Old Dominion was Turf Mother 97 



y Diomed died in 1808, aged thirty-one years. 



The result of Diomed's first season in the stud 

 in Virginia was such that he immediately domi- 

 nated all those stallions that had been imported 

 before him. By the time of his arrival in this 

 country the blood of Jolly Roger, old Fear- 

 nought, Janus, and others had been pretty thor- 

 oughly disseminated, and, in addition, such a 

 number of thoroughbred mares had been im- 

 ported from England that, although Diomed was 

 mated to many matrons of poor lineage, such a 

 sufficient number of females of high degree were 

 brought to his court that he was soon sending 

 to the turf of Virginia, Maryland, and the Caro- 

 linas practically all of the great winners, and con- 

 tinued to do so through ten years. 



Although he was twenty-two years old when 

 brought to this country, he had nine years of 

 usefulness in the Old Dominion before he died, 

 the property of Colonel Hoomes. 



There was almost as much mourning in the 

 old colony land over his demise as there was at 

 the death of George Washington, One cannot, 

 in this more commercial day, quite come to an 

 understanding of how much these people of the 

 colonial times loved their horses and what per- 



