"Kingdom of the Horse": Tablets of Bronze and Statues Dot Lexington Countryside, Daily Racing Form, 1937-04-05

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"KINGDOM OF THE HORSE" Tablets of Bronze and Statues Dot Lexington Countryside. Most Imposing Equine Graveyard on Hamburg Place Dominos Grave Often Overlooked by Visitors. If anyone has the vestige of a doubt, after seeing the famous horses and the world-renowned farms in the vicinity of Lexington, that this is indeed the "Kingdom of the Horse," let him make a special tour of some of the horse graveyards on these farms, where tablets of granite and statues in bronze immortalize past "kings and queens of the turf born and bred in the Blue Grass. The most imposing equine cemetery is the one on Hamburg Place, installed by the late John E. Madden, which is located directly on U. S. highway 60, four and and one-half miles cast of Lexington. A mammoth, ornate, horseshoe-shaped stone wall encloses the graveyard, with stone walk to the graves, which are arranged in a semi-circle around the statue of Nancy Hanks. A row of shade trees along the inside of the "horseshoe" wall and the solid mat of blue grass within the enclosure make the cemetery look cool and inviting to summer tourists driving along the concrete transcontinental highway in front of it, and as a limited parking space has been graveled at the side of the highway, tourists stop every day, go in and inspect the graveyard, and if "they have a camera never fail to take snapshots of it for their collection of photo "oddities." The names and careers of the horses buried here will be cited later in this story. The Hamburg Place horse graveyard as such probably takes first rank in the world for expansive and impressive uniqueness, but the lone granite stone marking the grave of the great Domino, on the late Louis Lee Haggins Mt. Brilliant farm bears an inscription that is unique in the field of classical epitaphs for race horses. The inscription on the stone reads: "Here lies the fleetest runner the American turf has ever known and one of the gamcst and most generous of horses." Domino never lost a race and refused to finish more than a length ahead evidence that Kentucky chivalry extends even to the blooded horses. "DOMINO" OFTEN OVERLOOKED. Inquiries are frequently made as to the location of Dominos grave and monument, so it is well to give specific instructions as to how to reach it; not that it is hard to find or inaccessible it is just the contrary but that it is located on the road "that goes to Man o War" and is therefore overlooked by ninety-nine out of 100 tourists. It is on the Huffman Mill pike, 8.3 miles from Lexington Man o War is 9.2 miles on the same road. It is easy to locate from the fact that a horse-barn marked "Mt. Brilliant" is immediately behind the monument. The latter is so close to the highway fence that the tourist may stop and read the inscription on the stone without leaving his car. The most "ancient" gravestones of equine notables in the Blue Grass are on the old Harper Place, in the adjoining county of Woodford. They mark the graves of the famous Longfellow and Ten Broeck, and are 1 Inscribed with the great turf careers of these 1 racers of a past day. The old Harper Place ! is on the Old Frankfort pike, 14.3 miles west of Lexington, and adjoins the Alexander farm, "Woodburn," where the noted racehorse, Lexington, was in the stud. There is another pretentious horse cemetery which ranks close to, if not equals, Hamburg Place in the number and fame of its turf "heroes and heroines" of the past. It is the graveyard on the C. V. Whitney Farm located in the rear of the main stallion barn, which is reached by the concrete road extending from the farm entrance on the Paris pike 6.5 miles from Lexington to this barn. Here are buried the famous stallions of the Whitneys which wrote so much of the history of the turf before they passed on, leaving their "sons and daughters" to make the headlines of today; and, also, the Kentucky Derby winning filly Regret On Elmendorf Farm, just opposite the Whitney Farms on the Paris "pike, is a graveyard that, if horses celebrated "Mothers Day" arid "Fathers Day," probably would bo the mecca of all America for blooded equines. Here are buried Fair Play, the "daddy," and Mahubah, the "mammy" of Man o War. But this brings us to the subject of statues to which the story will switch temporarily. ID3ROIC STATUE OF FAIR PLAY. A noted New York sculptor spent many days in the Blue Grass some eight years ago modeling the supcrhorse, Man o War for a life-sized statue that has since been made and erected in Belmont Park, scene of conquests by the "horse of the century." Whether or not this inspired Joseph E. Wid-ener, who had purchased Fair Play at the Belmont dispersal sale for 00,000, to erect a finer statue to the sire of Man o War is unknown, but that he did so, and hand- somely, is attested by the 5,000 or more heroic-size likeness of Fair Play, modeled by an equally famous New York sculptress, which stands majestically on a huge, imposing granite base at Elmendorf Farm. With a background of the beautiful old trees along the Elkhorn in Elmendorf and an open field of luxuriant bluegrass in front, the statue overlooks the graves of Fair Play and Mahubah dam