Racing Career
Owned and bred by William Gibbons in Madison, New Jersey (the farm was located on land that today accommodates Drew University), the chestnut Fashion was considered the best racemare of her generation, or any generation that came before her. In 36 starts, Fashion won 32 times and defeated Boston twice.
In Fashion's day, races were four miles (6,400 meters) long and run in gruelling heats with each heat usually covering four miles. These races were not contested on tracks; they could be set anywhere the race organizers decided to set them.
William Gibbons was a modest man who only raced horses he'd bred himself, and he never bet. He disliked ostentation, but the public demand for Fashion's match races was huge and he gave in to their pressure more than once. It is said that 70,000 people showed up for the match between Boston and Fashion. Carrier pigeons carried the news of each heat to New York City newspapers.
Read more about this topic: Fashion (horse)
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