Charlottesville, VA

Dated 1843

Thin woven paper

11.75″ W; 17″ H (With frame: 17.75″ W; 22.74″ H)

Utilitarian was a sire that stood at John Hartwell Cocke’s plantation Bremo on the James River. Cocke was one of a handful of southern breeders who were active in the improvement of American racing bloodlines. Utilitarian’s sire, American Eclipse, was a famous northern racehorse successfully pitted against southern rivals. In contrast, Cocke’s interests lay in the production of fine saddle horses and he advertised Utilitarian as a producer of sensible, sound, and useful animals. According to the Farmer’s Register of 1839 it cost $25 to breed a mare to Utilitarian plus the daily cost of 25 cents in upkeep for the mare.

WHY WE LOVE IT: Utilitarian was a very important stud in the history of thoroughbreds. Even more important to the history of the horse is John Hartwell Cocke. It is so cool to have this piece of Virginia horse racing history.