Binglin Stable
Encyclopedia
Binglin Stable in Moorpark
, Ventura County, California
was a stock
farm
established during the latter part of the 1930s to race
and breed
Thoroughbred
horses. The stable was owned by entertainer Bing Crosby
and close friend, Lindsay Howard
. Crosby was a fan of Thoroughbred horse racing
who in 1937 became a founding partner and member of the Board of Directors
of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, operators of Del Mar Racetrack
in Del Mar, California
. Lindsay Howard's father, Charles S. Howard, was a millionaire businessman who was also a founding partner and director of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and who owned a successful racing stable that included the 1938 U.S. Horse of the Year
, Seabiscuit
. Upon his retirement from riding, future Hall of Fame
jockey
Albert Johnson
, a childhood friend of Crosby, became the stable's trainer
.
Lindsay Howard was a top-ranked polo
player as was his brother, Robert. They frequently played in Argentina
, the polo capital of the world, and as such the brothers and Crosby decided to establish "Caballeriza Binglin Stock Farm" near Buenos Aires
where they purchased a number of locally bred horses and shipped them back to the United States. As well, Binglin Stable raced horses at Hipódromo de Palermo in Palermo
, notably the mare
Blackie
. http://www.pedigreequery.com/blackie2 whom they later sent to the US to serve as a broodmare. Blackie would appear on the cover of the September 19, 1942 issue of The Blood-Horse
magazine.
Other Argentine horses of note that Binglin Stable brought to the US included Kayak II
, who was sold to Charles S. Howard, plus Ligaroti http://www.pedigreequery.com/ligaroti and Don Bingo http://www.pedigreequery.com/don+bingo, the latter a winner of the 1943 Suburban Handicap
at Belmont Park
in Elmont, New York
. On August 12, 1938, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club hosted a $25,000 winner-take-all match race
between Seabiscuit and Ligaroti. In an era when horse racing ranked second in popularity with Americans to Major League Baseball
, the match race was much written and talked about and drew a record crowd that helped make the fledgling Del Mar race track a success. It was the first nationwide broadcast of a thoroughbred race by NBC radio
. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/seabiscuit/sfeature/sf_radio_pop_03_qt.html Many racing experts felt that Ligaroti was not in the same class as Seabiscuit, but the two horses battled head to head with Seabiscuit winning by a nose.
The Binglin Stable partnership ended in 1953 as a result of a liquidation of assets by Bing Crosby to raise the funds to pay the federal and state inheritance taxes on his late wife's estate.
Moorpark, California
Moorpark is a city in Southern California. It was founded in 1900 by Robert Poindexter, presumably named after the moorpark apricots that grew in the area. The city has experienced a great amount of growth since the late 1970s...
, Ventura County, California
Ventura County, California
Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...
was a stock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
established during the latter part of the 1930s to race
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...
and breed
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...
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...
horses. The stable was owned by entertainer Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and close friend, Lindsay Howard
Lindsay C. Howard
Lindsay Coleman Howard was an American sportsman. The son of the prominent businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner, Charles S. Howard, Lindsay Howard began riding horses at a young age and by the early 1930s had developed into a top class polo player...
. Crosby was a fan of Thoroughbred horse racing
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
who in 1937 became a founding partner and member of the Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, operators of Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the seaside city of Del Mar, California, 20 miles north of San Diego. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, it is known for the slogan: "Where The Turf Meets The Surf." It was built by a partnership...
in Del Mar, California
Del Mar, California
Del Mar is an upscale beach town in San Diego County, California. The population was 4,161 at the 2010 census, down from 4,389 at the 2000 census. The San Diego County Fair is hosted on the Del Mar Fairgrounds every summer. Del Mar is Spanish for "of the sea" or "by the sea", because it is located...
