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Ben Brush (horse)
Encyclopedia
Ben Brush was a high class Thoroughbred
racehorse and sire who won the 1896 Kentucky Derby
. He was a bay stallion by Bramble (1879 champion handicap horse) out of Roseville (a sister to Azra, the 1892 Kentucky Derby and Travers Stakes
winner) by Reform. Ben Brush was bred at Runnymead Farm.
Walter Vosburgh said Bramble was "a breed as tough as pine nuts." On May 6, 1896, Bramble and Roseville's son Ben Brush was the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby at its modern distance of 1¼ miles. (Since its inception in 1875, the Derby had been staged over 1½ miles, the length of the original Derby at Epsom Downs
in England
.) It was the 22nd running of the Derby and the first to drape a blanket of white and pink roses over the shoulders of the victor.
near Paris, Kentucky
in 1891 from the horseman H. Eugene Leigh
. At the time she was in foal to Leigh's La Belle Stud stallion, Bramble. When the resulting colt was offered for sale by Clay and Woodford, Leigh and his new partner, the African-American Hall of Famer
Ed Brown
, bought him for $1,200. Brown named him Ben Brush in honor of the superintendent of the old Gravesend Race Track
at Sheepshead Bay
in Gravesend
on Coney Island
, New York
who'd allowed them scarce, therefore valuable, stall space. The original Ben Brush was a strict disciplinarian, but ever after, Leigh and Brown found him very lenient when it came to his namesake. When others complained of his double standard, the human Brush said, "Not a damn one of you fellows ever named a horse Ben Brush!"
Ben Brush raced 40 times, won 25 of those races, placed in five, and showed in 5, earning a career total of $65,208. Yet Joe Palmer said of him in his "Names in Pedigrees," that he was "not a particularly impressive-looking animal." The colt was a "rather small horse, a bit longer for his height than Bramble, almost equally coarse about the head."
Under trainer Ed Brown, Ben Brush began racing in Louisville
. In his first race at two, he was an easy winner by five lengths. In his second start, he came home by three lengths. His third effort saw him easily galloping home ahead of the good horse Nimrod. Ben then went on to Ohio, winning the Emerald Stakes and the Diamond Stakes.
After five wins in five starts he went to New York
where he ran third at Sheepshead Bay, but then easily won an overnight handicap giving away 19 pounds to his nearest rival. He then lost to the high class Requital in the Flatbush Stakes. He ran out of the money for the first time in the Great Eastern Handicap, but won the Holly Handicap. The Eastern elites mocked him as an "overrated little goat." At this point he was sold to the famous gambler Mike Dwyer
who had, with his brother
, raced his sire Bramble as well as the champions Hindoo
, Hanover
, Miss Woodford
, and Luke Blackburn
. Ben Brush would be the last champion to carry Mike's colors. The reported sum was $18,000. (A race for three-year-olds, the Dwyer Stakes
, held at Belmont Park
since 1918, was named in their honor.)
Now ridden by Hall of Famer
Willie Simms
, an African-American considered one of the greatest riders of his day, and trained by Hardy Campbell, Jr.
, Ben Brush went on to win six more races as a two year old. All in all, Ben earned $21,398 with 13 wins in 16 starts. In 1895, he was Champion 2-year-old. At this point the deeply impressed Walter Vosburgh said he "could have beaten any three-year-old of that season." Easterners were rebuffed. (Willie Simms also rode in England, where he was the first to introduce the short-stirrup style. After his stint in Europe, he was retained by Dwyer as his stable rider, but such was Simms's stature that he had the freedom to accept mounts from other stables as well. The nation's leading rider of 1893-94, he remains the only African-American jockey to have won the Derby, Preakness and Belmont.)
Ben Brush finished his season with four wins and almost $27,000 in earnings.
, giving Ornament nine pounds and still winning by three lengths. He beat the 1895 Preakness and Belmont winner Belmar; 1896 Belmont winner Hastings the grandsire of Man o' War
; 1897 champion three-year-old Ornament, the winner of 20 of 33 lifetime starts himself; and the high class Clifford, who twice managed to defeat the Henry of Navarre and Domino
in 1894-95.
winner and Champion Three Year Old Colt; Pebbles, the Juvenile Champion of 1914; Broomstick
, who won the 1904 Travers Stakes, set a new American record for a mile and a quarter in the Brighton Handicap
, and then going on himself to lead the Sires's List from 1913 until 1915 (siring Regret
, the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby as well as ranking 71 in the top 100 U.S. Thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century by Blood-Horse magazine; and Sweep
, twice leading sire, winner of the 1910 Belmont Stakes, and a champion at two and three. Ben's most influential daughter was Belgravia, who produced the Black Toney
, sire of Black Gold
.
