“Till you go to the Kentucky Derby with your personal eyes, behold the Derby, you ain’t by no means been nowhere and also you ain’t by no means seen nothing.”—Irving S. Cobb
It was a Monday, the beginning of a brand new week, however this could go down as something however a typical Monday. The day started with clear skies, the solar quickly becoming a member of the multitudes flocking to Louisville’s latest racetrack, their journey presaging a day a century and a half therefore. Might 17, 1875, was one thing altogether greater than a Monday: it was Derby day.
The person behind all of it, Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr., was the grandson of explorer Meriwether Lewis and a pioneer in his personal proper. His concept of a fantastic race modeled on England’s personal Derby quickly eclipsed its cousin and sealed this visionary’s place in racing historical past.
Large Concepts
Clark’s roots in racing return to his uncles John and Henry Churchill, the namesakes of the Kentucky Derby’s residence. The younger man went to dwell with the 2 bachelors after his mom, Abigail’s, loss of life and thru them discovered concerning the finer issues in life, together with racehorses. Clark’s marriage to Patricia Anderson gave him entry to her uncle, one other legendary proprietor and racetracker: Richard Ten Broeck, proprietor of the famed stallion Lexington.
The game’s roots in Louisville return to the 18th century, however by 1870, the world was left bereft of a racetrack when the Woodlawn Course closed. A bunch of breeders approached Clark and inspired the younger banker and socialite to assist them resurrect town’s racing scene. Relatively than rush into motion prematurely, Clark determined to journey to Europe and spend greater than a yr visiting the continent’s greatest racetracks, studying the enterprise from individuals like Admiral Henry Rous and Vicomte Daru, each leaders of their respective jockey golf equipment.
When he returned to Kentucky, Clark shared his imaginative and prescient for town’s latest racetrack with potential traders. He proposed a brand new upscale facility and a sequence of races modeled on the Epsom classics: the two-mile Clark Stakes; the 1 ½-mile Kentucky Oaks; and the crown jewel of all of them, the 1 ½-mile Kentucky Derby. In pursuit of his purpose, he leased land from his uncles and raised $32,000 to construct a brand new one-mile grime oval; when that cash ran out, Clark used loans to construct a small wood grandstand.
Although winter climate and materials shortages delayed building, the brand new Louisville Jockey Membership made its debut on that monumental Monday, a happy Clark standing trackside as H.P. McGrath’s Aristides received the inaugural Kentucky Derby, the little purple colt turning into the primary of an unbroken line of victors.
A Advanced Man
From there, Clark made the brand new racetrack and the game itself his life’s work, decided to conduct himself and racing with the utmost integrity, a lot in order that he was not a favourite amongst many horsemen. He was not solely the president of the Louisville Jockey Membership, operating the enterprise facet of the brand new facility, but in addition a presiding decide, there to oversee proprietor, coach, and jockey, making certain that the races run at his observe had been freed from any shenanigans.
Forward of the Ten Broeck – Molly McCarthy match race in July 1878, Clark heard a rumor that the four-mile occasion is likely to be fastened so he ordered safety to observe the 2 starters’ barns, had their feed locked up as a precaution, and dropped by every horse’s steady each day to verify in. Clark put a lot effort into avoiding any potential malfeasance that he completed the day unconscious with exhaustion and heatstroke. Ten Broeck beat Mollie McCarthy simply in a gradual time, proof to some that the victor had been drugged anyway.
Although he pursued the cleanest racing potential, Clark himself was not all the time properly behaved. His mood typically obtained the most effective of him, the 1886 Kentucky Derby an instance. James Ben Ali Haggin introduced his colt Ben Ali to Louisville for the massive race and anticipated that he would win extra than simply the purse. A dispute locked bookmakers out of that yr’s Derby and left Derby day with solely public sale swimming pools for betting. The lockout pissed off Haggin, who had supposed to put a number of giant bets on his colt, and the proprietor registered his displeasure with Clark. Infuriated by the haranguing, Clark instructed Haggin “that he may take his horses to ——”; the subsequent day, Haggin’s steady was despatched east to New York together with the person’s ire. Clark’s comment prompted Haggin to encourage his Jap compatriots to not patronize the Kentucky Derby, sending the race right into a two-decade decline later circled by the victory of Harry Payne Whitney’s Remorse.
A Generational Inspiration
Devoted to the observe and the race he based, Clark led the Louisville Jockey Membership for 20 years, by no means taking a wage in an effort to maintain the racetrack afloat. He would usually pay the observe’s money owed out of his personal pocket, however even that was not sufficient: the observe that will turn into Churchill Downs was bought after the 1894 spring meet, ending its founder’s reign. Clark would keep on as a presiding decide there after which plied that commerce at different racetracks to maintain himself busy. Nonetheless, the observe’s monetary failures and the fading significance of the Kentucky Derby despatched the usually jovial Clark right into a melancholy.
His well being failing, Clark spent his closing days lamenting misplaced mates and “the top of his course.” On April 22, 1899, he died by his personal hand, ending a life that will come to be outlined not by failure however by the desires he made actuality, a fantastic springtime stakes that has grown into a vital American custom. When Col. Matt Winn took over Churchill Downs, he targeted on constructing the Kentucky Derby into the grand occasion he thought it was, his personal life’s work impressed by the race constructed by the dreamer who got here earlier than him, Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr.