of Man o War, each marked with a large granite slab ornamented with a bronze wreath. None but an artist could have designed such a memorial and Mr. Widener, who is owner of one of the finest art galleries in the world at Philadelphia, Pa., designed his beautiful Hia-leah Park at Miami as well as the modern-day natural beauty enhancement at Elmendorf Farm. On Idle Hour Farm is a statue of Black Toney, famous racer and sire, that Col. E. R. Bradley had made a few years ago. As stated above, a small statue of Nancy Hanks, the noted trotter, occupies the center of the semi-circle of graves at the Hamburg Place horse cemetery. Walnut Hall Farm has a statue of Guy Axworthy, renowned trotter and sire, that wa3 unveiled recently the, 1 presence of a great assembly of harness horse lovers, and Walnut Hall, incidentally, is the most beautiful farm, all wooded and in blue-grass, in Kentucky. And now some of the "old timers" and possibly many of the "new timers" may be interested in the names and records of the horses buried at the Hamburg Place graveyard, so here they are: SIR MARTIN Foaled 1906. Died 1930. Sir Martin was a stakes winner of twelve races and 4,800, winning the National Stallion, Great American, Double Event, Great Trial, Saratoga Special, Flatbush Stakes in America, and in England the Challenge, Durham Stakes, Coronation Cup and Wednesday Handicap. Sir Martin sired winners in America, Denmark, Spain and India. IDA PICKWICK Foaled 1888. Died 1908. A turf queen of her day, winning stakes and purses to the number of forty-four and earning 5,615. Among the stakes won by her were the Two Thousand, Belle Meade, Latonia Oaks, St. Louis Fair Oaks, Missouri and Delbeck Stakes, Decoration twice, Cincinnati Hotel twice, Autumn Cash, Queen City and Memorial Handicaps. Dam of Ivory Bells dam of Old Rosebud, winner of the Kentucky Derby, etc.. IMP Foaled 1894. Died 1909. Stakes winner of sixty-three races and 0,914. Winner of Suburban Handicap, Brighton Handicap, Ocean Handicap, Islip Handicap, Gravcsend Second Special, Grave-send First Special and Advance Stakes, Turf, Oriental and Parkway Handicaps. Known as the "Black Wonder." HAMBURG BELLE 2:01 1-J Foaled 1902. Died 1909. Famous for her worlds race record which held supremacy for sixteen years. Holder of the worlds record for the fastest two heats in a race, 2:01 1-4 and 2:01 3-4, and the fastest three heats in a race up to the time of her death. She was sold in 1909 for 0,000 to M. H. Hanna, the worlds record price for a trotting mare. She died in Thomasville, Ga., the winter home of Mr. Hanna, in November of 1909, and in 1910 her remains were sent to Hamburg Place to be buried within a short distance of where she was foaled. MAJOR ELMAR Foaled 1897. , Died 1912. Missed the worlds record by only a fraction. The worlds speediest gelding for many years. Record 1:59 3-4. SILICON Foaled 1897. Died 1912. Two-year-old record of 2:15 1-4, which was the worlds record when made. Winner of the Kentucky Futurity and dam of Siliko trotting champion of Europe and winner of Kentucky Futurity, Winans, Brighton, etc. NANCY HANKS Foaled 1886. Died 1915. Worlds champion trotter from 1892 to 1894 record 2:04. Holder of the worlds record for the fastest three consecutive heats in a race: 2:12, 2:12 3-4 and 2:12, to high wheels, and the fastest first, second and third heats in a race to that hitch. Dam of Admiral Dewey, 2:04 3-4; Lord Roberts, 2:07 1-4; Nancy McKerron, 2:10 1-2 at three years old; Markala, 2:18 1-4; Narion dam of Vice Commodore, 2:11; Albia, 2:10 3-4, Princess of Monaco, etc.. PLAUDIT Foaled 1895. Died 1919. Winner of the Champagne, Nursery, Emerald Stakes, etc., at two years old, and the Buckeye Stakes, Oakley Derby, Clark Stakes and Kentucky Derby at three, and sire of many stake winners and producers. IMPORTED STAR SHOOT. Foaled 1898. Died 1919. Leading sire of money winners five years, viz: 1911, 1912, 1916, 1917 and 1919. Leading sire of the dams of winners for each of the five years 1924 to 1928, inclusive. Winner of British Dominion Stakes. Hurst Park Foal Plate, dead heated with Ian of the National Breeders Produce Stakes. Sire of Sir Barton, Star Master, Audacious, Fairy Wand, Top Coat, Grey Lag, Georgia, Star Realm, Hildur, etc. LADY STERLING. Foaled 1899. Died 1920. Winner and dam of Sir Martin, Lady Do-reen dam of Princess Doreen, winner of 74,745, Iron Duke, Sir Barton, St. Henry, etc. OGDEN. Foaled 1894. Died 1923. Stakes winner of twenty-eight races and 9,070. Winner the Futurity, Great Eastern Handicap, Long Island Handicap, etc., and sire of Sir Martin, Fayette, Belmere, Timber, Lady Bedford, etc. MISS KEARNEY. Foaled 1906. Died 1925. Dam of Zev, worlds largest money winning horse, winner of the 1924 International Race and a grand total of 13,630. PRINCESS MARY. Foaled 1919. Died 1926. Mother of Flying Ebony, winner of the Kentucky Derby, etc. SILIKO. Foaled 1903. Died 1926. Winner Kentucky Futurity and champion trotter of Europe, 1908 to 1910. European record 2:08 3-10. Sire of many in the 2:10 class as well as of the dams of Kernel 3 2:151-2, Catherine 3 2:051-4, etc,


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1930s/drf1937040501/drf1937040501_22_2
Local Identifier: drf1937040501_22_2
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800