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{{Short description|US horse-racing stable and breeding business}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Castleton Farm
| logo =
| type = [[Horse breeding]] & [[Horse racing|Racing]]
| predecessor =
| successor =
| foundation = 1793
| location = [[Lexington, Kentucky]] [[United States]]
| key_people = '''Owners:''' [[John Breckinridge (U.S. Attorney General)|John Breckinridge]] Mary Ann Castleman [[James R. Keene]] [[Foxhall P. Keene]] [[Frances Dodge|Frances Dodge Van Lennep]] [[Tony Ryan]]
| industry = [[Standardbred horse|Standardbreds]], [[American Saddlebred]]s, [[Thoroughbred]]s
}}

'''Castleton Lyons''' near [[Lexington, Kentucky]], is an American [[horse-racing]] [[stable]] and [[horse breeding|breeding]] business best known by the name '''Castleton Farm'''.

==History==
The farm was established in 1793 when [[Virginia]]n [[John Breckinridge (1760-1806)|John Breckinridge]], a future U.S. [[United States Senate|senator]] and [[United States Attorney General|attorney general]], purchased 2,467 acres (10 km2) of land and on a portion of it established a [[Thoroughbred]] horse-breeding operation. On his death, the property transferred to his daughter, Mary Ann, the then Mrs. David Castleman, who eventually built a mansion on the horse-farm site and gave it the family name. Under the Castlemans, Castleton Farm continued as a Thoroughbred operation, but added the breeding of [[American Saddlebred]]s and [[Standardbred horse|Standardbreds]] for [[harness racing]].

'''Development by James R. Keene'''

The original property changed hands several times, occasionally small parts being divvied up and sold to multiple different parties. In the early 1890s, [[Wall Street]] tycoon [[James R. Keene]] acquired the farm and purchased additional land to bring the operation to almost 1,000 acres (4 km2). Keene usually referred to the farm as "Castleton Stud", and under his direction, it became one of the greatest Thoroughbred operations of its day. The farm bred and/or raced future [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame|U.S. racing Hall of Fame]] horses [[Kingston (horse)|Kingston]], [[Domino (horse)|Domino]], [[Ben Brush (horse)|Ben Brush]], [[Colin (horse)|Colin]], [[Sysonby]], [[Maskette]], and [[Peter Pan I|Peter Pan]].

As part of a program honoring important horse racing tracks and racing stables, the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] named its baggage car #5865 the "Castleton Farm".

'''Castleton Stakes''' [[Gravesend Race Track]] in [[Brooklyn]], [[New York (state)|New York]] created the Castleton Stakes in 1908 to honor Castleton Farm. The event was run only one time when racing in New York state was shut down due to the [[New York Legislature]] enacting the [[Hart-Agnew Law|Hart-Agnew]] anti-betting legislation with penalties allowing for heavy [[Fine (penalty)|fines]] and up to a year in [[prison]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Penalties in the New York Bills |url=https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1908011801/drf1908011801_1_7 |website=[[Daily Racing Form]] at University of Kentucky Archives |access-date=22 March 2025}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%"
|-
! style="width:30px" | Year
! style="width:110px" | Winner
! style="width:20px" | Age
! style="width:110px" | Jockey
! style="width:120px" | Trainer
! Owner 
! style="width:25px" | {{abbr|Dist.|Distance}} ([[Mile|Miles]])
! style="width:25px" | Time
! style="width:35px" | Win [[United States dollar|$]]
|-
|align=center|1908
|[[Melisande (horse)|Melisande]]
|align=center|2
|[[Joe Notter]]
|[[James G. Rowe Sr.]]
|[[James R. Keene]]
|align=center|5 f
|align=center|1:00.00
|$2,960
|-
|}

'''Ownership transition to Foxhall Keene'''

Upon the death of James R. Keene in 1913, the farm was taken over by his son [[Foxhall P. Keene]]. He continued the operation on a slightly reduced basis, but sold it in the 1920s to fellow New Yorker, David Look. Look had considerable success in harness racing, but was forced to sell the farm after experiencing personal financial setbacks during the [[Great Depression]].

