Fashion (horse)
Encyclopedia
Fashion was a famous Thoroughbred
four-mile (6,400 meter) racemare
that defeated Boston
and set a record of 7:32½, for that distance, before the American Civil War
. Until her meeting with Peytona, Fashion had started 24 times, and won 23 races, 14 of which were of four-mile heats, 6 of 3-mile heats and 3 of 2-mile heats for earnings of $35,600.
She was sired by Trustee (foaled in Great Britain
in 1829) out of Bonnets o' Blue (foaled in 1827 and by Sir Charles by the great Sir Archy
). Trustee was taken out of retirement at the age of twenty to prove to the young folks how good he had been in his racing days. At that age he ran a four-mile heat in eight minutes flat. Bonnets O'Blue won the National Colt Stakes and a $10,000 match race against Goliah, by Eclipse, over the Union Course in 1831. Her dam was Reahty by Sir Archy making Bonnets O'Blue inbred to Sir Archy
(by Diomed
) in the second generation.
(the farm was located on land that today accommodates Drew University
), the chestnut
Fashion was considered the best racemare of her generation, or any generation that came before her. In 36 starts, Fashion won 32 times, including defeating the great Boston
twice.
In Fashion's day, races were four miles (6,400 meters) long and run in gruelling heats with each heat usually covering a distance of four miles. These races were not contested on tracks; they could be set anywhere the race organizers decided to set them. Up and down hills, through the center of towns and cities, over meadows and through the woods.
William Gibbons was a modest man who only raced horses he'd bred himself, and he never bet. He disliked ostentation, but the public demand for Fashion's match races was huge and he gave in to their pressure more than once. It is said that 70,000 people showed up for the match between Boston and Fashion. Carrier pigeons carried the news of each heat to New York City
newspapers.
in a well publicised match race at the Union Course on Long Island, New York with 70,000 people witnessing the event. In the first heat, the nine-year-old Boston (carrying 126 pounds) cut open a long jagged gash on his hip against a rail and both he and five-year-old Fashion (carrying 124 pounds) were upset by the crowd often surging onto the track. Boston led for three miles, but in the end Fashion won it by 35 lengths setting a new world record of 7:32½ for a four-mile race.
's stride.
The match was set for May 15, 1845, once again at the Union Course. This was going to be the last of the epic match races at Union Course, although no one knew it at the time. The crowd estimate was a possible 100,000 people. Fashion was only the slight favorite. The biggest betting was not on who might win, but on the time the race would be run in. By the day of Peytona's winning race, only four horses showed up, Peytona won a huge stake, and the organizer lost money.
On the morning of the match, reports come down to us that Fashion was under the influence of her estrous cycle, but nothing could stop the race. The smaller, Fashion, carried 123 pounds. The larger mare, Peytona, carried only 116 pounds. Peytona won in straight heats and the South rejoiced. However, Fashion came out of the match in good condition while Peytona came out feverish in both of her front legs. Both mares had been entered in the Jockey Club Purse a few days later but only Fashion competed, winning easily. When Peytona and Fashion met again, this time Fashion won, and again so easily she was pulling up at the finish.
Fashion continued racing until she was eleven years old, hailed everywhere as the greatest American galloper. She ran in a total of 68 heats and lost only 13, for which she had winnings of $41,500.
In 1855 Fashion was sold, when in foal to Monarch, along with her weanling filly, Young Fashion, (by Monarch) and A La Mode, to John Reber of Lancaster, Ohio.
Young Fashion produced ten foals, six of which were good winners, and the mares continued the family for several generations. Her daughter, Bonnie Kate, produced the speedy stakes mare, Bonnie Lizzie. Another Young Fashion daughter, Columbia, was the dam of Double Cross, the sire of Guido, an American record holder for mile heats.
She died in 1860.
s. She had more than one steamboat
named after her and more than one hotel
. Fashion was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
in 1980, 120 years after her death.
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...
four-mile (6,400 meter) racemare
Mare (horse)
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
that defeated 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...
and set a record of 7:32½, for that distance, before the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Until her meeting with Peytona, Fashion had started 24 times, and won 23 races, 14 of which were of four-mile heats, 6 of 3-mile heats and 3 of 2-mile heats for earnings of $35,600.
She was sired by Trustee (foaled in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in 1829) out of Bonnets o' Blue (foaled in 1827 and by Sir Charles by the great Sir Archy
Sir Archy
Sir Archy was an American Thoroughbred racehorse.-Early life:Born and bred in Virginia by two Americans, Capt. Archibald Randolph and Col. John Tayloe III, Sir Archy's sire was the Epsom Derby winner Diomed, who had been imported from England as an older horse...
