Hermis (foaled 1899 in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

) was an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

Background

Hermis was a chestnut horse bred by Hiram Berry: H. A. Engman owned his dam, Katy of the West. He was purchased as a two-year-old by

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

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man Henry M. Ziegler and was trained by Charles Hughes. Hermis would be sold to Louis V. Bell who turned him over to Jack McCormack to train. Sold in 1903 to banker Edward R. Thomas, Hermis would then be trained by Alexander Shields who later would acquire a part ownership and then full ownership in 1906.

Racing career

Beginning at age three, Hermis was a dominant force in racing and would be awarded 1902

American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse The American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when ''Turf & Sports Di ...

and

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, or simply Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to san ...

honors. At age four he was the 1903

American Champion Older Male Horse The title of American Champion Older Dirt Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up, for performances on dirt and main track racing surfaces. In 1971, it became part of ...

and repeated as American Horse of the Year. At his final race during the 1904 World's Fair Handicap in St. Louis, Hermis received an injury to his leg due to being kicked by 1903

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

winner Judge Himes during the start. As a result of the injury, Hermis never raced again. However, for 1904 Hermis was again selected as the American Champion Older Male Horse. At the time such Champion designations were espoused by various racing media but these designated honors were selected retrospectively by a panel of experts as published by ''

The Blood-Horse magazine ''The Blood-Horse'' (also referred to simply as ''Blood-Horse'' and displayed on its nameplate in upright all-capital letters without hyphenation as BLOODHORSE) is a news magazine that originated in 1916 as a monthly bulletin of the Thoroughbred ...

''.

Stud record

Hermis was retired to

stud Stud may refer to: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar in San Francisco * ...

duty. On January 3, 1912, the ''New York Times'' reported that he had been sold to

Edmond Blanc Edmond Blanc (22 February 1856 – 12 December 1920) was a horse breeder as well a French politician. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1893 to 1894, and from 1898 to 1902, representing Hautes-Pyrénées. He also served as ...

, a prominent French breeder and owner of

Haras de Jardy Haras de Jardy was a Thoroughbred horse breeding operation established in 1890 in Marnes-la-Coquette France by the statesman Edmond Blanc (1856-1920). The stud farm became home to many important stallions, including one of the leading sires in F ...

Marnes-la-Coquette Marnes-la-Coquette () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. Located from the centre of Paris, the town is situated in the Hauts-de-Seine department on the departmental border with Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in th ...

in what is today the western suburbs of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

References

June 17, 1904 ''New York Times'' article on Hermis

1899 racehorse births Racehorses trained in the United States Racehorses bred in Kentucky Thoroughbred family A2 American Thoroughbred Horse of the Year {{Racehorse-stub