Luke McLuke
Encyclopedia
Luke McLuke was a bay Thoroughbred
stallion born in the United States who won the 1914 Belmont Stakes
as well as the Carlton Stakes, Kentucky Handicap, and Grainger Memorial Handicap among his four wins from six starts. After his racing career was over, he became a breeding stallion
, where he sired 11 stakes winners. Two of his daughters were named as year end Champions in the United States.
. Ultimus was inbred
to Commando
, as both his sire and dam were sired by Domino
. Ultimus never raced, however.
Luke McLuke was bred by James R. Keene
at Castleton Stud, but was sold, along with the entire stock of the 1911 foal crop, in 1912 as yearling
s. He was originally bought as part of a group lot of all 16 of the colt
s, who were bought by William A. Prime for $25,000 (approximately $ as of ), who promptly turned around sold the horses to Edward R. Bradley
. Bradley then auctioned them off for a total of $57,650 (approximately $ as of ) shortly after purchasing them. John Schorr of Memphis, Tennessee
bought Luke McLuke for $1,700 (approximately $ as of ). Although unraced as a two year old, Luke McLuke raced as a three-year-old for Schorr. It was in Schorr's ownership that the stallion won the Belmont Stakes.
Luke McLuke was expected to be a sprinter, as his breeding, especially on his sire's side, was mostly raced at shorter distances.
in Louisville, Kentucky
. Luke McLuke carried 100 pounds (45.4 kg) in the race, and was ridden by A. Neyton for the win. Second place was Rudolfo and third went to Solar Star. The win earned him $11,500 (approximately $ as of ), and the winning time was 2 minutes and 2 and seconds.
Luke McLuke was trained by Schorr's son, J. F. Schorr. Luke McLuke's race wins in 1914 helped make the elder Schorr the leading owner for 1914, the second time he'd earned that title. The younger Schorr was the leading trainer in 1914, the first time he topped that list. The stallion's overall racing record was four wins out of six starts with one second and one third. His total earnings on the racetrack were $22,050 (approximately $ as of ).
. He sired 11 stakes winners, including Nellie Morse
, Anita Peabody
, and Mr. Sponge. Nellie Morse won the 1924 Preakness Stakes
and was named the 1924 Champion Three-Year-Old-Filly. Anita Peabody won the Futurity Stakes
and the Debutante Stakes
and was named 1927 Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. In all, Luke McLuke sired 85 foal
s in 13 foal crops. 55 of his foals started races, with 40 of those starters winning races for a total of $449,783 in earnings at the racetrack by his progeny. His daughter Nellie Morse was the dam of Nellie Flagg, who was the 1934 Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. After her racing career was over, Nellie Flagg went on to become one of the foundation broodmares at Calumet Farm
in Kentucky. A grandson was Three Bars
, who was out of a Luke McLuke daughter named Myrtle Dee. Three Bars went on to become an influential sire of Quarter Horses, and was named to the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame
in 1989. Another daughter, Nursemaid, produced the 1966 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, Juliets Nurse. Luke McLuke's granddaughter Nellie Flagg was in turn the dam of Mar-Kell
, the 1943 Champion Handicap Mare.
The Chicago Tribune reported the death of Luke McLuke in February 1929, but noted the horse had died suddenly in his exercise paddock at the farm of John Hertz many weeks before the press release. He was recorded as dead in the 1932 edition of the American Racing Manual.
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...
stallion born in the United States who won the 1914 Belmont Stakes
Belmont 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...
as well as the Carlton Stakes, Kentucky Handicap, and Grainger Memorial Handicap among his four wins from six starts. After his racing career was over, he became a breeding stallion
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
, where he sired 11 stakes winners. Two of his daughters were named as year end Champions in the United States.
Breeding and background
Luke McLuke's sire was Ultimus, and his dam was an imported mare named Midge, who was a daughter of the English Thoroughbred Trenton. Midge's dam was another imported mare named Sandfly who was by the English stallion IsonomyIsonomy (horse)
Isonomy was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1877 to 1880 he ran fourteen times and won ten races. As a three-year-old he deliberately bypassed the Classics in order that his owner could land a massive betting coup in the Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket...
. Ultimus was inbred
Inbreeding
Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...
to Commando
Commando (horse)
Commando was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred at Castleton Stud by owner James R. Keene, Commando raced at age two, winning five of his six starts and finishing second in the other as a result of jockey error. At age three, Commando raced only three times, winning the...
, as both his sire and dam were sired by 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...
. Ultimus never raced, however.
Luke McLuke was bred by James R. Keene
James R. Keene
James Robert Keene was a Wall Street stock broker and a major thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder.-Biography:He was born in London, England in 1838. He was fourteen years of age when his family emigrated to the United States in 1852...
at Castleton Stud, but was sold, along with the entire stock of the 1911 foal crop, in 1912 as yearling
Yearling (horse)
A yearling is a young horse of either sex that is between one and two years old. Yearlings are comparable in development to a very early adolescent, they are not fully mature physically, and while they may be in the earliest stages of sexual maturity, they are considered too young to be breeding...
s. He was originally bought as part of a group lot of all 16 of the colt
Colt (horse)
A colt is a young male horse, under the age of four. The term "colt" is often confused with foal, which refers to a horse of either sex under one year of age....
s, who were bought by William A. Prime for $25,000 (approximately $ as of ), who promptly turned around sold the horses to Edward R. Bradley
Edward R. Bradley
Colonel Edward Riley Bradley was an American steel mill laborer, gold miner, businessman and philanthropist. As well as a race track proprietor, he was the preeminent owner and breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses in the Southern United States during the first three decades of the 20th Century...
