Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-09-13


for American thoroughbreds since the
| soils and grasses declined in the worked
ont parts of Virginia and Maryland.
The limestone of Kentucky gives bone
to the animal; he natures early upon
the blue grass. The men of Kentucky,
bred 10 horseback, and adventurous
wagerers of physical spirit, have kept
up the turf for about sixty years, and
l believe that the Lexington Course
dates back to the year 1913. The war
absorbed most of the thoroughbred
stock of the South 20 seat officers IN the
saddle; andjoward the close of the con-
fict we heard chiefly of Alexander's
stables. The Alexanders, as | have
heard, were a Scotch family withexpec-
tations Of property in the old country.
They owned Lexington and Australian,
and raised stock. A Chicago member
of the family nov keeps the stables.
In 1868 a number of rich New York
ers. brokers and operators" resolved
20 90 on the turf. Leonard Jerome, a
nervy broker, formerly a newspaper
editor at Rochester, n. Y, taking the
cue from his partner, William Tracey,
formerly Of Baltimore, founded the
American Jockey Club, after courses
had been established at Saratoga and
Paterson, n. j. He used all the iniu-
ence towhichh his means andacquaintanee
entitle him, and brought into the turf
August Belmont, his friend, a CORES
pendent of the Rothchilds, who had
previously appeared with great brillian-
cy on the English turf. Belmont is
commonly called the head Of the turf
IN America, on account of his position
in the American Jockey Club, which is
the ruling influence In turf matters IN
the United States, as well as by his
hberality in the purchase and importa-
ton of the best thoroughbreds attaina-
bic, both from Kentucky and England.
| Jerome himself met with heavy losses
in speculation about 1867, which neces-
STATED the playing of a comparatively
inferior position upon the turf. b.
sThe establishment of the Saratoga
and Monmouth Park Courses, and ac-
cessories of Jerome Park, transferred
the management of the turf from the
| South to the North-Kentucky itself
becoming a breeding and buying place
for the more wealthy horse fanciers of
the metropolis. The following are
some of the great lights of the Ameri-
can turf, as at present constituted:
AUGUST BELMONT,
a high-mettled banker Of German
Hebrew extraction, welded to Caroline
Perry, the brilliant daughter of Com
modore Matthew Perry, of Newport,
II. |. Mr.. Belmont has resided in this
country since his youth, and has been
q n~egotiator, banker, and patron of art
and physical enjoyment, during nearly
the whole of that period. He was a
social leader and beau In New York
society, whereby, in some ladies' mat
ter, he was challenged to fight a duel,
and was wounded in the foot, tanning
him for life. He is a small, thick-set, 1
dark-haired man of engaging address,
a proud nostril, moderate and prudent
of speech, particularly where the char
aeter of third parties is discussed, and
of culture on almost all subjects, from
international politics andpolitical econ
omy to matters of art-journalism, gas
tronomy, fowling, and yachting. He
has an Interesting family, a superb for
tune, and is one of the metropolitan
leaders Of the Democratic party, while
national and even Republican, in his
support % The var measures and the
faithfulness of the public obligations.
He is generally supposed TO be the
American branch-of the house of Roth
schild. He appears on the turf l a
suit Of white flannel, with a field glass
strapped around his shoulders. His
stables are at Babylon, L. l. He is
| fond Of winning, taees his losses holly,
vet without resentment. backs his own
stable at times with opulence and con-
fdence, and is almost universally re-
garded as a preservative and refining
influence upon the turf. He has had
fair success, without being regarded as
| very lucky. He won at Saratoga this
year about s 5000, bets not counted.
| Belmont is the owner, | believe, of the
celebrated retired racer, Kentucky.
M'GRATH.
Price McGrath, owner of Tom Bow
ling and a large racing stable, is a
Kentuckian, originally a tailor at the
goose, like Andrew johnson. Close,
shrewd, dry, peculiar, he became the
favorite Of men superior IN life and
position, and imbibcd their intelligence
without their refinement. He drifted
along to New Orleans, where he became
the partner of the celebrated gambler
ROundtrees, and when the city was
captured was thrown in jail, and it is
said, paid S10,500 to be released by
Butler & Co. Repairing to New York
at a time of universal gambling, when
army and navy men, and suffers, and
contractors, gambled like hOrsebacked
beggars, McGrath was taken In by
John Morrissey for his acquaintance,
business knowledge, and dry humor.
He left the firm with about S24O,OOO, of
which he put Il portion 20 establish
John Chamberlin, a younger gambler,
in business in New York, and
afterward at Long Branch. From
the latter establishment, in rival
ry Of Morrissey's track at
Saratoga, Sprang Monmouth
Park. McGrath is Just on speaking
terms with Morrissey. He put the bulk
Of his money IN a fine farm and breed
ing stable near Lexington, where he is
a neighbor of other great s~tablemen, as
Buford. Grinstead, Alexander, Shey,
Clay, and others. Every Sunday he
entertains men Of the repute of John C.
Breckenridge and James Beck, and he
is a partner in the manufacture and
sale of hemp, baggage, cordage, etc, of
one of the brothers of Gen. John Nor
gan, a business said to yield the firm
a net revenue of $4,000 per annum.
MeGrath is one of the long heads on
the turf; a compactly-built, cold-eyed,
steel gray-whiskered man, who loves a
horse and the money he can win Sc
equally that we hardly know whether
to consider him wholly oil half mercen-
airy. His associate, Chamberlin, has
not kept worldly respect as MOrrissey
has. and his games" are under sus.
picion as "a little more than skin and
less than kind"
SANFORD.
Mr.. S. II. Sanford, a person whose
sagacity, observation, means and re-
spectability have commended him to
the caution and thought of the camp
, followers to the turf, is a retired cotton
! manufacturer of Connecticut, whose