Ben Brush died in Versailles, Kentucky
on June 8, 1918 at the age of 25. His headstone erroneously reads 1917.
Ben Brush was one of the first horses inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
in 1955.
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse and sire who won the 1896 Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
. He was a bay stallion by Bramble (1879 champion handicap horse) out of Roseville (a sister to Azra, the 1892 Kentucky Derby and Travers Stakes
Travers Stakes
The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers...
winner) by Reform. Ben Brush was bred at Runnymead Farm.
Walter Vosburgh said Bramble was "a breed as tough as pine nuts." On May 6, 1896, Bramble and Roseville's son Ben Brush was the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby at its modern distance of 1¼ miles. (Since its inception in 1875, the Derby had been staged over 1½ miles, the length of the original Derby at Epsom Downs
Epsom Downs Racecourse
Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse near Epsom, Surrey, England. The "downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course is best known for hosting the Epsom Derby, the United Kingdom's premier thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old colts and fillies, over a mile and a half...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.) It was the 22nd running of the Derby and the first to drape a blanket of white and pink roses over the shoulders of the victor.
At two
Ben's dam Roseville was purchased by Colonel Catesby Woodford and Colonel Ezekial Clay of Runnymede FarmRunnymede Farm
Runnymede Farm is an American horse breeding farm located outside Paris, Kentucky on U.S. Route 27, the Paris-Cynthiana Road. Breeders of Thoroughbreds, the farm was established in 1867 by American Civil War Colonels Ezekiel Field Clay and Catesby Woodford....
near Paris, Kentucky
Paris, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,183 people, 3,857 households, and 2,487 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,222 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White, 12.71% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.16%...
in 1891 from the horseman H. Eugene Leigh
H. Eugene Leigh
Hiram Eugene Leigh was an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer/owner and breeder who had a highly successful career in the United States as well as in Europe....
. At the time she was in foal to Leigh's La Belle Stud stallion, Bramble. When the resulting colt was offered for sale by Clay and Woodford, Leigh and his new partner, the African-American Hall of Famer
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
Ed Brown
Edward D. Brown
Edward Dudley Brown was an African American born as a slave who rose to become a Belmont Stakes-winning jockey, a Kentucky Derby-winning horse trainer, and an owner of several of the top racehorses during the last decade of the 19th century, earning him induction into the United States Racing Hall...
, bought him for $1,200. Brown named him Ben Brush in honor of the superintendent of the old Gravesend Race Track
Gravesend Race Track
Gravesend Race Track at Gravesend on Coney Island, New York was a Thoroughbred horse racing facility built by the Brooklyn Jockey Club as a result of the backing of the wealthy racing stable owners, the Dwyer Brothers. Philip J...
at Sheepshead Bay
Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn
Sheepshead Bay is a bay separating the mainland of Brooklyn, New York City from the eastern portion of Coney Island, the latter originally a barrier island but now effectively an extension of the mainland with peninsulas both east and west...
in Gravesend
Gravesend, Brooklyn
Gravesend is a neighborhood in the south-central section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA.The derivation of the name is unclear. Some speculate that it was named after the English seaport of Gravesend, Kent. An alternative explanation suggests that it was named by Willem Kieft for the...
on Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
who'd allowed them scarce, therefore valuable, stall space. The original Ben Brush was a strict disciplinarian, but ever after, Leigh and Brown found him very lenient when it came to his namesake. When others complained of his double standard, the human Brush said, "Not a damn one of you fellows ever named a horse Ben Brush!"
Ben Brush raced 40 times, won 25 of those races, placed in five, and showed in 5, earning a career total of $65,208. Yet Joe Palmer said of him in his "Names in Pedigrees," that he was "not a particularly impressive-looking animal." The colt was a "rather small horse, a bit longer for his height than Bramble, almost equally coarse about the head."
Under trainer Ed Brown, Ben Brush began racing in Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. In his first race at two, he was an easy winner by five lengths. In his second start, he came home by three lengths. His third effort saw him easily galloping home ahead of the good horse Nimrod. Ben then went on to Ohio, winning the Emerald Stakes and the Diamond Stakes.
