Bashford Manor Stable was an American
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
racing
In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...
and
breeding
Breeding is sexual reproduction that produces offspring, usually animals or plants. It can only occur between a male and a female animal or plant.
Breeding may refer to:
* Animal husbandry, through selected specimens such as dogs, horses, and rab ...
operation in
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana borde ...
owned by George James Long.
In 1874 James Bennett Wilder built a home on farm acreage he called Bashford Manor. In 1887 George Long purchased Bashford Manor and developed it into a leading Thoroughbred horse farm which bred three
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...
winners. To stock his new breeding operation. George Long acquired horses from the
Erdenheim Stud of
Norman W. Kittson
Norman Wolfred Kittson (March 6, 1814 – May 10, 1888) was one of early Minnesota's most prominent citizens. He was best known as first a fur trader, then a steamboat-line operator and finally a railway entrepreneur and owner of thoroughbre ...
. Following the May 1888 death of Norman W. Kittson, in November his estate auctioned the
bloodstock and Long purchased the sire
Alarm
An alarm device is a mechanism that gives an audible, visual or other kind of alarm signal to alert someone to a problem or condition that requires urgent attention.
Alphabetical musical instruments
Etymology
The word ''alarm'' comes from t ...
and two of his broodmare daughters, Luminous and Albia. The then nineteen-year-old Alarm had notably been the sire of
Himyar
The Himyarite Kingdom ( ar, مملكة حِمْيَر, Mamlakat Ḥimyar, he, ממלכת חִמְיָר), or Himyar ( ar, حِمْيَر, ''Ḥimyar'', / 𐩹𐩧𐩺𐩵𐩬) (fl. 110 BCE–520s CE), historically referred to as the Homerit ...
and
Panique. Alarm died at Bashford Manor in 1895 and was buried in the farm's equine cemetery.
The stable bred and raced
Azra
Azra was a Croatian and Yugoslav rock band that was one of the most popular acts of the Yugoslav new wave music of the 1980s. Azra was formed in 1977 by its frontman Branimir "Johnny" Štulić. The other two members of the original line-up we ...
who won the 1892 Derby and
Sir Huon
Sir Huon (foaled 1903 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that was the winner of the 1906 Kentucky Derby and Latonia Derby. Sir Huon was named after a character in the German opera Oberon and was bred at George J. Long's stud farm ...
who won it in 1906. Under Long's name, he raced homebred
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
who won the 1900
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs ...
. As well, George Long bred
Manuel
Manuel may refer to:
People
* Manuel (name)
* Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers''
* Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies
* Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire
* Ma ...
who won the 1899 Derby for
Alfred &
Dave Morris.
The Thoroughbred operation continued until 1922 when the bloodstock was sold.
The home remained in Long's family until being sold in 1951. The property was annexed by the City of Louisville in 1953. The barns were torn down in 1970 and the house in 1973. The
Bashford Manor area of Louisville was developed into residential homes and a
shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
.
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, famed for hosting the annual Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was ...
in Louisville honors the racing and breeding stable with the annual running of the
Bashford Manor Stakes
The Bashford Manor Stakes is a six furlong sprint for two-year-old thoroughbred horses run each year toward the end of the Spring meet at Churchill Downs. It is a Listed race on the dirt and currently offers a purse of $100,000, (plus $7,500 add ...
.
References
*Kleber, John E. ''The Encyclopedia of Louisville'' (2000)
University Press of Kentucky
The University Press of Kentucky (UPK) is the scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was organized in 1969 as successor to the University of Kentucky Press. The university had sponsored scholarly publication since 1943. In 194 ...
Information on Bashford Manor at the Kentucky Historical Society
American racehorse owners and breeders
Owners of Kentucky Derby winners
Owners of Preakness Stakes winners
Horse farms in Kentucky
Sports in Louisville, Kentucky
Demolished buildings and structures in Louisville, Kentucky
1887 establishments in Kentucky
1922 disestablishments in Kentucky
Buildings and structures demolished in 1973
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