May 4, 2024 will mark the 150th year of what is referred to as “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports,” also known as the Kentucky Derby. Did you know that W.R. Coe bred and raced Thoroughbred horses? Six of the horses he bred competed in the Kentucky Derby, with a horse named “Pompoon” coming in second place in 1937.
In the 1920s, Coe kept many horses at his stables at Planting Fields. In addition to riding them around the property with his children, Coe’s horses also raced at many of the country’s most prestigious racetracks, including at the Piping Rock Club and Belmont on Long Island, Saratoga in New York’s Capital Region, and Churchill Downs, where the Kentucky Derby is held.
W.R. Coe with his horse Pompey, ridden by jockey L. Fator, after winning the $75,000 Futurity Stakes at Belmont, Long Island, Planting Fields Foundation archives
The Coe children also participated in horse shows, with young Natalie Mai Coe becoming an accomplished exhibitor by age twelve. In April 2022, an article in the Times Union described her performance as follows: “Miss Natalie Mai Coe, of Oyster Bay, caught judges and jury with the quality and character, outline and manners of her brown gelding, Brown Sugar.”
Natalie Mai Coe on one of her show ponies, Planting Fields Foundation archives
Perhaps Coe’s most notable racehorse was named Pompey. Pompey is one of three horses featured on a custom set of dinner plates owned by the Coe family. The plates feature portraits of Pompey, his mother Cleopatra, and Black Maria. The green and white pattern on the plate represents the racing colors of Shoshone Stable, founded by W.R. Coe. Pompey was also the great grandsire of Secretariat, who is widely considered to be the greatest racehorse of all time. Secretariat’s record-breaking finish time in the Kentucky Derby, 1:59 2/5 seconds, remains the standing record today.
Custom Lenox dinner plate featuring Pompey, Planting Fields Foundation
Emily Leger, Collections and Exhibitions Manager