Raceland (1885–1894) was an American

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

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

Out of the mare Calomel, his

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

sire,

Billet In European militaries, a billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. In American usage, it refers to a specific personnel position, assignment, or duty station to which a soldier can be assigned. Historically, a billet w ...

, was imported to stand at

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 * ...

in the United States where in 1883 he was the

Leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading Father, sire of Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to Stallio ...

. Grandsire

Voltigeur The Voltigeurs were French military skirmish units created in 1804 by Emperor Napoleon I. They replaced the second company of fusiliers in each existing infantry battalion. The voltigeurs moniker later saw use with other militaries. Etymolog ...

won England's

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, more commonly known as the Derby and sometimes referred to as the Epsom Derby, is a Group races, Group 1 flat Horse racing, horse race in England open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Ep ...

and

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...

in 1850. Raceland was purchased and raced by Joseph F. Ullman, a native of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

who held a controlling interest in the East St. Louis Jockey Club and who was the preeminent

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays out bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds In probability theory, odds provide a measure of the probability of a particular outco ...

of the day.

Racing career

Raceland became the dominant two-year-old competing in the United States in 1887. In mid September, Raceland won the Great Eastern Handicap at

Sheepshead Bay Race Track The Sheepshead Bay Race Track was an American thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing facility built on the site of the Coney Island Jockey Club at Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, New York. Early history The racetrack was built by a grou ...

, beating a field of sixteen of the best two-year-olds in the United States. After defeating

Emperor of Norfolk Emperor of Norfolk (1885–1907) was an American Champion and Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. His large size, strong hindquarters, and racing record earned him the name of the "California Wonder". Background In the 1870s, when Joseph Cairn ...

in the Arlington Stakes at the

Ivy City Ivy City is a small neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C., in the United States. About half the neighborhood is industrial or formerly industrial, dominated by warehouses. The Ivy City Yard, a railroad coach yard and maintenance facility f ...

racetrack in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

on October 25, 1887, three days later in what ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' described as a "phenomenal performance," he won the six furlong Capital Stakes at Washington D.C. Immediately after the race, owner Joseph Ullman sold Raceland to Dave Johnson of the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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firm, Appleby & Johnson. On November 12,

August Belmont August Belmont Sr. (born Aron Belmont; December 8, 1813November 24, 1890) was a German-American financier, diplomat, and politician. He served as Chair of the Democratic National Committee from 1860 to 1872. He was also a thoroughbred racehors ...

announced he had acquired the gelding from Johnson. Among his wins at age three, Raceland defeated the great

Firenze Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

to win the mile and a half

Grand National Handicap The Grand National Handicap was an American Thoroughbred race horse first run in 1866 at the newly built Jerome Park Racetrack in Fordham, Bronx, Fordham, New York (state), New York. Open to horses age three and older, the race was contested on di ...

Jerome Park Racetrack Jerome Park Racetrack was an American Thoroughbred horse race, thoroughbred horse racing facility from 1866 until 1894. It was located in a part of Westchester County, New York that was annexed into New_York_City, the city of New York in 1874. Je ...

. Raceland went on to compete successfully for another six years during which time he would affectionately be called "Old Bones" by his fans. In 1889, he won the

Suburban Handicap The Suburban Stakes (also known Suburban Handicap) is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is now run at the mile distance on dirt for a $350,000 pu ...

, at the time the most important race for older horses in the United States. In October he again beat Firenze to win his second straight edition of the Grand National Handicap at Jerome Park Racetrack. The following year, Raceland added the prestigious

Manhattan Handicap The Manhattan Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race raced annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is named for Manhattan, the principal borough of the City of New York. Currently offering a purse of $1,000,000, the Grade I Manhatt ...

to his résumé of wins. At age six he won the

Freehold Stakes The Freehold Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early August at the Monmouth Park Association's racetrack in Long Branch, New Jersey. Inaugurated in 1879, the Champion Stakes was open to horses of any age and was raced o ...

at the

Long Branch Racetrack Long Branch Racetrack was a horse-racing facility in Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada. It was situated in Etobicoke, then a township, just north of the village of Long Branch, Toronto, Long Branch and just west of the city of Toronto. It operated from ...

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, and at seven won the 1892 Cherry Diamond and New York Jockey Club Handicaps at

Morris Park Racecourse Morris Park Racecourse was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility from 1889 to 1904. It was located in a part of Westchester County, New York that was annexed into the Bronx in 1895 and later developed as the neighborhood of Morris Park. ...

as well as the Delaware Handicap at Long Branch Racetrack and was still winning at age eight in 1893. On May 16, 1894, he ran third in the Myrtle Stakes at

Gravesend Race Track Gravesend Race Track was a Thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing facility in the Gravesend, Brooklyn, Gravesend neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, that opened in 1886 and closed in 1910. The track was built by the Brooklyn Jockey C ...

but in June was reported by ''The New York Times'' as dying from spinal meningitis. On June 28, 1894, at Sheepshead Bay racecourse, Raceland was

euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from ; "good death") is the act of killing an animal humanely, most commonly with injectable drugs. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditions or diseases, lack of resources to con ...

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1885 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States American Champion racehorses 1894 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family A13