Aristides (USA)
1872 – June 21, 1893
Leamington (GB) x Sarong (USA), by Lexington (USA)
American Family 9
1872 – June 21, 1893
Leamington (GB) x Sarong (USA), by Lexington (USA)
American Family 9
Aristides gained racing immortality by winning the first Kentucky Derby, but there was more to his career than that. Originally a second-stringer for his owner, the colt became the acknowledged champion of his crop at 3. His racing career after his 3-year-old season was limited by injury, but during the course of his career, he defeated the great Ten Broeck in two of their four meetings. He was not a successful sire, but “the little red horse” will be remembered as long as the Kentucky Derby is run.
Race record
21 starts, 9 wins, 5 seconds, 1 thirds, US$18,325
1874:
1875:
1876:
Honors
As an individual
A red chestnut, Aristides stood 15.1¾ hands. He was a well-made, clean-legged horse with rather straight shoulders. He had a nasty temperament but was thoroughly game when in racing action.
As a stallion
According to Clio Hogan's Index to Stakes Winners 1865-1967, Aristides sired only one stakes winner, 1882 Juvenile Stakes winner Henlopen.
Connections
Aristides was bred and owned by H. Price McGrath, master of McGrathiana Stud (now the University of Kentucky's Coldstream Research Campus). He was trained by Ansel Williamson. Following his racing career, he went to stud at his owner's stud. When McGrathiana was dispersed in September 1881 due to McGrath's death, Aristides was purchased by A. Hankins for US$3,400 and moved to his new owner's farm near Hebron, Indiana. He later moved to J. Lucas Turner's Kinloch Stud near St. Louis, Missouri. He was next owned by Robert Brookings, who purchased him in the fall of 1890, and he was at Brookings' Oaklands Stud, also near St. Louis, from then until early 1893. That spring, Brookings put Aristides into a sale at the St. Louis fair grounds, and the old horse was bought for US$100 by J. W. Sanders of Nashville. Sanders, in turn, sold Aristides for US$200 to J. J. Thompson, who kept the Kentucky Derby winner with his stable at the fair grounds. When Thompson left St. Louis for his next stop on the racing circuit, Aristides was too sick to be moved, and arrangements were being made to put the old stallion out of his misery when he died of natural causes in June 1893.
Pedigree notes
Aristides' pedigree is outcrossed through five generations. He is a half brother to Daisy Hoey (by Tipperary), second dam of 1898 Tennessee Derby winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up Lieber Karl. His dam Sarong, in turn, is a half sister to Petty (by Tipperary), dam of Phoenix Hotel Stakes winner Sligo (by Tom Bowling), and is out of the Glencoe mare Greek Slave. The family traces back to an unnamed daughter of Fearnought and cannot be connected to any of the families in the Bruce Lowe numbering system.
Books and media
"The Little Red Horse," chapter 3 in Peter Chew's The Kentucky Derby: The First 100 Years (1974, Houghton Mifflin Company), tells the story of Aristides' Kentucky Derby victory.
Fun facts
Last updated: May 4, 2024
Race record
21 starts, 9 wins, 5 seconds, 1 thirds, US$18,325
1874:
- 2nd Thespian Stakes (USA, 6FD, Monmouth)
1875:
- Won Kentucky Derby (USA, 12FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Withers Stakes (USA, 8FD, Jerome Park)
- Won Jerome Stakes (USA, 16FD, Jerome Park)
- Won Breckinridge Stakes (USA, 16FD, Pimlico)
- 2nd Belmont Stakes (USA, 12FD, Jerome Park)
- 2nd Ocean Hotel Stakes (USA, 14FD, Monmouth)
- 3rd Travers Stakes (USA, 14FD, Saratoga)
1876:
- A club purse (USA, 20FD, Lexington; new track record 4:27-1/2)
- A sweepstakes (USA, 17FD, Lexington; new track record 3:45-1/2)
Honors
- National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 2024)
- American champion 3-year-old male (1875)
As an individual
A red chestnut, Aristides stood 15.1¾ hands. He was a well-made, clean-legged horse with rather straight shoulders. He had a nasty temperament but was thoroughly game when in racing action.
As a stallion
According to Clio Hogan's Index to Stakes Winners 1865-1967, Aristides sired only one stakes winner, 1882 Juvenile Stakes winner Henlopen.
