James R. Keene

James Robert Keene
Portrait of James Robert Keene
Born	1838 London, England
Died	January 3, 1913(1913-01-03) (aged 74) New York, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx
Residence	Cedarhurst, Long Island, New York
Occupation	Businessman: Stockbroker Racehorse owner/breeder
Known for	Castleton Farm
Spouse(s)	Sara Jay Daingerfield (b. 1840, d. 1916)
Children	Foxhall Parker Keene, Jessica Keene

James Robert Keene (1838 – January 3, 1913) was a Wall Street and a major thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder.

He was born in London, England in 1838. He was fourteen years of age when his family emigrated to the United States in 1852. As a young man he made a fortune through shrewd investments in California and Nevada mining companies and was eventually appointed president of the .

Wanting to expand his business opportunities, in 1876 he relocated to the heart of the country's financial center in New York City. While living there, he became interested in horse racing and began investing heavily in a stable of Thoroughbred race horses. His colt Spendthrift won the 1879 Belmont Stakes, and after Pierre Lorillard had shipped some of his American-bred horses to race in England and became the first American owner to win the Epsom Derby, Keene followed suit. In 1881, his horse Foxhall, named for his son, became the first American horse to win the Grand Prix de Paris, then the most important race in France. The following year Foxhall, trained in England by William Day, won England's Ascot Gold Cup.

However, in 1884 huge losses in the Chicago grain market cost him everything he owned, leaving him with nothing but heavy debts. He began a remarkable comeback a few years later after being hired by Wall Street investor William Havemeyer to manage a stock fund. Such were his talents at market manipulation that he was soon engaged by J. P. Morgan and William Rockefeller to manage funds for them and Keene emerged once again as a wealthy and powerful force in the New York financial community.