Legends

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When Angel Cordero Jr. started his riding career in New York in the early 1960’s, he was anything but an overnight success.

Despite showing promise in his native Puerto Rico, he attracted only an occasional mount. When he worked horses on frigid mornings, he did not wear a jacket and gloves. Others interpreted that as evidence of toughness. In reality, he yearned for protection from the biting cold. He could not afford it.

James R. Keene (middle) with son Foxhall Keene (left) and an unidentified man.

James R. Keene: Money King, Racing Tycoon

An Englishman by birth, James R. Keene was a mercurial figure on Wall Street and a powerhouse owner in the sport of Thoroughbred racing.

Growing up in post-gold rush California, Keene purchased a few mules and entered the hauling trade. His customers included the Bonanza silver mines, where he piled up $6 million through bold and shrewd trading. Eventually, Keene was appointed president of the San Francisco Stock Exchange. In 1876, he traveled in a private Pullman car to the heart of the country's financial center in New York City in search of far greater scores.

William Woodward Sr. ushered Belair Stud into its glory days when he took over the farm in the early 20th century.

Belair Stud: A Legacy of Greatness

In the long and proud history of Thoroughbred racing, there has been a lengthy list of stables that dominated their era and produced a string of great champions.

Somewhere near the top of that list belongs Belair Stud.

Belair’s association with the breed dates back to 1747 when the first Thoroughbreds shipped from England to America were stabled at the Collington, Md., farm.

Catching Up With A.P. Indy

When his breeders followed the old adage “breed the best to the best and hope for the best” in 1988 when deciding who to breed Weekend Surprise to, they probably didn’t expect the resulting foal to accomplish as much as A.P. Indy has.

By 1973 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew and out of a multiple graded stakes winning daughter of 1970 Triple Crown winner Secretariat from a solid family, A.P Indy’s pedigree is as good as it gets.

Mesh Tenney: A Cowboy Who Trained Racehorses

It’s hard to describe Mesach Adams Tenney as simply a horse trainer, because although he most undoubtedly trained horses – and did so with success for many years – he did it in a manner that was distinctly his own and wholeheartedly different than the majority of other trainers.

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