Talk:John Malcolm Forbes

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Bio from posted link (in case it goes away) J. Malcolm Forbes

Born in Milton, Mass., 1847 - 1904, of a wealthy Boston family. As a young man he became a famous sportsman, yachtsman, and horseman. In 1890 he purchased Jack, 2:12, for a speedway horse. As his interest grew he established Forbes Farm by buying and consolidating the Hunt, Davenport and Farrington farms. The Farrington farmhouse once stood on the site of the current Prowse residence.

He purchased Nancy Hanks for $41,000 and Arion for $125,000. With Arion, Bingen, Nancy Hanks, Peter The Great, and others, Forbes Farm became the outstanding stud farm in the East. Forbes main objective is to improve the quality of the light driving horse, which, before the advent of the automobile, is in great demand throughout the country. Though Mr. Forbes never raced a stable, he was an expert on breeding fast horses, until his death in 1904.

Forbes made national headlines by paying Senator Leland Stamford of California the incredible sum of $125,000 for his stallion Arion. At the time this was highest price ever paid for a horse anywhere in the world. Adding Bingen and the immortal Peter the Great, Forbes owned the three fastest trotting stallions. He added the legendary undefeated mare Nancy Hanks, model for the horse and sulky weathervanes one sees today. These horses were inducted into the Standardbred Hall of Fame.

In 1890, Forbes was a well-known businessman who was also an avid sportsman. Among other achievements, he built and skippered the yacht Puritan which successfully defended the America's Cup.

In 1885, J. Malcolm Forbes started financing General Charles Paine as he led three successful America's Cup defense efforts for New York Yacht Club. It was known as the first modern America's Cup defense syndicate. Edward Burgess was the designer as the syndicate produced Puritan, and created a template for America's Cup campaign management that remains the standard today.

Forbes died in 1904. General Francis Peabody, a State Street lawyer purchased the farm in 1914, renaming it Maresfield. Peabody continued to breed quality horses, importing such top horses as the Irish hunter Herculean, and leading colorful hunts with hounds over the rolling hills of what is now Ponkapoag Golf Course.

Forbes history from The complete book of harness racing by Philip A Pines and Canton Historical Society.


 * Edited above into main article but more work needs doing Boatman 07:59, 19 July 2007 (UTC)

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