Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-11
BIGGEST WINNER ON
THE AMERICAN TURF.
James R. Keene Talks of His
Career and His Horses.
Gives His Manager and
Trainer Credit.
By C. C. Pettus.
Special Correspondence of The Star.

NEW YORK, November II, 1907.
Now that James r. keene's latest stake
and purse successes for the year have
600 Americas leading sportsman takes
rank as the worlds most successful
breeder and turfman with a good margin
to spare over any previous stable records
or all English or continental competitors.
When 1t is considered that Mr. keenes
unprecedented record has been made by
horses almost all of whom are home bred,
his keen enjoyment and justifiable pride
will be realized. especially by his fellow
turfmen who are also breeders.
1t was q Kentuckian, the late Price
McCirath. who said, Il had rather own a
winner of the kentucky Derby. bred by
myself. than be elected President of these
United States, Several years later he won
the Kentucky Derby with Aristides, whose
dam Sarong, by Lexington, was one of his
favorite mares. But Mr. keene, in this
latter day epoch of progress IN American
racing. has had the rare pleasure and
felicity of seeing derby after derby. cup
after cup. matron, futurity and maturity
stakes galore, won by his homeDred colts
and tilies. One of these, Colin, goes into
winter quarters, with an unbeaten record,
far outshadowng those of Asteroid, Ire
mont. Sensation or any other American
bred tWo-year-old that never knew defeat
at that age. Collins seven furlongs in %
a Belmont Park. with 125 pounds up, was
simply marvellous performance for d
tWo-year-old.
Mr.. Keene was found one evening re-
Gently at the Waldorf Astoria willing to
talk horse" notwithst anding that he had
been up until 3 o'clock that morning in
an important conference with his friends
on the financial crisis. The talk devel-
oped some unwritten history of the man
whose turf career has been from the out
set marked by "a fair field and no IA
vor'' without the slightest breath of
scandal having ever touched his record.
Regarding the dispatch sent from Ken
lucky recently that lie had offered $500
600 for Barney Schriebers successful
Australian bred sire Sain Mr. keene
laughed quietly as he answered, Neither
| nor Major Dangerfield, my stud man
ager. ever made such an offer. The story
is simply preposterous. I am not Yet in
my dotage, and we have stations enough
al CaStleton. right now, anyway.
Spendthrift Starts Keene's Career.
To a question regarding his earliest ven
lures in thorough breds, Mr.. keene said to
me: Il began on trotters. Before I left
California in the middle seventies l pur-
chased the trotting stallion Sam Purdy.
2.2U14. You were out there then and
his races with II. c. Goodrich's Bodine at
the Bay District track. Afterwards l
brought Purdy east and gave him to nay
brother-in-law, Major FoXhall A. Danger
field, who had a nice place-Wren's Nest
down in the mountains of Virginia. Up
to that time I had not started racing
stable. But at Jerome Park a year later
l purchased two cots, Spendthrft and
Dan Sparkling, owned by Col. Thomas Pur-
year OF New Jersey that took my fancy.
no l.
with Sparkling, and the Belmont with
Spendthrift.
IN the Withers stake" continued Mr.
keene. Il started both Sparkling and
Spendthrift, and declared to win with the
former to save a penalty on the other
colt. But Jockey Barber had such hard
work to keep Spendthrift in second place
at the end that a lot of country visitors
Kissed him, the colt and the colors. and
kept it up as they came back to the sea les.
Of course. they did not know the rules
and all that. but il was very huml liating
to me just the same. l was very nearly
quitting the game before it was fairly be-
gun But the colors have never been
Kissed since either here abroad, |
glad to say
well. the successes of Spendthrift,"
said Mr.. keene. started me in racing.
Dan Sparkling, son of Glenelg was only
a second rater But SpenGthrift (by
Australian). brother to FelloWcraft, the
first horse to lower Lexingt"ns fourInile
record Of 719a4. was a good horse. He
followed up his Belmont win for me by
a victory in the Travers at Saratoga.
But week later Falsetto defeated him
in the Genner stake.
THAT was in 1878" he continued, "and
in the following spring I was fortunate
enough to secure the star of the Wood
burn yearlings. a colt by King Alfonso,
that named Foxhall after my son. That
fall sent Foxhall. Don Fulano and some
other yearings to England and placed
them in the stable of Richard Marsh at
New Market. What Foxhall did there
in 1881, as a three-yearold, is Il matter
of history"
Foxhall Great Horse.
Mr.. Keenes eyes fairly shone as he
added: "Foxhall was certainly one of the
best horses that ever carried my colors.