19th century greats Anthony Hamilton, Planet to be
enshrined in Hall of Fame
Anthony Hamilton, one of the finest jockeys of the 19th century, and Planet,
a dominant racehorse in the years leading up to the Civil War, have been elected
to the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame through the Museum’s Historic
Review process.
Hamilton and Planet will be inducted on August 10 at the Fasig-Tipton sales
pavilion along with contemporary selections jockey John Velazquez, the racehorse
Ghostzapper, and trainers Roger Attfield and Robert Wheeler. The ceremony is at
10:30 a.m. (EDT) and is free and open to the public.
Hamilton was born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1866 and won many of the
most prestigious races of the 19th century. His first notable win was at age 15
when he took the 1881 Phoenix Handicap with Sligo. In 1890, Hamilton rode
Potomac to victory in the third edition of the Futurity, which at the time was
the richest race in American history with a purse of $67,675. That year,
Hamilton led the nation in winning percentage (31.2). In 1891, he boosted his
national-best win percentage to 33.8 and won 154 races to place second in the
national standings.
In 1895, Hamilton won two of the most prominent races in the country by
taking the Brooklyn Handicap on Hornpipe and the Suburban Handicap aboard
Lazzarone. The next year, Hamilton added the third major New York handicap
event, the Metropolitan Handicap, with Counter Tenor.
Hamilton is the only African-American jockey to win all three of New York’s
major handicap races. During this era, these races were generally considered to
be more important than the likes of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and
Belmont Stakes.
Hamilton’s other major victories included the American Derby (1887), Lawrence
Realization Stakes (1891), Monmouth Oaks (1889, 1890), Monmouth Invitational
Handicap (1889, 1892), Juvenile Stakes (1890), Gazelle Handicap (1887, 1890),
Nursery Stakes (1886), Flatbush Stakes (1889, 1890), Sapling Stakes (1891),
Swift Stakes (1892), Toboggan Handicap (1890), Twin City Handicap (1886, 1888,
1889, 1892, 1894), Great Trial Stakes (1892), Tidal Stakes (1891), Hudson Stakes
(1889), and St. Louis Derby (1888), among others.
Hamilton rode for many of the top owners of the 19th century, including
Pierre Lorillard, Mike Dwyer, August Belmont Sr., August Belmont II, J.R. Keene
and Billy Lakeland. He rode Hall of Famers Firenze and Salvator, and champions
Lamplighter and Potomac.
In the late 1890s, Hamilton relocated to Europe and enjoyed continued
success. He won the Metropolitan Stakes of Vienna and the Karoli Memorial in
Budapest. In Poland, he added the Ruler Stakes, the first leg of the Polish
Triple Crown. His career came to an end in 1904 when he was thrown from a horse
in Russia. Hamilton died in France three years later.
Historian Fred Burlew, son of a Hall of Fame trainer, ranked Hamilton third
on his list of the 10 greatest African-American jockeys of all time behind only
Hall of Famers Isaac Murphy and Willie Simms.
Foaled in Virginia at Major Thomas W. Doswell’s Bullfield Stable in 1855,
Planet was sired by Revenue out of the Boston mare Nina. Planet was a sensation
from the start. He made his debut with a victory over four others in mile heats
for a purse of $10,750 in Fairfield, Va., on May 4, 1858, and went on to
establish a record for career purse earnings that stood for 20 years.
Turf writer John Hervey described Planet as “In color a rich chestnut, 15.2
1/2 (hands) tall, he was remarkable for his symmetry of mould and the excellence
of his limbs.”
Planet displayed his remarkable skill and versatility by compiling a record
of 27-4-0 from 31 starts and earning $69,700. Known as “The Great Red Fox,”
Planet was regarded by many turf experts to be second only to the mighty
Lexington among the greatest American racehorses prior to the Civil War.
Carrying Bullfield’s famed orange silks, Planet won at a variety of distances
in Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Louisiana. He also traveled to
New York, where he won a $20,000 sweepstakes on September 25, 1860 at the
Fashion Course on Long Island. Racing from ages three through six, Planet
defeated many of the top horses of his era, including Daniel Boone, Congaree,
Socks and Arthur Macon. He was trained through most of his career by N.B. Young.
Further demonstrating his versatility, Planet was a natural trotter. He was
able to trot a mile in three minutes, and most of his training was conducted in
that gait.
According to Hervey, this ability led to some trouble, as Planet was once
ordered off a New York track by a racing official for “training at a flying trot
before a meet.”
The official declared that trotters were not allowed. Other horsemen jumped
to the defense of the great Planet, as this was his traditional training
regimen, and the official rescinded his order.
Planet was retired to stud at Bullfield in 1861. His lost his final race,
which occurred only five days before the bombardment of Fort Sumter launched the
Civil War and effectively ended racing of that era in the South. The Civil War
and its aftermath interrupted several years of Planet’s career as a stallion.
During those years, Planet and many of the other Bullfield horses were hidden in
the woods to protect them from Yankee soldiers.
In 1868, Doswell sold Planet to R.A. Alexander of Woodburn Farm in Kentucky.
Planet resided at Woodburn until he died at the age of 20 in 1875.
For more on the Hall of Fame, visit
www.racingmuseum.org.
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