After five wins in five starts he went to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
where he ran third at Sheepshead Bay, but then easily won an overnight handicap giving away 19 pounds to his nearest rival. He then lost to the high class Requital in the Flatbush Stakes. He ran out of the money for the first time in the Great Eastern Handicap, but won the Holly Handicap. The Eastern elites mocked him as an "overrated little goat." At this point he was sold to the famous gambler Mike Dwyer
Michael F. Dwyer
Michael F. Dwyer was an American businessman from Brooklyn, New York and prominent owner of Thoroughbred racehorses and racetracks...
who had, with his brother
Dwyer Brothers Stable
Dwyer Brothers Stable was an American thoroughbred horse racing operation owned by Brooklyn, New York businessmen, Phil and Mike Dwyer.The Dwyer brothers hired trainer Evert Snedecker and purchased their first Thoroughbred, Rhadamanthus, in 1874. In October of that same year they acquired Vigil...
, raced his sire Bramble as well as the champions Hindoo
Hindoo (horse)
Hindoo was an outstanding American Thoroughbred race horse who won 30 of his 35 starts, including the Kentucky Derby, the Travers Stakes and the Clark Handicap. He later sired the Preakness Stakes winner Buddhist and the Belmont Stakes winner and Leading sire in North America, Hanover.He was a bay...
, Hanover
Hanover (thoroughbred horse)
Hanover was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse that won his first 17 race starts. He was the only American stallion to head the Leading sire in North America list for four consecutive years until Bold Ruler did so in 1965.-Background:...
, Miss Woodford
Miss Woodford (horse)
Miss Woodford was a brown Thoroughbred racemare that became one of the best American fillies of all time. At one stage she won 16 consecutive races during her racing career....
, and Luke Blackburn
Luke Blackburn (horse)
Luke Blackburn was a Thoroughbred race horse born and bred in Tennessee by Capt. James Franklin.-Background:Sired by Bonnie Scotland, his dam was Nevada out of perhaps the most influential stallion America ever produced, the great Lexington. A bay foal, he was sold at two to Capt. Jim Williams...
. Ben Brush would be the last champion to carry Mike's colors. The reported sum was $18,000. (A race for three-year-olds, the Dwyer Stakes
Dwyer Stakes
The Dwyer Stakes is an American Grade II stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred racehorses held annually at Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, Long Island, New York. Run in early July, it is open to three-year-old horses and is raced over a distance of 1 1/16-miles on dirt...
, held at Belmont Park
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
since 1918, was named in their honor.)
Now ridden by Hall of Famer
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
Willie Simms
Willie Simms
Willie Simms was an American Hall of Fame thoroughbred horse racing jockey....
, an African-American considered one of the greatest riders of his day, and trained by Hardy Campbell, Jr.
Hardy Campbell, Jr.
Hardy Campbell, Jr. was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer and Standardbred horse owner. Hardy Campbell, Sr. was involved in horse racing, and Hardy Jr. spent his life around and in the business. He became head stable lad for Dwyer Brothers Stable in Brooklyn, New York, one of the top...
, Ben Brush went on to win six more races as a two year old. All in all, Ben earned $21,398 with 13 wins in 16 starts. In 1895, he was Champion 2-year-old. At this point the deeply impressed Walter Vosburgh said he "could have beaten any three-year-old of that season." Easterners were rebuffed. (Willie Simms also rode in England, where he was the first to introduce the short-stirrup style. After his stint in Europe, he was retained by Dwyer as his stable rider, but such was Simms's stature that he had the freedom to accept mounts from other stables as well. The nation's leading rider of 1893-94, he remains the only African-American jockey to have won the Derby, Preakness and Belmont.)
At three
Ben's first race in his 1896 season was the Kentucky Derby. Without benefit of a prep race and having never run farther than seven furlongs in his career, he stumbled badly coming away from the barrier, nearly unseating Simms. By the time they recovered the race seemed over for Ben Brush and Willie Simms. But Ben made a tremendous move on the backstretch, caught First Mate on the turn for home, and then battled fiercely with Ben Elder down the stretch before winning by a nose. The correspondent for the "Spirit of the Times" wrote, "Simms made one last and desperate rally with Ben Brush, displaying as vigorous a piece of riding as was ever seen, and gradually but surely gaining on the other Ben, he finally beat him out by a nose in a terrific and hair-raising finish, which elicited a wild and spontaneous shout from the grandstand." When Simms saw how deeply his spurs had cut his game mount, and that his sides were covered in blood, he cried with shame. (Col. Clark, the guiding force behind the development of Churchill and then serving as the track's presiding judge, credited Simms with the victory. "It was a great race—one of the greatest I ever saw," Clark said. "There was no doubt in the world about the finish. Simms simply lifted Brush a foot or so in front at the last jump.")Ben Brush finished his season with four wins and almost $27,000 in earnings.
