Foxhall P. Keene
Encyclopedia
Foxhall Parker Keene (December 18, 1867 - September 25, 1941) was an American
thoroughbred
race horse owner and breeder
, a World and Olympic
Gold Medallist in polo
. He was rated the best all-around polo player in the United States for eight consecutive years, a golf
er who competed in the U.S. Open
, and a pioneer racecar driver
who vied for the Gordon Bennett Cup
.
on December 18, 1867 to Sarah Jay Daingerfield and James Robert Keene. At the time of his birth, his father was president of the San Francisco Stock Exchange. James R. Keene was also a major owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses and a founder of The Jockey Club
from whom Foxhall Keene inherited Castleton Farm
, an important breeding operation near Lexington, Kentucky
. In addition to his substantial involvement in flat racing
, he was also a founding member of the National Steeplechase Association
.
Keene was an avid golf
er who competed in the 1897 U.S. Open
and who made it to the quarterfinals in the 1898 U.S. Amateur. Although he played at a high level in a number of sports, he excelled at the game of polo. A 10-goal player, he was a member of the Rockaway Hunting Club in Lawrence, Nassau County, New York
, today the oldest country club in the United States. With team captain Tommy Hitchcock
, in 1886 he was part of the first U.S. international polo team that competed in the inaugural International Polo Cup
matches against England
. He was rated the best all-around polo player in the United States for eight consecutive years and won the Gold Medal in Polo at the 1900 Summer Olympics
. Following its formation, he was inducted posthumously into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame
in 1992.
With the advent of automobile racing, Keene competed in the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup
at Athy
, County Kildare
, Ireland
driving a Mercedes
. In a race won by Camille Jenatzy
, he did not finish after his car experienced axle problems.
Several publications, including The American Heritage Cookbook and Illustrated History of American Eating and Drinking and the Encyclopedia of North American Eating and Drinking Traditions, Customs and Rituals claim that Chicken à la King
was prepared at Keene's suggestion.
Keene maintained a country home at Monkton, Maryland
and a home in England with a stable at Melton Mowbray
where he kept up to ten field hunter
s for fox hunting
. In addition, he had a seasonal residence at Ayer's Cliff, Quebec
on Lake Massawippi
where he died on September 25, 1941.
in England. Recently, two Thoroughbred racehorses, one born in 1983 and another in 2002, were named after Foxhall Keene.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
race horse owner and 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...
, a World and Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
Gold Medallist in 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...
. He was rated the best all-around polo player in the United States for eight consecutive years, a golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er who competed in the U.S. Open
U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
, and a pioneer racecar driver
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
who vied for the Gordon Bennett Cup
Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing
As one of three Gordon Bennett Cups established by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., millionaire owner of the New York Herald, the automobile racing award was first given in 1900 in France....
.
Biography
He was born in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
on December 18, 1867 to Sarah Jay Daingerfield and James Robert Keene. At the time of his birth, his father was president of the San Francisco Stock Exchange. James R. Keene was also a major owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses and a founder of The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club, formed on February 9, 1894, is the keeper of The American Stud Book. It came into existence after James R. Keene spearheaded a drive in support of racehorse trainers who had complained about the Board of Control that governed racing in New York State.-History:On its formation, The...
from whom Foxhall Keene inherited Castleton Farm
Castleton Lyons
Castleton Lyons near Lexington, Kentucky, is an American horse racing stable and breeding business best known by the name Castleton Farm....
, an important breeding operation near Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
. In addition to his substantial involvement in flat racing
Flat racing
Flat racing is a form of Thoroughbred horse racing which is run over a level track at a predetermined distance. It differs from steeplechase racing which is run over hurdles...
, he was also a founding member of the National Steeplechase Association
National Steeplechase Association
The National Steeplechase Association is the official sanctioning body of American steeplechase horse racing.The National Steeplechase Association was founded on February 15, 1895 by August Belmont, Jr., the first president of The Jockey Club and chairman of the New York State Racing Commission,...
.
Keene was an avid golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
er who competed in the 1897 U.S. Open
U.S. Open (golf)
The United States Open Championship, commonly known as the U.S. Open, is the annual open golf tournament of the United States. It is the second of the four major championships in golf, and is on the official schedule of both the PGA Tour and the European Tour...
and who made it to the quarterfinals in the 1898 U.S. Amateur. Although he played at a high level in a number of sports, he excelled at the game of polo. A 10-goal player, he was a member of the Rockaway Hunting Club in Lawrence, Nassau County, New York
Lawrence, Nassau County, New York
Lawrence is a village in Nassau County, New York in the USA. As of the United States 2010 Census, the village population was 6,483.The Village of Lawrence is in the southwest corner of the Town of Hempstead, adjoining the border with the New York City borough of Queens to the west and near the...
