While preparing for the yearling sales this season I had the nice fortune of visiting five Kentucky Thoroughbred farms in just one day. A few farms were new to me and others were more familiar. One farm I had visited before was Gainesway Farm in Lexington, KY. I have been on their stallion tour and stood in awe of the beautiful and great Tapit. Stallion tours are quite popular and I truly enjoy them but there is so much else going on at the horse farms. This time I saw another part of the expansive Gainesway Farm including one of several Thoroughbred graveyards.
The images in the content of this story are clearer when opened up individually.
After admiring the Tapit–Colonial Flag filly, seen in the featured image, they were preparing for the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling Sale, I checked out one of their historical Thoroughbred graveyards. Winning Colors is one of the more recent and well known horses to be buried there.
Winning Colors was one of only 3 fillies to ever win the Kentucky Derby. Regret and Genuine Risk were the other two to do so. Winning Colors won the KY Derby in 1988. That same year she finished third in the Preakness Stakes, finished second in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and won an Eclipse Award for Champion 3 Year-Old Filly. Winning Colors is also a National Museum and Hall of Fame Thoroughbred. When she retired from racing she became a broodmare at Gainesway Farm where she had ten foals before she was euthanized while in foal at 23 due to colic.
Before Gainesway owned the property on which the graveyard sits, it was owned by Greentree Farm. Greentree was established in 1925 by the Whitney Family. All of the pictures in the above gallery are Whitney stallions.
Bimelech ran second in the 1940 KY Derby, he was first in the Belmont and Preakness. He won Eclipse Awards for champion 2 and 3 Year-Old Colt and he is in the Hall of Fame.
Capot also finished the KY Derby in second while winning the Preakness and Belmont. He achieved this in 1949 while receiving Eclipse awards for Champion 3 Year-Old Colt and Horse of the Year.
Questionnare won 19 of 45 starts. He finished his career on a 5 race winning streak. He was third in the 1930 Belmont Stakes.
Shut Out was the winner in 16 of 40 career starts. He won the KY Derby and Belmont Stakes in 1942. He won the Bluegrass Stakes and the Travers Stakes that year as well. His final 2 races were winning stakes.
St. Germans was a winner out of Great Britain. He won 9 of 20 starts, several being stakes races. He did fantastic as a stallion in North America. He was top sire in 1931. 112 of his foals were winners. Twenty Grand is one of his progeny.
The Axe II was bred by Greentree Stud. His dam was Blackball. He was a winner in 15 of 38 starts. In 1963 he won the Sovereign Award for Champion Grass Horse.
The Porter was accomplished with 26 wins in 54 races. He ranked between third to sixth among American older males from 1919 to 1921 while racing. He lead the general sire list in America in 1937 and is credited with producing 205 winning foals.
Third Degree was sired by Questionnare. He is a multilple stakes winner with 10 in 33 wins. I regret that I did not get much more detailed information about this horse. I like feedback. Someone, help me with this horse.
Tom Fool was a four time Eclipse Award winner. He was Champion 2 Year-Old Colt, Champion Older Horse, Horse of the Year and Champion Sprinter between 1951 and 1953. In 1960 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He had a high win percentage, 21 in 30 starts.
Twenty Grand had 2 Eclipse Awards himself. He won Champion 3 Year-Old Colt and Horse of the Year. He is another Hall of Famer. In 1931 He won the KY Derby and the Belmont. He was second in the Preakness Stakes.
Four Greentree geldings are buried at Gainesway. Cherry Pie had Cherry Malotte for his dam. He placed in a stakes race. Coincidence is sired by Questionnare. He had an amazing 75 career starts. Easter Hero and Jolly Roger were Steeplechase horses.
While still under the Whitney family, Greentree Farm had several successful broodmares. The gravestones of these mares are pictured above.
Bebopper was sired by their own Tom Fool. She produced foals into her 20s and is the dam of sires Hatchet Man and Stop the Music. Bebopper pops up in pedigrees quite often.
Blackball was sired by Shut Out. She feeds into nice pedigrees like the 5th generation lead into Ghostzapper.
Having polo ponies and steeplechase horses I could find nothing on Bonus.
Cherry Malotte was a steeplechase mare.
Dunce Cap II was a mare by Tom Fool. She was a winner of the Lowther Stakes in Great Britain and she was once Broodmare of the Year.
La Troienne was not a successful runner while racing in England but she made up for it as a notable dam. Of her 14 foals she produced 10 winners. 5 of those were stakes winners and 2 went on to be inducted in the Hall of Fame. She may be “the most important producer to be brought across the Atlantic Ocean in {the twentieth} century.”
Jedina and Polite Lady were Gainesway, not Greentree, broodmares. Jedina had 6 wins in 18 starts. She once won a stakes race. She birthed 11 foals and 7 were winners. Polite Lady was a multiple stakes winner. She won seven on her nine races. As a broodmare she was awarded a Sovereign Award for Outstanding Canadian Broodmare. Afleet is one of her fine offspring.
Gainesway has several more horses buried there as well.
Mesabi won 3 of 23 starts. She was an expensive Keeneland auction broodmare.
Fabuleux Jane raced in France and England. She won 4 of 20 starts. She foaled 14 Thoroughbreds. Nine of those were winners.
Piquet was sired by St. Germans. She won 6 of 27 starts. She was the dam of Capot.
Dream Team won 3 of 6 races. She was third in the BC Juvenile Fillies Stakes in 1987. Dream Team is the dam of BC Sprint winner and Eclipse Award Champion Sprinter, Orientate.
Bangkok was unraced but she was a broodmare for Gainesway. Her last stakes placing progeny was Tiger Woodman.
There are other burial grounds on the large farm that makes up the totality of Gainesway Farm. I hope to explore theses and other final resting places of our great and historical Thoroughbreds someday. Tomorrow, the Keeneland Yearling Sale kicks off and I will be there watching for the future of Thoroughbred racing.
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