The Last Race of^ Lexington 309 



princely owner of Woodburn Stud, went abroad 

 in 1856 for the purpose of purchasing an Eng- 

 lish stallion. He found nothing that suited 

 him, and curiously enough, while in England he 

 met Mr. Ten Broeck and bought Lexington for 

 $15,000, half of the money to be paid down 

 and the other half to be paid if the horse 

 should still be living when Mr. Alexander 

 reached the farm. 



Happily, Lexington's life, even in blindness, 

 was to be a long one. Mr. Alexander secured 

 him and took him to Woodburn. Except for 

 a brief visit to Illinois in 1865 to save him from 

 confiscation by the Union cavalry, Lexington 

 remained at Woodburn farm until his death, 

 which occurred July i, 1876. 



As the foremost racing sire of his time and 

 the most impressive one in the American pedi- 

 grees of to-day, this intimate description of the 

 appearance of Lexington is given. 



Lexington was a blood bay, about i5|- hands 

 high, with fore and hind feet and pasterns and 

 a small portion of his hind legs above pasterns 

 white. His bones were not particularly large, 

 except the backbone, which was unusually so. 

 His muscle was abundant, dry, and sinewy, with- 