. Lindsay Howard's father, Charles S. Howard, was a millionaire businessman who was also a founding partner and director of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and who owned a successful racing stable that included the 1938 U.S. Horse of the Year
Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year
The American Award for Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. It has been awarded since 1887 to the horse, irrespective of age, whose performance during the racing year is deemed the most outstanding....
, Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse in the United States. From an inauspicious start, Seabiscuit became an unlikely champion and a symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression...
. Upon his retirement from riding, future Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
Albert Johnson
Albert Johnson (jockey)
Albert Johnson was an American Hall of Fame jockey. Born in the rural community of Milan, Washington, Albert Johnson began his career in 1917 at Playfair Race Track in nearby Spokane...
, a childhood friend of Crosby, became the stable's trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
.
Lindsay Howard was a top-ranked polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
player as was his brother, Robert. They frequently played in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, the polo capital of the world, and as such the brothers and Crosby decided to establish "Caballeriza Binglin Stock Farm" near Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
where they purchased a number of locally bred horses and shipped them back to the United States. As well, Binglin Stable raced horses at Hipódromo de Palermo in Palermo
Palermo, Buenos Aires
Palermo is a neighborhood, or barrio of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. It is located in the northeast of the city, bordering the barrios of Belgrano to the north, Almagro and Recoleta to the south, Villa Crespo and Colegiales to the west and the Río de la Plata river to the east. With a total...
, notably the mare
Mare (horse)
A mare is an adult female horse or other equine.In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse age three and younger. However, in Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four years old; in harness racing a mare is a...
Blackie
Blackie (horse)
Blackie was a swaybacked horse who, for twenty-eight years, was a well-known fixture in Tiburon, California. He not only stood in the same spot in a pasture at the corner of Tiburon Boulevard and Trestle Glen Road, rarely moving, day after day, but he faced in the same direction, becoming the...
. http://www.pedigreequery.com/blackie2 whom they later sent to the US to serve as a broodmare. Blackie would appear on the cover of the September 19, 1942 issue of The Blood-Horse
The Blood-Horse magazine
The Blood-Horse is an international weekly news magazine about Thoroughbred horses, horse breeding, and horseracing. It was founded in 1916, the oldest continually published North American Thoroughbred magazine. The magazine is based in Lexington, Kentucky, the Horse Capital of the World...
magazine.
Other Argentine horses of note that Binglin Stable brought to the US included Kayak II
Kayak II
Kayak II was an Argentine-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed successfully in the United States. He was sired by a famous Argentine Thoroughbred named Congreve out of the dam Mosquita. After being seen by American Lindsay Howard during a polo trip to Argentina, Kayak was purchased for $7,000...
, who was sold to Charles S. Howard, plus Ligaroti http://www.pedigreequery.com/ligaroti and Don Bingo http://www.pedigreequery.com/don+bingo, the latter a winner of the 1943 Suburban Handicap
Suburban Handicap
The Suburban Handicap is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Open to horses age three and older, it is run at the classic one-and-one-quarter mile distance on dirt for a $400,000 purse....
at Belmont Park
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
in Elmont, New York
Elmont, New York
Elmont is an unincorporated census-designated place located in the northwest corner of the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City...
. On August 12, 1938, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club hosted a $25,000 winner-take-all match race
Match race
A match race is a race between two competitors, going head-to-head.The term may be best known as a race between two sailing boats racing around a course...
between Seabiscuit and Ligaroti. In an era when horse racing ranked second in popularity with Americans to Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, the match race was much written and talked about and drew a record crowd that helped make the fledgling Del Mar race track a success. It was the first nationwide broadcast of a thoroughbred race by NBC radio
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/seabiscuit/sfeature/sf_radio_pop_03_qt.html Many racing experts felt that Ligaroti was not in the same class as Seabiscuit, but the two horses battled head to head with Seabiscuit winning by a nose.
The Binglin Stable partnership ended in 1953 as a result of a liquidation of assets by Bing Crosby to raise the funds to pay the federal and state inheritance taxes on his late wife's estate.