford County, Kentucky
Woodford County is a county located in the heart of the Bluegrass region of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 23,208. Its county seat is Versailles. The county is named for General William Woodford, who was with General George Washington at Valley Forge...
, and had gone west for the great California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
. He did well enough to open a gambling house in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In a single night he won $105,000, which allowed him to return to Kentucky and establish a stud farm.
Both Aristides and Chesapeake were born and bred on the McGrathiana Farm in Fayette County, Kentucky
Fayette County, Kentucky
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 295,083 in the 2010 Census. Its territory, population and government are coextensive with the city of Lexington, which also serves as county seat....
, a short canter from Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
.
Kentucky Derby
Fifteen horses were entered into the first Kentucky Derby1875 Kentucky Derby
The 1875 Kentucky Derby was the 1st running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 17, 1875. The first Kentucky Derby was a 1.5 mile race, and the traditional distance of 1.25 miles was not established until the 1896 Derby. Thirteen of the fifteen jockeys in the race, including winner...
, two of them fillies. The track was fast, the weather was fine, and ten thousand people were in attendance. Aristides was one of two horses entered by Hal McGrath. The other, of course, was Chesapeake. Both horses wore the green and orange silks of H.P. McGrath. Trained by future Hall of Famer
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
,
Ansel Williamson
Ansel Williamson
Ansel Williamson was an African American thoroughbred horse racing trainerAnsel Williamson was born a slave in Virginia sometime around the middle part of the 19th century. In 1864 he was purchased by Robert A. Alexander, owner of the famous Woodburn Stud near Midway, Kentucky. Taught the breeding...
, an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, Aristides was ridden by Oliver Lewis
Oliver Lewis
Oliver Lewis was an African-American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. In 1875, Lewis rode in the very first Kentucky Derby on the winning horse, Aristides...
, also African American. McGrath expected the smaller speedball Aristides to be the "rabbit." He was to go out front fast and force the pace so that Chesapeake, ridden by Bobby Swim (a celebrated jockey, and white), could stalk the front runners, and when they and Aristides tired, would come from behind to vanquish the exhausted field.
Just as McGrath had planned, little Aristides broke in front and took the lead, but a horse called McCreery quickly overtook him near the end of the first quarter. Aristides fought back to lead again, followed by McCreery, Ten Broeck
Ten Broeck
Ten Broeck was an American U.S. Racing Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse whose 1878 match race win in Louisville against the great California mare, Mollie McCarty was immortalized in the Kentucky folk song commonly called Molly and Tenbrooks.Bred by John Harper at his farm near Midway,...
, Volcano, and Verdigris. Chesapeake, meanwhile, was almost the last to break and wasn't doing much at the back of the pack. As the "rabbit," the willing Aristides kept gradually increasing his lead until there was really no chance that Chesapeake could ever catch up. Chesapeake was that kind of horse...and this McGrath did not plan. Aristides's jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
, Oliver Lewis, knowing he wasn't supposed to win, looked to owner McGrath...but McGrath wisely waved him on. Both Volcano and Verdigris challenged Aristides in the stretch but it was no use—Aristides won by a long length and took the $2850 pool. Chesapeake came in 8th. (A horse who would go on to greatness came in fifth that day: Hall of Famer Ten Broeck
Ten Broeck
Ten Broeck was an American U.S. Racing Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse whose 1878 match race win in Louisville against the great California mare, Mollie McCarty was immortalized in the Kentucky folk song commonly called Molly and Tenbrooks.Bred by John Harper at his farm near Midway,...
owned by Uncle John Harper.)
The Louisville Courier-Journal wrote: "It is the gallant Aristides, heir to a mighty name, that strides with sweeping gallop toward victory...and the air trembles and vibrates again with the ringing cheers that followed."
Further races
Aristides, again ridden by Oliver Lewis, came in second in the Belmont StakesBelmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
, the race that today is the third race in the triple crown of American thoroughbred horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. He also took the Jerome Handicap
Jerome Handicap
The Jerome Stakes is a Grade II race for thoroughbred horses run each fall at one mile on the dirt at Belmont Park. It is open to three-year-olds and carries a purse of $150,000. The race is a prep race to several races of the Breeders' Cup....
, the Withers Stakes
Withers Stakes
The Withers Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds willing to compete one mile on the dirt. Held at Aqueduct Racetrack every year at the end of April , it is a Grade III event, and offers a purse of $150,000...
, the Breckinridge (beating the great Tom Ochiltree
Tom Ochiltree
Tom Ochiltree , was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, one of the last by the great foundation stallion, blind Lexington, still standing at what by then was A. J. Alexander's Woodburn Stud in Kentucky. Tom Ochiltree was an enormous colt, eventually reaching 16 hands 2½ inches high with a girth of...
), and won a match race over another great, Ten Broeck. He came in second in the Thespian Stakes and the Ocean Hotel Stakes and was third in the Travers Stakes
Travers Stakes
The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers...
.
All in all, Aristides raced twenty one times with nine Wins, five Places, and one Show. His career earnings were $18,325, a considerable sum at the time.
In 1875, he was the American Champion Three Year Old Male.
Aristides died on June 21, 1893. In 1988, the Aristides Stakes
Aristides Breeders' Cup Stakes
The Aristides Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early June at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The Grade III sprint race for three-year-olds is run on dirt over a distance of six furlongs The race currently offers a purse of $150,000.The Aristides Stakes is...
was inaugurated at Churchill Downs to honor him. A life-sized bronze statue of Aristides by Carl Regutti stands in the Clubhouse Gardens as a memorial.