"Damn His Eyes"

Boston (1833-1850), a chestnut with a white nose (and often called "Damn his eyes" because no one could beat him), was born in Richmond, Virginia. Boston was the sire of a horse that would become America's leading stud for many years, the brilliant Lexington, but before that day Boston himself was a great—if tempestuous— race horse. Flag Seal Nickname: River City Motto: Sic Itur Ad Astra Location Location in the Commonwealth of Virginia Coordinates , Government Country State County United States Virginia Independent City Mayor L. Douglas Wilder (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 62. ... United States is the current Good Article Collaboration of the week! Please help to improve this article to the highest of standards. ... Lexington (1850-1875) was a United States champion thoroughbred race horse who became the most successful sire during the second half of the 19th Century. ... Horse-racing is an equestrian sporting activity which has been practiced over the centuries; the chariot races of Roman times were an early example, as was the contest of the steeds of the god Odin and the giant Hrungnir in Norse mythology. ...

Either cut or shot

As a two-year-old, Boston was won in a card game. Lost by his breeder, the Virginia attorney John Wickham (who had been Aaron Burr's counsel in his trial for treason), and won by Wickham's friend Nathaniel Rives, the unbroken colt seemed at first a major loss rather than a small gain. Named for the card game, the son of the very good Timoleon (by Sir Archie) out of Sister of Tuckahoe (going back on both sides to Diomed and Eclipse as well as, as named, sister to the great Tuckahoe), Boston was hopelessly willful, and viciously untrainable. Sent to the stable of John Belcher, and then to the trainer L. White, and then back to Belcher, White said, "The horse should either be castrated or shot—perferably the latter." This article does not cite its references or sources. ... John Wickham may refer to several people, among them: John Wickham, an 18th-century American attorney John Wickham, a 20th-century American general John Clements Wickham, a 19th-century British ship captain John Wickham, a motor racing team and series manager This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages... Aaron Burr, Jr. ... Eclipse Eclipse (April 1, 1764 - February 26, 1789) was an 18th century British thoroughbred racehorse, descendant of Godolphin Arabian and Regulus that was undefeated during its entire career. ...

Belcher neither cut him nor shot him—he trained him with a whip. To discourage him from rolling on his riders, Belcher had him tied down so stable lads could sit on his head and beat him with sticks. After that bout of "training," he was entered into a match in Richmond against a colt of White's. It was April 20, 1836, and Boston was three years old. Boston ran away with the race, gaining a long lead. He then stopped dead on the course, and sulked. At that point, Belcher turned him out as a common hack on the streets of Richmond until he could mend his ways. For a season, Richmond saw quite a display of temper as the horse bucked and balked his way through the town. But in the end, man won and horse lost. Sort of. Boston would race, but he bit horses who tried to pass him.

Man vs Horse

Back under saddle, Boston won fifteen races in succession. From Georgia to New York, he raced until he was a ten-year-old. winning 45 of his 40 starts. In those days, races weren't stakes, graded or otherwise, and they weren't run on tidy ovals. They were heats across open country and could be four miles long. (A horse called Young Fire was the first named race horse in American records, known only from the very common horse racing lawsuits of the times.) Thirty of Boston's wins were at that distance. He beat every horse of any distinction he ever met whether the "track" was knee deep in mud or hard as cement. More than once, his then owner (Colonel W.R. Johnson, called the "Napoleon of the Turf") was paid good money not to race, in order to encourage other owners to enter their horses in an event. Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... A graded stakes race is a term applied to a Thoroughbred horse race in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay. ...

By 1840, jockey clubs in the north were sick of Boston's winning ways and so pleaded with Johnson to race him farther south. Either that, or they would include the words "Bar Boston" in their race conditions.

The accepted wisdom is that Boston lost on his merit only once. In May of 1842, he met the filly Fashion, the daughter of Trustee and Bonnets o' Blue, in a well touted match race at the Union Course on Long Island, New York. 70,000 people witnessed the event, including US Senators and Congressmen who made the long journey up from Washington, DC. By all accounts it was mayhem that day: train service broke down, people stormed the ticket office or rushed the guards at the back fences to get in. Filly is also a town in Belgium. ... This article is about Long Island in New York State. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United...

In the first heat, the nine-year-old Boston (carrying 126 pounds) cut open a long jagged gash on his hip against a rail and both he and five-year-old Fashion (carrying 111 pounds) were upset by the crowd often surging onto the track. It was a mess of a race that Boston led for three miles, but in the end Fashion won it by 60 yards setting a new world record of 7:32 1/2 for a four-mile heat.

A sire of sires

The white nosed "Damn his eyes" went blind as he grew older. Even so, he was leading sire in 1841, 1842 and 1843, beginning his stud career even before he raced against Fashion. (He'd covered 42 mares before the match at $100 each.) He stood, at first, in Hanover County, Virginia, then in Washington, D. C., and was then led over the mountains to Kentucky (not exactly wilderness in 1846, but only sixty or so years earlier, Daniel Boone had come in by pack horse and had them all stolen by Indians), to spend his last seasons in Woodford County, Kentucky. It was in Kentucky that he was finally bred with mares of good quality which enabled him to become a leading sire. He was also a noted sire of trotters. Location in the state of Virginia Formed 1720 Seat Hanover Area  - Total  - Water 1,228 km² (474 mi²) 4 km² (1 mi²) 0. ... Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (November 2, 1734 – September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer, frontiersman and Indian-fighter, who blazed the trail known as the Wilderness Road and founded Boonesborough, Kentucky (also known as Boonesboro). ... Woodford County is a county located in the state of Kentucky. ... Standardbred harness racing horses are so called because in the early years of the Trotting Registry, the standardbred stud book established in the United States in 1879 by the National Association of Trotting Horse Breeders, only horses who could race a mile in a standard time or better, or whose...

By 1849, Boston was in such poor health he could stand only with the aid of a harness. He met his death as he'd lived his life—furious and indomitable. He was found dead in his stall on January 31, 1850, blind and emaciated from illness. The sides of his stall were bloody from the struggle he put up as he died, hitting his head and legs over and over. His two best sons, Lexington and Lecomte were born in the Spring after his death. Lexington (1850-1875) was a United States champion thoroughbred race horse who became the most successful sire during the second half of the 19th Century. ...

Boston was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1955. 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. ...

References

• Boston's pedigree, with painting
• Boston's page in the Hall of Fame