Woodburn Stud was an American

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

farm located in Woodford County, Kentucky about ten miles (16 km) from the city of Lexington. It was established in the 18th century as an original land grant property of General Hugh Mercer to whom it had been granted for his military services during the American Revolutionary War. Robert Alexander (1767–1841), a Scottish immigrant, came to Virginia from Scotland in 1786. Around 1790 he purchased the Mercer estate in Kentucky. Under the guidance of his son,

Robert A. Alexander Robert Aitcheson Alexander (1819 – December 1, 1867) was an American breeder of Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses. Biography Born on a farm near Midway, Woodford County, Kentucky, he and his siblings inherited the property on his father's d ...

, during the 19th century, Woodburn Stud became the birthplace of Kentucky's Thoroughbred industry.

History

Robert A. Alexander was the first to establish a systematic design method for horse breeding. Woodburn Stud was home to the

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

Lexington (1850–1875), America's leading

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

for sixteen years. Lexington sired numerous champions and winners of major races including, Duke of Magenta, Kentucky and Preakness, for whom the Preakness Stakes is named. Woodburn breeding yielded 18 winners of U.S. Triple Crown race winners and other major winners including Lexington's grandson Foxhall. Some of the notable Thoroughbreds buried at Woodburn farm include

Asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...

(1861–1886), Planet (c. 1855-1875), and Australian (1858–1879), a son of the English Triple Crown winner, West Australian Although Lexington's success as a sire made Woodburn Stud near synonymous with flat racing Thoroughbreds, in fact during the mid to late 19th century, Woodburn was where the Standardbred horse originated and the farm was best known for these trotting horses for

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...

. After the death of Robert A. Alexander in December 1867, the operation prospered under his brother Alexander John "A.J." Alexander. But after A.J.'s death in 1902, it went into decline. Not long into the 20th century, the farm was no longer in the horse business and had been converted to cattle land. In 1867, A.J. Alexander bred Preakness who would be purchased by

Milton H. Sanford Milton Holbrook Sanford (August 29, 1813 – August 3, 1883) was an American businessman, lawyer, and owner/breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses. Early life Sanford was born in Medway, Massachusetts on August 29, 1813. He was the eldest of four ...

and for whom the Preakness Stakes is named. The

American Classic Race In the United States, the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, commonly known as the Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for three-year-old Thoroughbreds, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes. The three r ...

winners bred by the Alexanders' Woodburn Stud are: *

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 ...

(4): ** Baden-Baden (1877) **

Fonso Fonso (1877–1903) was an U.S., American Thoroughbred racehorse and was the winner of the 1880 Kentucky Derby under jockey George Garret Lewis. Fonso was bred in Kentucky and was a chestnut colt sired by King Alfonso out of the mare Weatherwitch ...

(1880) ** Joe Cotton (1885) **

Chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

(1894) * Preakness Stakes (4): ** Tom Ochiltree (1875) ** Shirley (1876) ** Duke of Magenta (1878) **

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

(1880) *

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 ...

(10): ** General Duke (1868) ** Kingfisher (1870) ** Harry Bassett (1871) ** Joe Daniels (1872) ** Springbok (1873) ** Duke of Magenta (1878) ** Spendthrift (1879) **

(1880) ** Burlington (1890) ** Patron (1892)

Airdrie Stud

Today the Woodburn name is long gone but the horse breeding business was revived in 1972 as Airdrie Stud Inc. which now operates on , much of which is part of the original Woodburn Stud lands. Airdrie Stud, Inc. is owned by former Kentucky Governor Brereton Jones and his wife Libby. Mrs. Jones is a descendant of the Alexander family. In 2000, the Airdrie-bred

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 ...

Caressing won the

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a -mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt (although the distance has varied, depending on the configuration of the host track) for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the Uni ...

Stallions at Airdrie Stud

As of 2017, Airdrie currently stands eight stallions, including- *Cairo Prince: From the first crop of his sire Pioneerof the Nile, Cairo Prince became the early favorite for the 2014

after his impressive wins in the Gr.II Nashua Stakes and Gr.III Holy Bull Stakes. His suffered an injury in his sophomore year, ending his career. He commands a stud fee of $15,000. *Creative Cause: A standout son of Giant's Causeway, Creative Cause won several graded stakes races, including the Gr.I FrontRunner Stakes, Gr.II Best Pal Stakes, and Gr.II

San Felipe Stakes The San Felipe Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is a Grade II event open to three-year-old horses. Normally held in early -March, it is raced at a distance of one and one ...

, while also placing in the Gr.I Del Mar Futurity, Gr.I Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Gr.I Santa Anita Derby, Gr.II

San Vicente Stakes The San Vicente Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race run annually at Santa Anita Park. A Grade II event, the race is open to three-year-old horses willing to race seven furlongs on the dirt and currently carries a purse of $200,000. Hi ...

, and Gr.I Preakness Stakes. He was also fifth in the 2012

and defeated every horse he ran against at least once. A full brother to graded stakes winner Destin, he commands a stud fee of $15,000. *Include: A Gr.I winning son of Broad Brush and sire of multiple graded stakes winners, he commands a stud fee of $10,000. *Istan: A globetrotting son of Gone West, Istan won two graded stakes races and several ungraded. He commands a stud fee of $5,000. *Majesticperfection: A Gr.I winning son of Harlan's Holiday, he commands a stud fee of $15,000. *Mark Valeski: A multiple graded stakes winner of Proud Citizen, his stud fee is private. *Summer Front: A son of top sire War Front, he was an undefeated stakes winner as a juvenile and commands a stud fee of $10,000. *Upstart: His sire Flatter's best juvenile son, he won the Funny Cide Stakes, Gr.II Holy Bull Stakes and Gr.III Razorback Handicap throughout his career. A millionaire, he commands a stud fee of $10,000.

References

Bibliography

External links

Official website of Airdrie Stud
{{coord, 38, 08, 24, N, 84, 44, 24, W, display=title American racehorse owners and breeders Horse farms in Kentucky Buildings and structures in Woodford County, Kentucky 18th-century establishments in Kentucky