John Morrison Clay (February 21, 1821 – August 10, 1887) was a

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

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 ...

breeder, a son of statesman

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...

, and a husband of

Josephine Russell Clay Josephine Russell Erwin Clay (December 7, 1835 – March 29, 1920) was one of the first significant woman thoroughbred horse breeders in America and a writer. She was also known as ''Josephine Deborah Russell'', ''Mrs. Eugene Erwin'', ''Josephine Er ...

and the brother of Henry Clay, Jr. and

James Brown Clay James Brown Clay (November 9, 1817 – January 26, 1864) was an American politician and diplomat who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for Kentucky's 8th congressional district from 1857 to 1859. Early life and ed ...

. He was also called ''John M. Clay''. Upon his father's death, Clay inherited a portion of the large estate, Ashland. To distinguish John Clay's land from the mansion and lands that went to his brother,

, John's holdings were called Ashland Stock Farm, Ashland Stud, or, sometimes, Ashland-on-the-Tates-Creek-Pike. In 1866 John M. Clay married his nephew's widow, who became known as

. The couple had no children, but they poured their time and energy into training and racing horses for about twenty years. John Clay traveled the racing circuit throughout the East, South, and Midwest. Josephine ran Ashland Stud. Their famous race horses included Skedaddle, Survivor, Star Davis, Sauce Box, Squeeze 'em, and

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...

. Victory (Vic), in 1873, was bought by General

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

who rode him at the

Battle of Little Big Horn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...

in 1876. It is believed that Vic died in the battle. Following an illness, Clay died in 1887. He is interred at

Lexington Cemetery Lexington Cemetery is a private, non-profit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 833 W. Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky. The Lexington Cemetery was established in 1848 as a place of beauty and a public cemetery, in part to deal ...

. Josephine Clay continued to very ably run Ashland Stud until her own death in 1920.

Sources and external links

Ashland

The Josephine Clay Papers at the University of Kentucky

Discussion about Vic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clay, John Morrison 1821 births 1887 deaths American people of English descent American racehorse owners and breeders Kentucky culture Henry Clay family

See also

Sources and external links