Many observers voiced the opinion that the 10th Kentucky Derby had the weakest field entered to that date, and no one colt seemed dominant entering the race. Among the runners was Buchanan, who had failed to win at 2 (although he had placed in all six of his outings, all in stakes) and had bolted to the outside rail during the running of his Derby prep, probably costing himself the race as he had been in the lead when he took off. His position among the race favorites was as much due to the presence of the renowned Isaac Murphy in his saddle as to his own merits, and Murphy didn't want to be there, being understandably more concerned with the risk to his neck from riding a rogue colt than with the possibility of capturing the winner's purse. Forced to ride against his better judgment, Murphy turned in a beautifully timed ride to win. Buchanan won two more stakes at 3 with Murphy aboard before an injury knocked him out for the rest of the season. He was never the same afterward and died relatively young, cutting off a promising stud career.
Race record
35 starts, 8 wins, 14 seconds, 10 thirds, US$13,110
1883:
1884:
1885:
1886:
As an individual
A big, rangy chestnut horse, Buchanan stood 16 or 16.1 hands. He was willful and difficult to control on the track and was known for bolting and swerving. He suffered a tendon injury to his left foreleg during the gallop-out of the 1884 Ripple Stakes and never recovered his best form. As a stallion, he was said to have been intensely curious about everything that went on around him.
As a stallion
Clio Hogan's Index to Stakes Winners 1865-1967 credits Buchanan with six stakes winners. His best runner was probably Buck McCann, winner of the 1893 Latonia Derby.
Notable progeny
Buck McCann (USA)
Connections
Foaled at Colonel James W. Guest's Magnolia Stock Farm near Danville, Kentucky, Buchanan was bred by Guest in partnership with Captain William Cottrill. According to Brownie Leach (The Kentucky Derby Diamond Jubilee 1875-1949), he was owned by Captain Cottrill, who had bought him as a yearling; however, the Stanford Interior Journal of July 3, 1883, reported Buchanan as sold by Cottrill and Guest to “a Mr. Johnson, of Pittsburg” for US$5,000, though Buchanan appears in later race records as owned by William Cottrill. The Chicago Tribune of May 17, 1884, throws another twist into Buchanan's ownership, stating that at the time of his Derby victory, the colt was owned by Pittsburgh coal magnate Sam Brown and Captain Cottrill, while the Chicago Inter Ocean of May 20, 1884 stated that Sam Brown had bought him for USA $6,000 during the colt's 2-year-old season. Buchanan was trained by Scott Williams at 2 and by William Bird at the time of his Derby win.
Following his racing career, Buchanan passed through the auction ring at Lexington on November 18, 1887, and was purchased for US$1,275 by George W. Scoggan (seen in some reports as “Scroggins”). Buchanan was standing at the Scoggan Brothers' National Stock Farm (owned by George and his brother Hiram) near Louisville, Kentucky, when he died of “inflammation of the bowels” shortly before midnight on May 28, 1894. He was valued at US$35,000 at the time of his death.
Pedigree notes
Buchanan's pedigree is outcrossed through five generations. He is a full brother to 1884 Louisville Cup winner Harry Gilmore and to 1886 Great Western Handicap winner Jim Guest. His dam, Mrs. Grigsby, was produced from the Yorkshire mare Folly, whose full sister Fay is the second dam of three stakes winners. Folly and Fay, in turn, were produced from the imported Priam mare Fury, whose half sister Maid of Saragossa (by Jereed) founded an important Classic family in Central Europe.
Fun facts
Last updated: March 24, 2022
Race record
35 starts, 8 wins, 14 seconds, 10 thirds, US$13,110
1883:
- 2nd Maiden Stakes (USA, 6FD, Latonia)
- 2nd Criterion Stakes (USA, 6FD, Chicago)
- 2nd St. James Hotel Stakes (USA, 7FD, St. Louis)
- 2nd Alexander Stakes (USA, 5FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd Jackson Stakes (USA, 4FD, Nashville)
- 3rd Barrett Stakes (USA, 8FD, Latonia)
1884:
- Won Kentucky Derby (USA, 12FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Ripple Stakes (USA, 10FD, Latonia)
- Won Clark Stakes (USA, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- 3rd Hindoo Stakes (USA, 14FD, Churchill Downs)
- 3rd Belle Meade Stakes (USA, 10FD, Nashville; disqualified from second for interference)
1885:
- 2nd Brewers' Stakes (USA, 14FD, St. Louis)
1886:
- 3rd Granite Mountain Stakes (USA, 9FD, St. Louis)
As an individual
A big, rangy chestnut horse, Buchanan stood 16 or 16.1 hands. He was willful and difficult to control on the track and was known for bolting and swerving. He suffered a tendon injury to his left foreleg during the gallop-out of the 1884 Ripple Stakes and never recovered his best form. As a stallion, he was said to have been intensely curious about everything that went on around him.
