CHAPTER VI 



FIRST THOROUGHBREDS OF THE NORTH 



Breeding in the North may be said to have 

 had its birth with the importation, by Colonel 

 James De Lancey, of a horse called Wildair, 

 another called Lath, a mare known to fame as 

 the Cub Mare, and another animal called Fair 

 Rachel. It cannot be positively stated at what 

 date these horses landed at the Battery, but it 

 was sometime between 1755 and 1760. At any 

 rate, these animals were the forerunners of many 

 million dollars' worth of horseflesh that, in after 

 years, passed Sandy Hook, to enrich the blood 

 of the thoroughbred of America. 



Wildair was used in this country for breeding 

 purposes for a time, and was then sold and re- 

 shipped to England, where he died. Fair Rachel 

 did a small part toward creating a Northern blood 

 stock. Lath distinguished himself on the turf 

 and in the stud. 



But out of these four, who were the first comers 



