Castleton Lyons
Castleton Lyons near Lexington, Kentucky, is an American horse-racing stable and breeding business best known by the name Castleton Farm. History The farm was established in 1793 when Virginian John Breckinridge, a future U.S. senator and attorney general, purchased 2,467 acres (10 km2) of land and on a portion of it established a Thoroughbred horse-breeding operation. On his death, the property transferred to his daughter, Mary Ann, the then Mrs. David Castleman, who eventually built a mansion on the horse-farm site and gave it the family name. Under the Castlemans, Castleton Farm continued as a Thoroughbred operation, but added the breeding of American Saddlebreds and Standardbreds for harness racing. Development by James R. Keene The original property changed hands several times, occasionally small parts being divvied up and sold to multiple different parties. In the early 1890s, Wall Street tycoon James R. Keene acquired the farm and purchased additional land to bring the operation to almost 1,000 acres (4 km2). Keene usually referred to the farm as "Castleton Stud", and under his direction, it became one of the greatest Thoroughbred operations of its day. The farm bred and/or raced future U.S. racing Hall of Fame horses Kingston, Domino, Ben Brush,