{{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Lady Lightfoot , image = , caption = , sire =

Sir Archy Sir Archy (or Archy, Archie, or Sir Archie; 1805–1833) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse considered one of the best racehorses of his time and later one of the most important sires in American history. He was inducted into the National Muse ...

, grandsire =

Diomed Diomed, foaled in 1777, was an English Thoroughbred race horse who won the inaugural running of the Derby in 1780. He was subsequently a successful sire in the United States. Racing years A bright chestnut standing 15 hands 3 inchesAhner ...

, dam =

Black Maria Black Maria may refer to: Art and literature * Black Mariah (comics), a character in the Luke Cage comics series * Black Maria, a character in the manga series ''One Piece'' * ''Black Maria'' (novel), a 1991 novel by Diana Wynne Jones *''Blac ...

, damsire = Shark , sex = Filly , foaled = 1812 , country = United States , colour = Brown , breeder = Col.

John Tayloe III John Tayloe III (September 2, 1770March 23, 1828), of Richmond County, Virginia, was a planter, politician, businessman, and tidewater gentry scion. He was prominent in elite social circles. A highly successful planter and thoroughbred horse b ...

, owner = several over the years , trainer = General William Wynn , record = Unknown , earnings= Unknown , race = , awards= , honours = , updated= January 6, 2008 Lady Lightfoot (born 1812), was an American

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 ...

racing

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than fo ...

Background

A product of the very first crop of one of America's foremost stallions,

, Lady Lightfoot was almost certainly his best daughter. Lady Lightfoot was bred by

and foaled at

Belair Stud Belair Stud was an American thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm founded by Provincial Governor of Maryland Samuel Ogle in 1747 in Collington, Prince George's County, Maryland, in Colonial America. Colonial period Queen Mab and ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. (Tayloe had a hand in many a great horse's life, especially in her sire's life. Though Sir Archy would eventually "stand" in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, in those days, sires often traveled from farm to farm selling their "services.")

Racing career

In the filly's very first race, a three heat effort of four miles per heat, she went up against a horse called Hermaphrodite. He won the first heat, and she won the next two. The time clocked for Hermaphrodite's win was 7 minutes 52 seconds. Lady Lightfoot's time for the last two heats was 7 minutes 53 seconds and 7 minutes 52 seconds. These are the fastest times for four miles in Maryland in her day. The racing records during Lady Lightfoot's life are incomplete. Some say she started 23 times, 15 of these starts in 4 mile heats. Others say there is evidence she could have won 30 or 40 races. It's for certain that in the year 1817 when she was five years old, under her trainer William Wynn (known as "Racing Billy"), she and her half-brother

Timoleon Timoleon ( Greek: Τιμολέων), son of Timodemus, of Corinth (c. 411–337 BC) was a Greek statesman and general. As a brilliant general, a champion of Greece against Carthage, and a fighter against despotism, he is closely connected ...

, won five of the six races in the Charleston, Virginia winter meet. One of the few races Lady Lightfoot lost was to one of America's greats, American Eclipse. On October 15, 1821 at the

Union Course Union Course was a horse racing course in what is now Woodhaven, Queens, in New York City. It hosted some of the most famous horse races in American history, including the 1823 match between American Eclipse and Sir Henry. The track was located ...

on Long Island, New York when Lady Lightfoot was nine, American Eclipse at age 7 beat her in straight heats. Lady Lightfoot raced right through her eleventh year.

Breeding record

When Lady Lightfoot produced she dropped eight foals in nine years. Several of her foals achieved fame, especially her great daughter, Black Maria by her old rival American Eclipse. (Not to be confused with Lady Lightfoot's dam, also called Black Maria.) Many consider Black Maria a greater runner than her dam. Lady Lightfoot seems to have died soon after her last foal, making the date 1832 or 1833. She would have been 19 or 20 years old.

References

* Robinson, William, "The History of Thoroughbred Racing in America"
Lady Lightfoot’s pedigree
1812 racehorse births Thoroughbred family A81 Racehorses bred in Maryland Racehorses trained in the United States Byerley Turk sire line