. Bradley then auctioned them off for a total of $57,650 (approximately $ as of ) shortly after purchasing them. John Schorr of Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
bought Luke McLuke for $1,700 (approximately $ as of ). Although unraced as a two year old, Luke McLuke raced as a three-year-old for Schorr. It was in Schorr's ownership that the stallion won the Belmont Stakes.
Luke McLuke was expected to be a sprinter, as his breeding, especially on his sire's side, was mostly raced at shorter distances.
Racing career
Luke McLuke won the Belmont on June 20, 1914, carrying 126 pounds (57.2 kg) and with M. Bruxton as his jockey. He earned a total of $3025 (approximately $ as of ) for the win. The time for the 1+3/8 mi race was 2 minutes and 20 seconds, beating Gainer and Charlestonian. On June 30, 1914, he ran in the Carleton Stakes, which was a 1 miles (1.6 km) long race for three-year-olds. He earned $5,125 (approximately $ as of ) for the win, which was made in 1 minute 38 and seconds. Luke McLuke carried 126 pounds (57.2 kg) in the race and his jockey was M. Buxton. He beat Charlestonian again, as well as Stromboli and Figinny. He also won the Kentucky Handicap and Grainger Memorial Handicap that year. The Grainger was a race for three-year-olds and up, at a distance of 1+1/4 mi and was run at Churchill DownsChurchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
in Louisville, Kentucky
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...
. Luke McLuke carried 100 pounds (45.4 kg) in the race, and was ridden by A. Neyton for the win. Second place was Rudolfo and third went to Solar Star. The win earned him $11,500 (approximately $ as of ), and the winning time was 2 minutes and 2 and seconds.
Luke McLuke was trained by Schorr's son, J. F. Schorr. Luke McLuke's race wins in 1914 helped make the elder Schorr the leading owner for 1914, the second time he'd earned that title. The younger Schorr was the leading trainer in 1914, the first time he topped that list. The stallion's overall racing record was four wins out of six starts with one second and one third. His total earnings on the racetrack were $22,050 (approximately $ as of ).
Breeding career and legacy
In 1925 Luke McLuke was owned by J. O. Keene and stood at stud at Keeneland Stud in Lexington, KentuckyLexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
. He sired 11 stakes winners, including Nellie Morse
Nellie Morse
Nellie Morse was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the fourth filly to win the Preakness Stakes. Her sire was Luke McLuke, who won the 1914 Belmont Stakes and who was a son of the important but unraced Ultimus who had been sired by Commando...
, Anita Peabody
Anita Peabody
Anita Peabody was an American Champion Thoroughbred filly racehorse. Bred and raced by John and Fannie Hertz, she was born at their Leona Farm near Cary, Illinois. She was named after the wife of Stuyvesant Peabody, then president of the Illinois Turf Association...
, and Mr. Sponge. Nellie Morse won the 1924 Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
and was named the 1924 Champion Three-Year-Old-Filly. Anita Peabody won the Futurity Stakes
Futurity Stakes
Futurity Stakes may refer to:*Futurity Stakes , a horse race held at Caulfield Racecourse in Australia.*Futurity Stakes , a horse race held at the Curragh in Ireland....
and the Debutante Stakes
Debutante Stakes
The Debutante Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August.-History:...
and was named 1927 Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. In all, Luke McLuke sired 85 foal
Foal
A foal is an equine, particularly a horse, that is one year old or younger. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, but these terms are used until the horse is age three or four. When the foal is nursing from its dam , it may also be called a suckling...
s in 13 foal crops. 55 of his foals started races, with 40 of those starters winning races for a total of $449,783 in earnings at the racetrack by his progeny. His daughter Nellie Morse was the dam of Nellie Flagg, who was the 1934 Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. After her racing career was over, Nellie Flagg went on to become one of the foundation broodmares at Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of Lexington's blue grass country, the finest horse breeding region in...
in Kentucky. A grandson was Three Bars
Three Bars
A famous sire of Quarter Horses, Three Bars was actually a registered Thoroughbred racehorse before going on to become a member of the American Quarter Horse Association's American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame.-Life:...
, who was out of a Luke McLuke daughter named Myrtle Dee. Three Bars went on to become an influential sire of Quarter Horses, and was named to the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame
American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame
The American Quarter Horse Association has created a Hall of Fame in Amarillo, Texas to honor both people and horses who contributed to the growth of the American Quarter Horse. Any one may nominate either people or horses to be considered. Nominations from the membership are due by October 1. They...
in 1989. Another daughter, Nursemaid, produced the 1966 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, Juliets Nurse. Luke McLuke's granddaughter Nellie Flagg was in turn the dam of Mar-Kell
Mar-Kell
Mar-Kell was an American Champion Thoroughbred filly racehorse. Her dam was the 1934 American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly Nellie Flag, and her sire was the 1930 Epsom Derby winner Blenheim, who had been imported to the United States in 1937 by a syndicate that included Mar-Kell's breeder, Calumet...
, the 1943 Champion Handicap Mare.
The Chicago Tribune reported the death of Luke McLuke in February 1929, but noted the horse had died suddenly in his exercise paddock at the farm of John Hertz many weeks before the press release. He was recorded as dead in the 1932 edition of the American Racing Manual.