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 The story of Hambletonian, the "father" of the Standardbred breed, began at the farm of his breeder Jonas Seeley in Sugar Loaf - just a few miles from Goshen, New York. In 1844, Seeley, a prosperous farmer, went to New York City. He came upon a mare owned by Charles Kent, a butcher. Seeley recognized her as being a daughter of the mare One Eye, who had belonged to his father. The mare was crippled from injuries received in an accident and Seeley, feeling sentimental, purchased her for $135. Not having an official name she was known as the Charles Kent mare.
The sire of this mare was the Norfolk trotter Bellfounder. Her dam, One Eye, was by Bishop's Hambletonian - a son of Messenger. Her second dam was a mare named Silvertail, who was also by Messenger. These connections made One Eye intensely inbred. Both Silvertail and her dam, Black Jin, were renowned runners of their time and Silvertail's long-distance exploits were well-known.
Jonas Seeley bred the Charles Kent mare to the Messenger grandson Abdallah 1. Her fourth foal was born on May 5, 1849. William Rysdyk, a young farmhand from nearby Chester who worked for Seeley, offered Seeley $125 for the mare and foal. Seeley accepted.
Rysdyk felt he could make his fortune with the colt he named Hambletonian and immediately started promoting him. He was shown at the Orange County Fair with success as a yearling, and as a two and three-year-old. Always taking top honors, Hambletonian was making a name for himself without ever setting foot on a racetrack. In 1852, Rysdyk matched Hambletonian against Abdallah Chief. Hambletonian won in 3:03. A day or two later, Hambletonian time-trialed in 2:48 (2:481/2 on some watches, so Rysdyk always gave the time as 2:481/2). He only trialed his colt this one time. In 1851, Rysdyk bred the two-year-old Hambletonian, without charge, to four mares and the next year initiated a stud fee of $25.
In those days, horses were not raced until they matured and Hambletonian was over ten-years-old when his first sons and daughters began their racing exploits. Once they did, it became obvious Hambletonian was to be a sire without peer; his stud fee rose to $75 in 1863 then to $100 in 1864. That year, Hambletonian covered 217 mares and got 148 of them in foal. Rysdyk then raised the stud fee to $300 and in 1865 to $500. It remained at that level for several years. In 1868, Hambletonian, at age 19 and exhausted, was held out for that breeding season. Beginning in 1869, Rysdyk limited Hambletonian's book to just 22 mares and it never again exceeded 30 mares.
Hambletonian stood his last year at stud in 1875 and died in his stall on March 27, 1876 at the age of 27, two years after the death of Rysdyk. Estimates are that Rysdyk received in excess of $200,000 in stud fees from Hambletonian as a result of his $125 investment in 1849. Hambletonian is buried next to Rysdyk's home, in Chester; the location is marked by a tall Missouri granite shaft.
Hambletonian was not a handsome horse, however he had a rich bay coat and glossy black stockings. He stood 15.1 hands at the withers and was two inches taller at the rump. In addition, he was described as moving "with cat-like grace and ease." And he had an even disposition.
Hambletonian sired 1,331 foals during his years at stud. Four major sire lines trace back to him, through his sons Happy Medium, George Wilkes, Electioneer and Dictator. Over 99% of the world's Standardbreds are descended from him. This includes many stallions who were exported from America to establish male lines in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
These two current stars of the racetrack support this fact:
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NO PAN INTENDED
p,3,1:50.3 ($1.6 million)
PACING TRIPLE CROWN WINNER
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WINDSONG'S LEGACY
3,1:53 ($1.7 million)
TROTTING TRIPLE CROWN WINNER
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Hambletonian 10
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Electioneer
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Chimes
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The Abbe
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Abbedale
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Hal Dale
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Dale Frost
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Meadow Skipper
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Most Happy Fella
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Cam Fella
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Pacific Fella
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No Pan Intended
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Hambletonian 10
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Happy Medium
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Pilot Medium
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Peter the Great
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Peter Volo
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Volomite
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Victory Song
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Noble Victory
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ABC Freight
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Garland Lobell
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Conway Hall
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Windsong's Legacy
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