Aristides J. Welch was an American Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 breeder

Horse breeding

Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...

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Welch owned Erdenheim Stud at Chestnut Hill

Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Chestnut Hill is a neighborhood in the Northwest Philadelphia section of the United States city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Boundaries:Chestnut Hill is bounded as follows:...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. In 1870 he purchased the mare Maggie B. B. from Captain T. G. Moore and stood her at Erdenheim. In 1872 he purchased the sire

Sire

Sire may refer to:* Father, the counterpart of a dam, particularly in animal breeding. See also stallion* James W. Sire, author on worldviews* Sire Records, a record label* Sire Advertising, an advertising agency...

 Leamington

Leamington (horse)

Leamington was a Thoroughbred racehorse, and an influential sire in the United States during the second half of the nineteenth century. He was not only a fast horse, but also showed great staying ability....

. Welch's broodmare selections led to Leamington becoming the Leading sire in North America

Leading sire in North America

The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the year...

 in 1875, 1877, 1879, and 1881. Among those bred to Leamington was Maggie B. B. who produced three Classic winners in all, two of which were sired by Leamington. Their first was the 1879 Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...

 winner, Harold

Harold (horse)

Harold was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by Aristides Welch who owned both his sire and his dam. Sired by Leamington, a four-time Leading sire in North America, he was out of the great mare, Maggie B. B...

, and their second was Iroquois

Iroquois (horse)

Iroquois , was the first American-bred Thoroughbred race horse to win the prestigious Epsom Derby at Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom, Surrey, England. He then went on to win the St...

, who in 1881 became the first American-bred horse to ever win England's

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 famous Epsom Derby

Epsom Derby

The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...

. Maggie B. B.'s third Classic winner was the colt Panique by Welch's stallion, Alarm. Panique won the 1884 Belmont Stakes

Belmont Stakes

The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...

. http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/MaggieBB.html

Among Welch's clients was friend and fellow Lexington breeder, Hal Price McGrath, owner of McGrathiana Stud. McGrath's mare Sarong was one of Leamington's mates in his first season at stud

Stud (animal)

A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...

 for Aristides Welch, producing a colt which McGrath named Aristides in honor of his friend. The horse Aristides won the inaugural running of the Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

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In May 1882, Aristides Welch sold Erdenheim Stud and the bulk of its bloodstock

Bloodstock

Bloodstock was an annual metal music festival held from 2001 to 2006 over two days in The Assembly Rooms, Derby, England. The event featured big-name mainstream, underground and new bands split between two stages, as well as a 'Metal Market' offering general genre merchandise and CDs...

 to Commodore Norman Kittson and his brother James of Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...

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