Dixiana Farm
| Horse breeding Farm | |
| Industry | Thoroughbred horse racing |
| Predecessor | Hamilton Stud |
| Founded | 1877 |
| Headquarters | Lexington, Kentucky |
|
Key people
|
William Shively (owner) Terry Arnold (farm manager) |
| Website | dixianadomino.com |
Dixiana Farm, founded in 1877, is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding farm in Lexington, Kentucky. It is most noted as the birthplace of Hall of Fame inductee Domino.
Major Barak G. Thomas, a Confederate soldier in the Civil War and later Sheriff of Fayette County, Kentucky, purchased Hamilton Stud in 1877 and renamed it Dixiana after his broodmare Dixie. He subsequently bred Himyar, who in turn sired the great Domino. Thomas named Hira Villa Farm (now part of Mt. Brilliant) after the dam of Himyar. Thomas is thought to be one of the first men to make his sole living by breeding and selling stock and his results were immediate.
Himyar was famous for being temperamental yet was steadfast on the track with an illustrious racing career that spanned four years with a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby to Day Star in 1878 while still claiming multiple stakes wins at ages 4 and 5. Himyar's toughness and versatility transcended beyond the racetrack into his stallion career with his most notable son, Domino.
Purchased for $3,000 by James R. Keene, Domino, the colt known as the "brown phenomenon" and "black whirlwind" (in reference to the peculiar color of his coat on any given day) was a horse of extreme speed at short distances. He was undefeated at age 2 and went on to be named Champion Two Year Old and 1893 American Horse of the Year. Although Domino only lived to the age of 6, his achievements at stud were remarkable. Domino sired only 19 named foals, but 8 of them went on to become stakes race winners. His influence is still felt in modern pedigrees. Domino was returned to Thomas upon his death and laid to rest at Hira Villa. His headstone reads most appropriately, "Here lies the fleetest of runners the American Turf has ever known, and one of the gamest and most generous of horses."
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Wikipedia