Harry Bassett & Longfellow
date: label: Date made
content: 1878
label: Date made
content: 1879
name: label: maker
content: Kelly, Thomas
notes: label: Description
content: A color print of a brown and black horse, both with jockeys, galloping across the finish line at a race track. The judges occupy a small house beside the track and can be seen looking on.
label: Description
content: Harry Bassett was foaled on April 27, 1868 from Lexington and Canary Bird. He was bred by either R.A. Alexander or A.J. Alexander, both from Woodburn Stud Farm in Woodburn Kentucky. In 1869 Harry Bassett was sold at a yearling sale to David McDaniel, a trainer, for $315. Ridden by W. Miller, Harry won the fifth Belmont Stakes in 1871 with a time of 2:56 and won $5,400. By age 3, Harry was undefeated. He went on to win many more prominent races such as the Saratoga Cup and Champion Stakes. His racing career lasted five years, in which he won 23 races of out 36 starts. His total earnings amounted to $55,920. Upon retirement, Harry was moved to McDaniel’s stud farm in Trenton, New Jersey until he died on October 27, 1878. In 2010, Harry Bassett was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame.
label: Description
content: Longfellow was bred in 1867 by John Harper on Nantura Stock Farm in Midway, Kentucky. Harper also owned the famous sires Lexington and Glencoe. Longfellow’s sire was Leamington and his dam was Nantura. At 17.0 hands, he was an above-average height for a racer, so Harper had to postpone his training until the colt grew into his size. Harper claimed he named the horse after his long legs. His racing career began when Longfellow turned 3. The beginning of Longfellow’s racing career was marked by several unfortunate events. He lost his first race, and then in 1871 before a match Harper’s siblings were murdered at his estate by a jealous nephew. Harper would have been killed as well, had he not been sleeping in Longfellow’s stall. After this event, Longfellow’s career began to accelerate, and he won 13 of his 16 starts in 1871, frequenting the tracks at Monmouth and Saratoga. Longfellow eventually earned the name “King of the Turf.” The match against Harry Bassett, pictured here, took place in Longfellow’s last season in the Monmouth Cup of 1872 where they were the only two horses entered. Longfellow beat Harry Bassett by over 100 yards. They met again in the Saratoga Cup, but at the start Longfellow twisted his foot. He managed to catch up to Harry Bassett and only lost by a length, but it was the last race of his racing career. At stud, Longfellow sired two Kentucky Derby winners and became the leading sire of 1891. Longfellow died on November 5, 1893 at age 26 and his grave was the second grave in Kentucky to be erected for a racehorse. Longfellow was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1971.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: New York, New York City
label: depicted
content: United States: New Jersey, Long Branch
topic: label: Subject
content: Architecture, Commercial Buildings
label: Subject
content: Chronology: 1870-1879
label: depicted
content: Horses
label: related event
content: Horse Race between Harry Bassett and Longfellow
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content: Home and Community Life: Domestic Life
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content: Clothing & Accessories
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content: Art
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content: Peters Prints
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content: Domestic Furnishings
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content: Horses
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Harry T. Peters "America on Stone" Lithography Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: DL.60.3607
label: catalog number
content: 60.3607
objectType: label: Object Name
content: lithograph
label: Object Type
content: Lithograph
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: image: 8 1/2 in x 12 in; 21.59 cm x 30.48 cm