Lexington

by Kim Wickens

The early days of American horse racing were grueling. Four-mile races, run two or three times in succession, were the norm, rewarding horses who brandished the ideal combination of stamina and speed. The stallion Lexington, named after the city in Kentucky where he was born, possessed these winning qualities, which pioneering Americans prized. Lexington shattered the world speed record for a four-mile race, showing a war-torn nation that the extraordinary was possible even in those perilous times. Horses from his bloodline won more money than the offspring of any other Thoroughbred -- an annual success that led Lexington to be named America's leading sire an unprecedented sixteen times.