, today the oldest country club in the United States. With team captain Tommy Hitchcock
Tommy Hitchcock
Thomas Hitchcock, Jr. was an American polo player who was killed in an air crash during World War II. He was inducted into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame.-Biography:...
, in 1886 he was part of the first U.S. international polo team that competed in the inaugural International Polo Cup
International Polo Cup
The International Polo Cup, also called the Newport Cup and the Westchester Cup is a trophy in polo that was created in 1876 and was played for by teams from the United States and Great Britain. The match is the best of three games. In 1886 it was decided to make the polo match a continuing...
matches against England
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...
. He was rated the best all-around polo player in the United States for eight consecutive years and won the Gold Medal in Polo at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Polo at the 1900 Summer Olympics
-Foxhunters Hurlingham:* John Beresford * Denis St. George Daly * Foxhall Parker Keene * Frank MacKey * Alfred Rawlinson -BLO Polo Club Rugby:* Walter Buckmaster * Frederick Freake * Jean de Madre...
. Following its formation, he was inducted posthumously into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame
Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame
The Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame is in Lake Worth, Florida.The first inductions were in 1990.-Honorees:*Rodolphe Louis Agassiz *Lester Armour, III*Harold A. Barry*Harold L. Barry*Paul W. Barry*Roy M. Barry*Carlton Beal...
in 1992.
With the advent of automobile racing, Keene competed in the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup
Gordon Bennett Cup in auto racing
As one of three Gordon Bennett Cups established by James Gordon Bennett, Jr., millionaire owner of the New York Herald, the automobile racing award was first given in 1900 in France....
at Athy
Athy
The town developed from a 12th century Anglo-Norman settlement to an important British military outpost on the border of the Pale.The first town charter dates from the 16th century and the town hall was constructed in the early 18th century...
, County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
driving a Mercedes
Mercedes (car)
Mercedes was a brand of the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft . DMG which began to develop in 1900, after the death of its co-founder, Gottlieb Daimler...
. In a race won by Camille Jenatzy
Camille Jenatzy
Camille Jenatzy was a Belgian race car driver. He is known for breaking the land speed record three times and being the first man to break the 100 km/h barrier....
, he did not finish after his car experienced axle problems.
Several publications, including The American Heritage Cookbook and Illustrated History of American Eating and Drinking and the Encyclopedia of North American Eating and Drinking Traditions, Customs and Rituals claim that Chicken à la King
Chicken à la King
Chicken à la King is a recipe consisting of diced chicken in a cream sauce, and often with sherry, mushrooms, and vegetables, served over bread or pasta.-History:...
was prepared at Keene's suggestion.
Keene maintained a country home at Monkton, Maryland
Monkton, Maryland
Monkton is an unincorporated community in northern Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It has a population of about 4,856 people. It is in area, with approximately...
and a home in England with a stable at Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the northeast of Leicester, and southeast of Nottingham...
where he kept up to ten field hunter
Field hunter
A field hunter, or a fox hunter, is a type of horse used in the hunt field for fox hunting. It may be of any breed, but should possess stamina, a level head, and bravery. The horse should have a safe jump, so as not to get caught on any of the solid obstacles found in the hunt field...
s for fox hunting
Fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
. In addition, he had a seasonal residence at Ayer's Cliff, Quebec
Ayer's Cliff, Quebec
Ayer's Cliff is a village on Lake Massawippi, near the mouth of the Tomifobia River, part of the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec located just north of the Vermont/Canada border....
on Lake Massawippi
Lake Massawippi
Lake Massawippi is a freshwater lake in Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec, Canada. The Tomifobia River is the source of the lake at its southern tip, near the village of Ayer's Cliff, Quebec. In early records, the lake was also called "Lake Tomifobi"...
where he died on September 25, 1941.
Legacy
His father named one of his horses Foxhall who won the 1882 Ascot Gold CupAscot Gold Cup
The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....
in England. Recently, two Thoroughbred racehorses, one born in 1983 and another in 2002, were named after Foxhall Keene.
External links
- Hatch, AldenAlden R. HatchAlden R. Hatch was an American writer. He was the son of May D. Hatch and her husband Frederic H. Hatch, owner of a successful Wall Street stock brokerage firm he founded in 1888. Alden's brother, Eric S...
and Foxhall Keene. Full Tilt. The Sporting Memoirs of Foxhall Keene. (1938) The Derrydale Press ISBN 1-199-23975-5 - Eclipse Press story of James and Foxhall Keene
- Foxhall Keene racing in his Mercedes (Vanderbilt CupVanderbilt CupThe Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing.-History:An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held at a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, New York. The announcement that the race was to be held caused...
) - DatabaseOlympics for Foxhall Keene
- Rockaway Hunting Club information on Foxhall Keene