Joe Patchen (May 5, 1889 – February 18, 1917) was a Standardbred racehorse foaled in Peabody, Kansas, United States. His sire was Patchen Wilkes and his dam was Josephine Young. [1] Though best remembered for siring the famous Dan Patch, Joe Patchen enjoyed a successful racing career of his own: he was nicknamed "the iron race-horse of the age." [2]
Joe Patchen was foaled May 5, 1889 in Peabody, Kansas. He was bred by C and M.M. Rathbone of the same town. [2]
Joe Patchen was "black, four white feet, white in the face, height 16.25 [hands], 1250 pounds." [2]
A large-bodied horse with unusually long legs, Joe Patchen was a strong contender on half-mile tracks. Joe Patchen won 53% of the races in which he started, and finished second in 39%. He was unplaced (out of the top four) in only 3% of his races. Though his exact career winnings are unknown, estimates place them in excess of $50,000. In August 1896, Joe Patchen broke the world records for both a half-mile and mile track by completing two laps on the half-mile Combination Park in 2:05¼ on August 8 and one lap of the mile-long Rigby Park in 2:03 on August 21. [3] [4] The half-mile record stood for seven years until his son Dan Patch lowered it to 2:04.
The Kansas State Board of Agriculture said that "[Joe] Patchen's untiring courage as a race horse seems to be without a peer." [2]
Patchen was trained by Harness Racing Hall of Fame trainer John Dickerson, and was himself inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1954.
Joe Patchen was a part of the "Joe Young" lineage that was desired for Kansas racehorses at the time. His sire Patchen Wilkes also had desirable racing genes and traced to Wilkes Boy, Guy Wilkes, and Baron Wilkes. [2]
Dan Patch was a noted American Standardbred pacer. At a time when harness racing was one of the largest sports in the nation, Dan Patch was a major celebrity. He was undefeated in open competition, and was so dominant on the racetrack that other owners eventually refused to enter their horses against him. Instead, he ended his racing career performing time trials, and traveled extensively on exhibition, earning millions of dollars in purses, attendance gate receipts, and product endorsements. Dan Patch broke world speed records at least 14 times in the early 1900s. In 1905, he set a world's record for the fastest mile by a harness horse that stood unmatched for over 30 years. Unofficially, Dan Patch broke this record in 1906 with a clocking of 1:55. He died on July 11, 1916. His owner, Marion Willis Savage, died just one day later.
Cardigan Bay was a New Zealand harness racing pacer foaled 1 September 1956. Affectionately known as "Cardy", he was the first Standardbred to win US$1 million in prize money in North America. He was the ninth horse worldwide to win one million dollars,. Cardigan Bay won races in New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the United States.
Carbine (1885–1914) was a champion New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won 30 principal races in New Zealand and Australia. He was very popular with racing fans, and sporting commentators of the day praised him for his gameness, versatility, stamina and weight-carrying ability, as well as for his speed. He was one of five inaugural inductees into both the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame and the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.
Messenger was an English Thoroughbred stallion imported into the newly formed United States of America just after the American Revolution. He is most famous for being the great-grandsire of Hambletonian 10, the father of all American Standardbred horses. Though he did not have a long racing career himself, he was a common ancestor in many successful racing horses into the 20th century.
Glencoe (1831–1857) was a British bred Thoroughbred racehorse, who won the 2,000 Guineas Stakes and the Ascot Gold Cup. He was one of the earliest Thoroughbred stallions imported into the United States and was a top broodmare sire there. Several outstanding sons of Lexington were out of Glencoe mares, including Asteroid, Kentucky and Norfolk.
Hambletonian 10, or Rysdyk's Hambletonian, was an American trotter and a founding sire of the Standardbred horse breed. The stallion was born in Sugar Loaf, New York, on 5 May 1849. Hambletonian has been inducted into the Immortals category of the Harness Racing Hall of Fame.
Harness racing, also colloquially known as trotting or the trots, is a spectator sport in Australia, with significant amounts of money wagered annually with bookmakers and the Totalisator Agency Board (TAB). In Australia there are 90 harness racing tracks, which hold over 1,900 meetings annually. There are approximately 2,900 drivers and 4,000 trainers with about 5,000 Standardbred horses foaled and registered each year.
Boston (1833–1850) was an outstanding Thoroughbred racehorse and a leading sire in North America three times from 1851 to 1853. He started in about 45 races, winning 40, including 15 in succession. Boston was later one of the initial inductees into the Hall of Fame.
John "Johnny Dick" Dickerson was an American horse trainer inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame.
Somebeachsomewhere (2005–2018) was a Standardbred Race Horse who, as a three-year-old, tied the world record for a mile at The Red Mile with a time of 1:46.4 and earned $3,221,299. In 2008, he had the highest earnings by a pacer in a single season of $2,448,003.
Sir Archy 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 Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1955.
Flashing Red is a brown Australia bred Standardbred racehorse that was foaled in 1997. He is notable in that he won both the Auckland Pacing Cup and two New Zealand Trotting Cups. These races are the richest harness races in New Zealand. He was victorious in every harness racing state of Australia and New Zealand and earned over $2,000,000 during his racing career.
Meadow Skipper was a Standardbred racehorse and sire. He earned $428,057 as a racehorse.
Sailor's Guide was an outstanding Thoroughbred racehorse that was conceived in England and foaled in Australia. He is notable in that he won races in the United States, Canada, and a number of principal Australian races, and was a high stakes earner.
Captain Sandy was a New Zealand-bred Standardbred racehorse. He is notable in that he won two Inter Dominion Pacing Championship races and two Auckland Cups. He was inducted into the Inter Dominion Hall of Fame, being the first horse to win two grand finals of the race.
Tulloch was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was one of the greatest Australian stayers.
Peabody City Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 2012, and the sixth NRHP listing in Peabody, Kansas, United States. The park is approximately 3 blocks by 2 blocks in size and located in southwest Peabody.
Lazarus is a former champion New Zealand Standardbred race-horse and is now a stud stallion.
Joe Young (1876-1898) was an award-winning Standardbred trotter from Peabody, Kansas at a time when harness racing was one of the most popular sports in the US. He was known for his speed and famous offspring, which include Joe Patchen and Dan Patch, a 1958 Harness Racing Hall of Fame inductee and the most famous horse in the world at the turn of the 20th century.
Bulldog Hanover is a retired champion Canadian Standardbred racehorse who is known for becoming the first harness horse to complete a mile in under 1:46. He was also the first horse to be unanimously selected as the Dan Patch Horse of the Year. He has been likened to legends Somebeachsomewhere and Niatross and is considered to be among the best harness horses of all time. Bulldog Hanover was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2023.