Racing History Blog

Historical horse profile: Purchase

Owned and trained by Hall of Famer Sam Hildreth, Purchase won eight stakes in 1919 — including a walkover in the inaugural Jockey Club Stakes — and defeated America’s first Triple Crown winner

By Brien Bouyea
Hall of Fame and Communications Director
Twenty-five horses who have been enshrined in the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame have won the prestigious Jockey Club Gold Cup, which will be contested for the 104^th time this Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. Five of those horses — Nashua, Shuvee, Slew o’ Gold, Skip Away, and Curlin — won the race in back-to-back years en route to the Hall. The immortal Kelso dwarfed them all, winning the Gold Cup five consecutive times from 1960 through 1964. Although the Jockey Club Gold Cup has been an important factor in the careers of numerous Hall of Famers, it has also been won by several other outstanding racehorses whose legacies have been overshadowed by the titans of the sport. One such example is Purchase, who won the inaugural edition of the race in 1919 — albeit via a walkover — when the contest was known as the Jockey Club Stakes.

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Walter Miller: A flash of lightning

Walter Miller’s reign as America’s top jockey was a brief one, but few have ever done it better

By Brien Bouyea
Hall of Fame and Communications Director 
At the age of 16, Walter Miller was without question the greatest jockey in America. By the time he was 20, however, Miller’s meteoric career was all but finished. Although his run of dominance was fleeting, Miller made a significant enough historical impression to earn inclusion in the National Museum of Racing’s inaugural Hall of Fame class in 1955.

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Historical horse profile: Black Maria

Three-time champion won both the Kentucky Oaks and inaugural Whitney

By Brien Bouyea
Hall of Fame and Communications Director
Black Maria didn’t exactly set the racing world on fire when she made her career debut at Saratoga on Aug. 5, 1925. In a 5½-furlong maiden event, the Kentucky-bred daughter of Black Toney was never a factor, finishing last in the field of 10, beaten 16 lengths. It was an inauspicious unveiling to say the least. After being defeated twice more at the Spa in the next 10 days, Black Maria broke her maiden on her fourth attempt. She was then trounced in the Hopeful Stakes, finishing ninth of 14, to conclude her juvenile summer at Saratoga with a lone victory in five outings. There would be better days ahead … much better.

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An old Kentucky legacy: The mighty Longfellow and Ten Broeck

Hall of Fame members from Nantura Stock Farm were among the best of the 19^th century

By Brien Bouyea 
Hall of Fame and Communications Director 
Longfellow and Ten Broeck, two of the most accomplished and celebrated American racehorses of the 19^th century, will forever be linked even though they never crossed paths on the racetrack during their remarkable careers. Representing the Harper family’s Nantura Stock Farm, located near Midway, Kentucky, Longfellow and Ten Broeck had few peers during their respective runs of dominance in the 1870s. Longfellow, known as the “King of the Turf,” came along first, winning 13 of his 16 starts from 1870 through 1872. Ten Broeck, meanwhile, made his debut in 1875 and won 23 of his 29 races. He reeled off 15 consecutive victories at one point and set six American records at distances ranging from one to four miles by the time he retired in 1878. Both Longfellow (1971) and Ten Broeck (1982) were eventually elected to the Hall of Fame.

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