At four
In the view of many, it was Ben Brush's 1897 campaign that as Palmer put it, "perhaps put the stamp of greatness on him more unmistakably than did his performances at two and three." During this last racing season, Ben Brush met Ornament, the Champion Three Year Old Colt and 1897's Horse of the YearEclipse Award for Horse of the Year
The American Award for Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. It has been awarded since 1887 to the horse, irrespective of age, whose performance during the racing year is deemed the most outstanding....
, giving Ornament nine pounds and still winning by three lengths. He beat the 1895 Preakness and Belmont winner Belmar; 1896 Belmont winner Hastings the grandsire of Man o' War
Man O' War (horse)
Man o' War, is considered one of the greatest Thoroughbred racehorses of all time. During his career just after World War I, he won 20 of 21 races and $249,465 in purses....
; 1897 champion three-year-old Ornament, the winner of 20 of 33 lifetime starts himself; and the high class Clifford, who twice managed to defeat the Henry of Navarre and Domino
Domino (horse)
Domino was a 19th-century American thoroughbred race horse.-Background:A dark brown, almost black*, colt, Domino was sired by Himyar out of the mare Mannie Gray.Sam Hildreth writes in his book, "The Spell of the Turf" that he looked black was actually a deep chestnut. Himyar was out of speed...
in 1894-95.
At stud
Ben Brush was a success at stud, so much so that he became one of the building blocks of the American Thoroughbred. Although his direct male line no longer exists, he continues to influence the breed. Ben Brush appears in the pedigrees of 48 of the last 50 Derby winners, including every Derby winner from 1972 onward. The leading sire of 1909, Ben Brush produced Delhi, the 1904 Belmont StakesBelmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
winner and Champion Three Year Old Colt; Pebbles, the Juvenile Champion of 1914; Broomstick
Broomstick (horse)
Broomstick was a Thoroughbred race horse born and bred at the famous McGrathiana Stud in Kentucky, but more importantly, he was one of the great sires of American racing. Out of another great sire, the Hall of Famer Ben Brush, Broomstick went on after his racing career to produce champion after...
, who won the 1904 Travers Stakes, set a new American record for a mile and a quarter in the Brighton Handicap
Brighton Handicap
The Brighton Handicap was an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually from 1895 through 1907 at the Brighton Beach Race Course in Brighton Beach, Coney Island, New York and in 1910 at Empire City Race Track...
, and then going on himself to lead the Sires's List from 1913 until 1915 (siring Regret
Regret (horse)
Regret was a famous American thoroughbred racehorse and the first of three fillies to ever win the Kentucky Derby.-Background:She was foaled at Harry Payne Whitney's Brookdale Farm in Lincroft, New Jersey...
, the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby as well as ranking 71 in the top 100 U.S. Thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century by Blood-Horse magazine; and Sweep
Sweep (horse)
Sweep was an American thoroughbred stallion racehorse. Bred by James R. Keene, he was sired by Kentucky Derby winner Ben Brush out of the Domino mare Pink Domino.Sweep was a champion two year old with a long stride...
, twice leading sire, winner of the 1910 Belmont Stakes, and a champion at two and three. Ben's most influential daughter was Belgravia, who produced the Black Toney
Black Toney
Black Toney was bred by James R. Keene's Castleton Farm. Keene, whose health was failing , sold all his holdings in 1912 to Colonel Edward R. Bradley's Idle Hour Stock Farm in Lexington, Kentucky...
, sire of Black Gold
Black Gold (horse)
Black Gold was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 50th running of the Kentucky Derby in 1924....
.
Ben Brush died in Versailles, Kentucky
Versailles, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,511 people, 3,160 households, and 2,110 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.18% White, 8.67% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35%...
on June 8, 1918 at the age of 25. His headstone erroneously reads 1917.
Ben Brush was one of the first horses inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
in 1955.