Connections
Aristides was bred and owned by H. Price McGrath, master of McGrathiana Stud (now the University of Kentucky's Coldstream Research Campus). He was trained by Ansel Williamson. Following his racing career, he went to stud at his owner's stud. When McGrathiana was dispersed in September 1881 due to McGrath's death, Aristides was purchased by A. Hankins for US$3,400 and moved to his new owner's farm near Hebron, Indiana. He later moved to J. Lucas Turner's Kinloch Stud near St. Louis, Missouri. He was next owned by Robert Brookings, who purchased him in the fall of 1890, and he was at Brookings' Oaklands Stud, also near St. Louis, from then until early 1893. That spring, Brookings put Aristides into a sale at the St. Louis fair grounds, and the old horse was bought for US$100 by J. W. Sanders of Nashville. Sanders, in turn, sold Aristides for US$200 to J. J. Thompson, who kept the Kentucky Derby winner with his stable at the fair grounds. When Thompson left St. Louis for his next stop on the racing circuit, Aristides was too sick to be moved, and arrangements were being made to put the old stallion out of his misery when he died of natural causes in June 1893.
Pedigree notes
Aristides' pedigree is outcrossed through five generations. He is a half brother to Daisy Hoey (by Tipperary), second dam of 1898 Tennessee Derby winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up Lieber Karl. His dam Sarong, in turn, is a half sister to Petty (by Tipperary), dam of Phoenix Hotel Stakes winner Sligo (by Tom Bowling), and is out of the Glencoe mare Greek Slave. The family traces back to an unnamed daughter of Fearnought and cannot be connected to any of the families in the Bruce Lowe numbering system.
Books and media
"The Little Red Horse," chapter 3 in Peter Chew's The Kentucky Derby: The First 100 Years (1974, Houghton Mifflin Company), tells the story of Aristides' Kentucky Derby victory.
Fun facts
- Aristides was named after Aristides Welch, a good friend of the colt's owner-breeder. The human Aristides, in turn, was named for an Athenian statesman of the Greek Classical period.
- Aristides was entered in the Kentucky Derby as a “rabbit” for his more-heralded stablemate Chesapeake, who had been the best 2-year-old of the previous season. Aristides did his job to perfection, but when Chesapeake did not produce his expected run, McGrath waved jockey Oliver Lewis on to win with Aristides if he could. The little chestnut held on by a length over Volcano.
- Aristides was actually an added starter for the Kentucky Derby and was not confirmed for the race until the morning of Derby Day.
- Aristides' time of 2:37-3/4 for the Kentucky Derby was said to have been the fastest ever for 1½ miles by a 3-year-old up to that time.
- Aristides' winnings for his Kentucky Derby victory included a massive silver punch bowl valued at US$1,000, which served as the race's first trophy. The now-traditional golden trophy did not make its appearance until the “Golden Anniversary” 50th Kentucky Derby in 1924, won by Black Gold.
- Aristides was the first of four maternal grandsons of Lexington to win the Kentucky Derby. The most successful broodmare sire in the history of the race, Lexington was also represented by Day Star (1878), Hindoo (1881) and Ben Ali (1886).
- Among the also-rans in Aristides' Derby was Ascension, who was the first filly to run in the race. A stakes winner in New Orleans prior to the Derby, the daughter of Australian and the Lexington mare Lilly Ward later won the Monmouth Oaks and became the first female Derby starter to produce a Derby starter when her son Ascender (later the winner of the 1883 Clark Stakes) ran fourth in the 1883 Kentucky Derby.
- Aristides' second-place finish in the Belmont Stakes was due to his having been “pulled” to allow his stablemate Calvin to win. Calvin's victory was said to have landed US$30,000 in bets for McGrath.
- A life-sized bronze statue of Aristides by sculptor Carl Regutti stands in the Clubhouse Gardens at Churchill Downs.
- Kentucky Historical Marker #2381 honors the memory of Aristides. Donated by the University of Kentucky's class of 2011, it stands on the Coldstream Research Campus.
- The Aristides Stakes was inaugurated in 1988 at Churchill Downs. It is currently a listed race for horses aged 3 and up and is run at 6 furlongs on dirt.
- So far as is known, the only portrait of Aristides done during his lifetime was an 1876 oil painting by H. C. Bisphan.
Last updated: May 4, 2024