As a stallion
Clio Hogan's Index to Stakes Winners 1865-1967 credits Buchanan with six stakes winners. His best runner was probably Buck McCann, winner of the 1893 Latonia Derby.
Notable progeny
Buck McCann (USA)
Connections
Foaled at Colonel James W. Guest's Magnolia Stock Farm near Danville, Kentucky, Buchanan was bred by Guest in partnership with Captain William Cottrill. According to Brownie Leach (The Kentucky Derby Diamond Jubilee 1875-1949), he was owned by Captain Cottrill, who had bought him as a yearling; however, the Stanford Interior Journal of July 3, 1883, reported Buchanan as sold by Cottrill and Guest to “a Mr. Johnson, of Pittsburg” for US$5,000, though Buchanan appears in later race records as owned by William Cottrill. The Chicago Tribune of May 17, 1884, throws another twist into Buchanan's ownership, stating that at the time of his Derby victory, the colt was owned by Pittsburgh coal magnate Sam Brown and Captain Cottrill, while the Chicago Inter Ocean of May 20, 1884 stated that Sam Brown had bought him for USA $6,000 during the colt's 2-year-old season. Buchanan was trained by Scott Williams at 2 and by William Bird at the time of his Derby win.
Following his racing career, Buchanan passed through the auction ring at Lexington on November 18, 1887, and was purchased for US$1,275 by George W. Scoggan (seen in some reports as “Scroggins”). Buchanan was standing at the Scoggan Brothers' National Stock Farm (owned by George and his brother Hiram) near Louisville, Kentucky, when he died of “inflammation of the bowels” shortly before midnight on May 28, 1894. He was valued at US$35,000 at the time of his death.
Pedigree notes
Buchanan's pedigree is outcrossed through five generations. He is a full brother to 1884 Louisville Cup winner Harry Gilmore and to 1886 Great Western Handicap winner Jim Guest. His dam, Mrs. Grigsby, was produced from the Yorkshire mare Folly, whose full sister Fay is the second dam of three stakes winners. Folly and Fay, in turn, were produced from the imported Priam mare Fury, whose half sister Maid of Saragossa (by Jereed) founded an important Classic family in Central Europe.
Fun facts
- Buchanan was the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby after coming into the race as a maiden.
- Buchanan was the first of three Kentucky Derby-winning mounts for Isaac Murphy, one of the greatest American jockeys of all time. Known for his incredibly accurate sense of pace, his outstanding horsemanship and his absolute integrity, he was nicknamed “the colored Archer” after the famed English jockey Fred Archer. Murphy's other Kentucky Derby winners were Riley (1890) and Kingman (1891).
- Buchanan was so unmanageable to ride that Murphy, who had ridden the colt as a 2-year-old and knew about the bolting episode at Nashville, flatly refused to ride him in the Kentucky Derby; according to the Louisville Courier-Journal had been slated to ride Bob Cook instead. Buchanan's connections protested, and Murphy was told by track officials that he would be suspended for the balance of the Churchill Downs meeting and possibly indefinitely if he did not fulfill his contract to ride Buchanan. He rode, and won; Bob Cook finished fifth.
- Erskine Henderson, who was the luckless jockey aboard the bolting Buchanan in the Belle Meade Stakes, later rode Joe Cotton to win the 1885 Kentucky Derby.
- Following Buchanan's win in the 1884 Clark Stakes, the writer for the Louisville Courier-Journal observed, “Buchanan's good omen seems to be a rabbit. Just before the start in the Derby, one of these little creatures ran across the track in front of the stand. When the horses were collected at the post in the Clark Stake the same rabbit galloped across the track and ran under the grand stand.” Perhaps more to the point, the colt was wearing blinkers and carrying Isaac Murphy in both races; Murphy also won the Ripple Stakes with him at the Latonia meeting.
- According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune of May 29, 1884, Buchanan's dam Mrs. Grigsby was her owner's favorite buggy horse for many years before he was at last persuaded to breed her to Buckden when she was 17. Harry Gilmore was her first foal, Buchanan was her second and Jim Guest was her third.
Last updated: March 24, 2022