'''Mid- to late 20th century'''

In the early 1940s, heiress [[Frances Dodge]] founded the Dodge Stable. She was the daughter of [[Michigan]] [[automobile]] pioneer [[John Francis Dodge|John F. Dodge]] and a half-sister of [[Isabel Dodge Sloane|Isabel Dodge]], owner of the highly successful [[Brookmeade Stable]]. In 1945, Frances Dodge, with her husband (polo player and hunter/jumper rider) James B. "Jimmy" Johnson, purchased Castleton Farm and relocated her Dodge stables there. Their Standardbred breeding operation included two Hambletonian winners and a Little Brown Jug winner. After she married Pennsylvania native Frederick Van Lennep in 1949, the farm underwent major renovations to breed and raise Standardbreds. The Van Lenneps made Castleton Farm one of the pre-eminent operations in both disciplines. Under Mrs. Johnson, Dodge Stables' show horse [[Wing Commander (horse)|Wing Commander]] became a six-time world grand champion, and with her husband, she enjoyed enormous success in harness racing that included a number of [[Hambletonian Stakes|Hambletonian]] and [[Little Brown Jug (horse racing)|Little Brown Jug]] victories from horses such as [[United States Harness Horse of the Year]] and [[Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame]] inductee [[Victory Song (horse)|Victory Song]] (1947), [[Hambletonian Stakes]] winners, Hoot Mon (1947), Emily's Pride (1958), and Speedy Scot (1963). Among the other noteworthy harness horses bred by Castleton Stud were Ensign Hanover, winner of the 1946 inaugural Little Brown Jug,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/09/19/archives/little-brown-jug-to-johnson-pacer-ensign-hanover-wins-richest-race.html|title=Little Brown Jug To Johnson Pacer |work=[[The New York Times]] |p=Section Sports, page 43 |date=1946-09-19 |accessdate=2020-01-06}}</ref> and 1972 Jug winner [[Strike Out]], which won in world-record time. Strike Out went on to sire 1979 winner [[Hot Hitter]], bred by Castleton in conjunction with Anthony Tavolacci.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com/1976/11/03/strike-out/ |title=Strike Out |publisher=Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame |date=1976-01-01 |accessdate=2020-01-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/09/21/archives/hot-hitter-prevails-in-little-brown-jug-happy-motoring-beaten-badly.html |title=Hot Hitter Prevails In Little Brown Jug |work=[[The New York Times]] |p=Section A, page 24 |date=1979-09-21|accessdate=2020-01-06}}</ref>

'''2000s'''

In 2001, [[Irish people|Irish]] businessman and racing enthusiast [[Tony Ryan]] acquired Castleton Farm from the Van Lennep Family Trust. Ryan renamed it Castleton Lyons after his Irish estate [[Lyons Demesne]], and undertook renovations to the property while returning to its original roots as a Thoroughbred operation.

==Gravesite==

The Castleton Farm Cemetery lies at an "intersection of two of the tree-lined farm roads, and is an open green space flanked on one end by a 12-ft-high, horseshoe-shaped hedge." It is not only the final resting spot of a number of Standardbred and Saddlebred mares and stallions, including [[Wing Commander (horse)|Wing Commander]], but also, in unmarked graves, of the Thoroughbred stallions [[Commando (horse)|Commando]] (''circa'' 1898–1905) and [[Kingston (horse)|Kingston]] (''circa'' 1884–1912).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.castletonlyons.com/ Castleton Lyons website]
* [http://www.tbheritage.com/TurfHallmarks/Graves/cem/GraveMattersCastleton.html TB Heritage Grave Matters Castleton]

{{coord|38.1278|-84.4737|type:landmark|display=title}}

[[Category:American racehorse owners and breeders]]
[[Category:Horse farms in Kentucky]]
[[Category:Horse monuments]]
[[Category:Breckinridge family]]
[[Category:Companies based in Lexington, Kentucky]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Lexington, Kentucky]]
[[Category:American Saddlebred breeders and trainers]]
[[Category:1793 establishments in Kentucky]]

Castleton Lyons - Revision history

imported>DharmaDrummer: typo