). Trustee was taken out of retirement at the age of twenty to prove to the young folks how good he had been in his racing days. At that age he ran a four-mile heat in eight minutes flat. Bonnets O'Blue won the National Colt Stakes and a $10,000 match race against Goliah, by Eclipse, over the Union Course in 1831. Her dam was Reahty by Sir Archy making Bonnets O'Blue inbred to Sir Archy
Sir Archy
Sir Archy was an American Thoroughbred racehorse.-Early life:Born and bred in Virginia by two Americans, Capt. Archibald Randolph and Col. John Tayloe III, Sir Archy's sire was the Epsom Derby winner Diomed, who had been imported from England as an older horse...
(by Diomed
Diomed
Diomed, foaled in 1777, was an English-bred Thoroughbred race horse who won the inaugural running of the Epsom Derby and was subsequently a successful sire in the United States of America.-Bright Beginnings:...
) in the second generation.
Racing career
Owned and bred by William Gibbons in Madison, New JerseyMadison, New Jersey
Madison is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the population was 16,530. It also is known as "The Rose City".-Geography:Madison is located at ....
(the farm was located on land that today accommodates Drew University
Drew University
Drew University is a private university located in Madison, New Jersey.Originally established as the Drew Theological Seminary in 1867, the university later expanded to include an undergraduate liberal arts college in 1928 and commenced a program of graduate studies in 1955...
), the chestnut
Chestnut (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...
Fashion was considered the best racemare of her generation, or any generation that came before her. In 36 starts, Fashion won 32 times, including defeating the great 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...
twice.
In Fashion's day, races were four miles (6,400 meters) long and run in gruelling heats with each heat usually covering a distance of four miles. These races were not contested on tracks; they could be set anywhere the race organizers decided to set them. Up and down hills, through the center of towns and cities, over meadows and through the woods.
William Gibbons was a modest man who only raced horses he'd bred himself, and he never bet. He disliked ostentation, but the public demand for Fashion's match races was huge and he gave in to their pressure more than once. It is said that 70,000 people showed up for the match between Boston and Fashion. Carrier pigeons carried the news of each heat to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
newspapers.
North versus South Match Race
On 10 May 1842, five years old, Fashion met BostonBoston (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...
in a well publicised match race at the Union Course on Long Island, New York with 70,000 people witnessing the event. In the first heat, the nine-year-old Boston (carrying 126 pounds) cut open a long jagged gash on his hip against a rail and both he and five-year-old Fashion (carrying 124 pounds) were upset by the crowd often surging onto the track. Boston led for three miles, but in the end Fashion won it by 35 lengths setting a new world record of 7:32½ for a four-mile race.
Peytona versus Fashion
Boston and Fashion did not meet again, although there was pressure to do so. Instead a new rival from the south, a mare called Peytona who'd amassed more money over a shorter career than Fashion, appeared. Peytona won her stake money by racing in one particular event, an affair very reminiscent of today's "futurities" where bets are placed well in advance of a race, in this case years in advance. Peytona was an undefeated mare, with a long stride of 27 feet (8.2 m), which would have rivaled the great LongfellowLongfellow (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....
's stride.
The match was set for May 15, 1845, once again at the Union Course. This was going to be the last of the epic match races at Union Course, although no one knew it at the time. The crowd estimate was a possible 100,000 people. Fashion was only the slight favorite. The biggest betting was not on who might win, but on the time the race would be run in. By the day of Peytona's winning race, only four horses showed up, Peytona won a huge stake, and the organizer lost money.
On the morning of the match, reports come down to us that Fashion was under the influence of her estrous cycle, but nothing could stop the race. The smaller, Fashion, carried 123 pounds. The larger mare, Peytona, carried only 116 pounds. Peytona won in straight heats and the South rejoiced. However, Fashion came out of the match in good condition while Peytona came out feverish in both of her front legs. Both mares had been entered in the Jockey Club Purse a few days later but only Fashion competed, winning easily. When Peytona and Fashion met again, this time Fashion won, and again so easily she was pulling up at the finish.
Fashion continued racing until she was eleven years old, hailed everywhere as the greatest American galloper. She ran in a total of 68 heats and lost only 13, for which she had winnings of $41,500.
Stud record
Fashion produced seven foals in nine years, three of which were by her half-brother, Mariner (by Shark). The two fillies by him, Etiquette (1853) and A la Mode (1854) won some races.In 1855 Fashion was sold, when in foal to Monarch, along with her weanling filly, Young Fashion, (by Monarch) and A La Mode, to John Reber of Lancaster, Ohio.
Young Fashion produced ten foals, six of which were good winners, and the mares continued the family for several generations. Her daughter, Bonnie Kate, produced the speedy stakes mare, Bonnie Lizzie. Another Young Fashion daughter, Columbia, was the dam of Double Cross, the sire of Guido, an American record holder for mile heats.
She died in 1860.
Honors
Ladies' gloves were devised in her name as were men's cigarCigar
A cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
s. She had more than one steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
named after her and more than one hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
. Fashion was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
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...
in 1980, 120 years after her death.