The Kentucky Derby was this past Saturday, and we learned a bit of history involving Lafayette Hill. Aristides, an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first Kentucky Derby in 1875, was sired by a Lafayette Hill horse named Leamington.

Leamington, who was a famed racehorse in England, was brought to the United States to serve as a stud in Kentucky before coming to Erdenheim Stock Farm, now known as Erdenheim Farm. Aristides was sired while Leamington was in Lafayette Hill and was named for Aristides Welch, who owned the farm and Leamington.

Leamington passed away on May 6, 1878, at the age of 25. Throughout his breeding career, he was the leading sire in North America in 1875, 1877, 1879, and 1881.

Image – Leamington from Wallace’s Monthly Magazine, July 1877