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PASSING OF FAMOUS ASHLAND STUD. Breeding: of Thoroughbreds to Be Abandoned at Ken- ! tucky Homestead of the Great Henry Clay. I ! Lexington, Ky., September 2.. Mrs. John M. Clay, i widow of John 51. Clay, youngest and favorite son of the "great commoner." Henry Clay, announces j that in the future Ashland Stud, for nearly a century famous as a breeding .establishment for thorough- ; breds, will in future be used for agricultural pur- j poses exclusively. Advancing age makes it impos- sible for her to oversee the breeding operations and ! give to that department the attention necessary to ; make it a success. Eighty-two years ago Henry Clay began breeding race horses at Ashland. For over three-tpiarters of a century thoroughbred horses j tracing to the stock owned by the great statesman have roamed the blue grass meadows of that historic i spot. From sire to son Ashland Stud descended and from John M. Clay to his widow.- For twenty-two years Sirs. Clay has held Ashland Stud together, j but age has crept over the Kentucky authoress- ! thoroughbred breeder and descendants of Magnolia and Margaret Woods will know the place no more. i It was the wish of John M. Clay that Ashland Stud be preserved. Though then well along in years, Mrs. Clay took up the task laid down by the death of her husband, and for over two decades she ! lias managed the business so successfully that she j has added to the estate left her and is today owner of one of the most valuable farms in this section, ! situated just outside the city limits. It is with deep regret that she confesses that she is no longer able to carry out the wish of her husband. There is ; no. son to take from the mothers shoulders the : burden of the management of the breeding, farm, and round the history of the place out to the century mark, and as a result Ashland Stud must join Woodburn, Fairlawn, Belle Meade, Palo Alto and McGrathiaua in turf records as blazing lights of bygone days. ! The association of two senators in Washington city brought to Ashland its lirst thoroughbred. Senator Wade Hampton of South Carolina was so charmed with the magnetism and friendship of the "great commoner" that upon his return to his southern plantation he sent Henry Clay as a gift the great mare, Margaret Woods. The famous mare had just won the .5,000 Trial Stakes at Nashville and was a valuable gift. In Kentucky she laid the foundation for one of the greatest racing families known to the American turf, James R. Keenes celebrated stallion, lien Brush, sire of the Futurity winner. Sweep, being one of her descendants. The following year, not to be outdone by the South Carolinian, Commodore Morgan of the United States navy, also a warm personal friend of the Kentucky statesman, presented him with the imported stallion, Yorkshire. Later Dr. W. W. Mercer; another friend, presented him with the great broodmare. Magnolia, justly styled the Pocahontas of America. There is probably no other ease in existence where a breeding farm has flourished for over eighty years on a foundation of gift inares and stallions. Through Magnolia. Margaret Woods and Yorkshire thousands of dollars have Hown into the treasure store of the Clay family, the two mares and stallion costing their owner only a profusion of thanks. The duties of a high political position made it necessary for the "great commoner" to turn over Ashland Stud to the management of his youngest son, John M. Clay. The latter was a man of brilliant mind, but, unlike his illustrious father, he had no taste for public life. He loved the country and to roam among his horses in the holds was his pastime. John Mi Clay, after resuming the management of Ashland Stud, became without au exception the greatest breeder of his day. He bred "Balloon, witli which great mare he won an extra weeks racing program at the Kentucky Association track, she. then a threu-ycartold, winning four stakes, a mile, two. three and four-mile heats, in those days there being only one race a day on the card. True Blue, another of his breeding, ran two miles in 3:3J, the worlds record when made. Maggie 15. B., named for the daughter of the late Senator James B. Beck, produced Irouois, the only American-bred winner of the English Derby and St. Leger, Kentucky, tho lirst horse to sell for as much as hB10,000, besides many other notable racers. For twenty-two years Mrs. Clay has lived with tho descendants of these great horses. All these long years she has spent most of her time in the fields with her pets. She has been their provider, and at all times their devoted and willing servant. She is. In fact, the ideal horsewoman of Kentucky, and her retirement from the breeding business is much regretted. Upon his death Henry Clay bequeathed to his son. John M. Clay. 200 acres of the original 500 which made up the Clay estate. The remaining ".10 was given to his wife, who. preferring to live with her son, John, sold her Tiart of the estate to her son, James. Since then if has passed through many hands, and is now the property of Mrs. Henry Clay McDowell, a granddaughter of the great statesman. and it is here that the well-known breeder and trainer, T. C. McDowell, conducts his breeding establishment. The 200 acres given to John jr. Clay has never passed under the auctioneers hammer, and as the horses produced at the farm are all descendants of Margaret Woods and Magnolia. Mrs. Clays portion of the estate has alwnys been known as the original Ashland Stud, although the McDowell farm is known by the same name, and it was on this part of the farm that the old Henry Clay mansion stood. In Mrs. Clays home is a room set apart and held sacred to the memory of her Illustrious father-iu-law. It is furnished entirely with belongings of that great man. bed. tallies, pictures and trifles winch have no value except for their association. Mrs. Clay is proud of the Clay connection, and it is the dearest wish of her heart to keep the place as it was during her husbands lifetime, without innovation or change. The old training track, over which so many turf stars received their early education, grass grown though it is. is still retained, and the barns and stables are the same that Mr. Clay -built over a quarter of a century ago.
