Runnymede Farm

Ever since it was founded in 1867, Runnymede Farm has been a vital part of the Thoroughbred industry. The farm was originally established on family property by Colonel Ezekiel Clay, whose father was a member of the United States Congress and a breeder of Thoroughbreds and champion cattle. The nursery holds the distinct honor of being the oldest continuously operated Thoroughbred breeding farm in Kentucky, according to the Daughters of the American Revolution. Runnymede is now the domain of Catesby W. Clay, a grandson of Col. Clay and one of the most respected breeders in the business. Although the breeding, raising and selling of horses has changed markedly in the nearly 150 years since the farm was founded, Runnymede's commitment to quality has never wavered. Even today, Catesby Clay and his son, Runnymede President Brutus J. Clay III, remain true to the beliefs and principles utilized by generations of their family in hopes of breeding and raising the best horses possible. There is no farm with a prouder, more dedicated or more proven sense of tradition than Runnymede. The 365-acre farm nestled sweetly among Bourbon County's hills predates all other Kentucky Thoroughbred farms, even longstanding landmarks such as Calumet and Claiborne Farms. The story of Runnymede is unique, one in which the Clay family and the raising of Thoroughbreds are inseparable. The traditions embraced by the Clays have not only served the farm well, but they have come to be an integral foundation of the Thoroughbred industry as a whole. The patriarchs of this esteemed estate have not only produced some of the finest horses ever to grace the American Turf, they also have been pillars of the Thoroughbred and local communities whose foresight and dedication have set the standard for others in the sport to follow. The history of Runnymede Farm is entwined with key eras in both the history of the United States and of American racing. In the late 1860s, Col. Ezekiel "Zeke" Clay returned from the Civil War to his new estate located just north of Paris, Kentucky. The property-which local residents had considered "magnificent," according to historical accounts-had been purchased by Col. Clay's father, Brutus, for his son and his son's new wife, Mollie. The manor house had been built in the 1830s by a relative of the Clay family, former Kentucky Governor James Garrard. Col. Clay named the estate "Runnymede," after the site in England where the Magna Carta was signed. He would settle down with his wife, father six children and live the life of a gentleman businessman, having gotten involved in the local banking and cattle industries. He was regarded as "a man of knowledge, high moral character, compassion and humanitarianism," according to historic journals, and was looked upon as a leader in various business and social circles. In the early 1870s, Clay joined a neighbor, Col. Catesby Woodford, in forming a partnership to breed Thoroughbreds at their respective Runnymede and Raceland farms.