Idle Hour Stock Farm was a 400-acre (1.6 km²)

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. Thoroughbreds are c ...

horse breeding and training farm near

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

established in 1906 by Colonel Edward R. Bradley. Beginning with the sire,

Black Toney Black Toney (1911–1938) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, owned and raced by Edward R. Bradley Background Black Toney was bred by James R. Keene's Castleton Lyons Farm. Keene, whose health was failing (he died in 1913), so ...

, and a roster of quality broodmares, Idle Hour Farm bred great champions such as the 1929 Horse of the Year

Blue Larkspur Blue Larkspur (1926–1947) was a bay Kentucky-bred thoroughbred race horse. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1957, and ranks Number 100 in The Blood-Horse's top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20t ...

and the Champion Three-Year-Old Colt,

Bimelech Bimelech (February 27, 1937 – 1966) was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who won two Triple Crown races and was a Champion at both age two and three. He was ranked #84 among U.S. racehorses of the 20th century. After retiring to stud, he sired ...

. In 1931, the farm acquired the mare

La Troienne La Troienne (1926–1954) was one of the most famous and influential Thoroughbred broodmares in twentieth century America. She produced 10 winners including two Hall of Fame inductees while at stud, while her daughters in turn produced many nota ...

from noted French breeder

Marcel Boussac Marcel Boussac (17 April 1889 – 21 March 1980) was a French entrepreneur best known for his ownership of the Maison Dior and one of the most successful thoroughbred race horse breeding farms in European history. Born in Châteauroux, Indre, ...

. La Troienne became one of the most influential mares to be imported into the U.S. in the 20th century. Her offspring produced champions including Idle Hour Farm's Bimlech, and its own two-year-old Champion

Filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

of 1944 and the 1945 Horse of the Year, Busher who was sold to movie mogul

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...

. Later generation champions such as Buckpasser and

Easy Goer Easy Goer (March 21, 1986 – May 12, 1994) was an American Champion Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse known for earning American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt honors in 1988 and defeating 1989 American Horse of the Year Sunday Silence in t ...

trace their line to La Troienne. As well, under farm manager Olin B. Gentry and future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

trainer "Derby Dick" Thompson, and later trainer

Bill Hurley Bill Hurley (born June 15, 1957) is a former American football player. Hurley attended Syracuse University, where he was the starting quarterback on the Syracuse Orange football team. Hurley was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth rou ...

, the farm raced horses that won numerous major stakes races, including multiple winners in each of the U.S. Triple Crown events. As part of a program honoring important horse racing tracks and racing stables, the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

named its baggage car #5846 the "Idle Hour Stock Farm". After Colonel Bradley's death in 1946,

Ogden Phipps Ogden Phipps (November 26, 1908 – April 21, 2002) was an American stockbroker, court tennis champion and Hall of Fame member, thoroughbred horse racing executive and owner/breeder, and an art collector and philanthropist. In 2001, he was induc ...

purchased a group of Idle Hour's bloodstock that became the basis for what became Phipps' major horse racing operation. Allen T. Simmons purchased Idle Hour Farm at auction and the property was divided into smaller parcels. The portion on the southern side of Old Frankfort Pike was purchased by

King Ranch King Ranch is the largest ranch in the United States. At some it is larger than the state of Rhode Island and country of Luxembourg. It is mainly a cattle ranch, but also produced the Triple Crown winning racehorse Assault. The ranch is lo ...

while a southern parcel was sold to

Dan and Ada Rice Daniel F. Rice (1896–1975) and his wife Ada L. Rice (1898–1977) were American business people, thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders, and philanthropists. Dan Rice was educated in the public school system of Chicago, Illinois and spent t ...

and became a satellite operation of their

Danada Farm Daniel F. Rice (1896–1975) and his wife Ada L. Rice (1898–1977) were American business people, thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders, and philanthropists. Dan Rice was educated in the public school system of Chicago, Illinois and spent ...

Wheaton, Illinois Wheaton is a suburban city in Milton and Winfield Townships and is the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois. It is located approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 52,894, which was estimated ...

. The core of the farm, on the north side of Old Frankfort Pike, was bought by Edward S. Moore who called it Circle M Farm. Moore owned it for only a short time before selling it to the

John W. Galbreath John Wilmer Galbreath (August 10, 1897 – July 20, 1988) was an American building contractor and sportsman. Born in Derby, Ohio, he grew up in Mount Sterling, Ohio, where he graduated from high school. He then graduated from Ohio University ...

family in 1949 who renamed it

Darby Dan Farm Darby Dan Farm is a produce, livestock, and thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm founded in 1935 near the Darby Creek in Galloway, Ohio by businessman John W. Galbreath. Named for the creek and for Galbreath's son, Daniel M. Galbreath (1 ...

. ;Major race victories (partial list) *

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

- (1921, 1926, 1932, 1933) *

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also 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 ...

- (1932, 1940) *

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

- (1929, 1940) *

Saratoga Special Stakes The Saratoga Special Stakes is an American grade II thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid-August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. The race is for two-year-olds willing to race six furlongs on the dirt. With its first r ...

- (1928, 1934, 1939) *

Hopeful Stakes The Hopeful Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, the Hopeful is the first Grade I stakes for two-year-olds each season and historically has ...

- (1933, 1939, 1946)

References

May 7, 1934 TIME magazine cover story titled ''St. Edward of Lexington''

{{coord, 38, 05, 18, N, 84, 34, 16, W, type:landmark_region:US-KY, display=title American racehorse owners and breeders Horse farms in Kentucky Buildings and structures in Lexington, Kentucky