James R. Keene

James Robert Keene (1838 - January 3, 1913) was a Wall Street stockbroker and a major thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder.

Biography

He was born in London, England in 1838. He was fourteen years of age when his family emigrated to the United States in 1852. As a young man he made a fortune through shrewd investments in California and Nevada mining companies and was eventually appointed president of the San Francisco Stock Exchange.

Wanting to expand his business opportunities, in 1876 he relocated to the heart of the country's financial center in New York City. While living there, he became interested in horse racing and began investing heavily in a stable of Thoroughbred race horses. His colt Spendthrift won the 1879 Belmont Stakes, and after Pierre Lorillard had shipped some of his American-bred horses to race in England and became the first American owner to win the Epsom Derby, Keene followed suit. In 1881, his horse Foxhall, named for his son, became the first American horse to win the Grand Prix de Paris, then the most important race in France. The following year Foxhall, trained in England by William Day, won England's Ascot Gold Cup.