He was the talent that didn’t quite live up to his pedigree and the expectations. Sold to Europe, Brother Hanover produced tremendously well at stud in both the Netherlands and Germany and was an active stallion until his 30s.
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1920s
The first three-year-old to beat 2:00
His whole life is spectacular. He was the best trotter in his generation, even though his trainer was skeptical and at 2 felt the...
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The murder mystery
Throughout history, several early favorites have missed out on the Hambletonian. In virtually all cases, though, it’s been...
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The horse who hated the uphill
He may just be the American horse imported to Europe who has left the biggest and most impressive stamp on trotting history. He...
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The first pride of Hanover
He was the world’s first 1:56 trotter and a prized possession of Lawrence Sheppard’s fledging Hanover Shoe Farms...
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The sure-fire horse
The royally-bred colt was not a traditional early talent like many top US trotters. Only at 4 was Peter the Brewer ready to...
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The most precious addition
The New England-star was sold to Europe and impressed the French so much he was purchased by their national stud. Despite all the...
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Being first usually carries prestige and being the first Hambletonian winner carries a certain immortality to it. The massive $73,451.32 purse – more than five times the 1926 Kentucky Futurity purse ($14,000) – attracted 14 hopefuls to the mile track in Syracuse. While Hazleton was the pre-season favorite, Guy McKinney was not considered to have much of a chance. A new trainer turned the colt around, however and Guy McKinney went on to have a great three-year-old season.
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To many he appears to be an average American trotter bred to the first French trotting queen. However, the story of Great McKinney is that of a good horse who just needed a bit of time and then flourished in the US before he was sold to France. Together with French trotting queen Uranie he produced two talented trotters who turned out to be excellent stallions with a big legacy.
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He was champion stallion for many years, even after his death, in Norway. What many did not know is that he was initially considered a very good trotter in his crop in the US. Senator Ford was practically blind early in life, however, and for welfare reasons was not allowed to race. At stud, however, there was no stopping Senator Ford.
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The first World War took an especially heavy toll on Ukraine as well as the Russian Empire as almost all horses perished. One US import survived, however, and after the war gave birth to one of a good trotters who turned out to be one of the best stallions ever seen in Eastern Europe. While he was very good on the tracks, as a stallion Gildeets dominated Soviet trotting for many years.
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