John E. Madden

John Edward Madden (December 28, 1856 – November 3, 1929) was a prominent American Thoroughbred and Standardbred owner, breeder and trainer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He owned Hamburg Place Stud in Lexington, Kentucky and bred five Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winners.

He was inducted into the National Racing Hall of Fame posthumously in 1983. He was also inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame for his contributions to the sport as a trainer, breeder and owner. He is the only person to be inducted into both the Harness and Thoroughbred Halls of Fame. He was also a businessman, who invested in corn refining.

Early life John E. Madden was born on December 28, 1856 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to Patrick and Catherine (McKee) Madden, who were Irish immigrants from Roscommon. Madden's father died in 1860, which resulted in hardship for the family. Young Madden often had to rely on his wits and athleticism to survive. He worked for four years in the local steel mills as a teenager and often fought in prizefighting as a young man to earn money. Boasting an athletic build, at nearly six feet tall and weighing 180 pounds, Madden excelled in baseball, running and broad jumping. By the age of 16, he had developed an interest in trotters.

Madden made Hamburg Place the center of his breeding operations from 1897 until his death in 1929. He bred 14 champion racehorses, including five Kentucky Derby winners (Old Rosebud, Sir Barton, Paul Jones, Zev and Flying Ebony), four Belmont Stakes winners (The Finn, Grey Lag, Zev and Joe Madden) and the first Triple Crown winner Sir Barton. Madden was the leading breeder in the United States from 1917 to 1923 and 1925, mostly due to the success of Plaudit and Madden's imported British stallions Star Shoot and Ogden. The cemetery was moved from its original location in 2005 to make way for development, but has since been reopened to allow public access.

Horses buried in the cemetery include: Standardbreds:

Nancy Hanks (1886–1915), set a U.S. harness racing record on September 28, 1892, by trotting a mile in 2 minutes and 4 seconds; she ran undefeated and was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame.

In 1905, after learning that his estranged wife planned to take their sons to Europe and fearing she would not return them, Madden took the boys from the convent school they attended in Madison, New Jersey. He took them back with him by train to Lexington, Kentucky. Anna moved to Ohio and filed divorce proceedings in that state in 1906. Later that year Anna Madden married the wealthy New York City broker and turfman Louis Valentine Bell (1853–1925). The couple would soon move to Switzerland. Since the Maddens had been married in Kentucky and John Madden was not formally contacted in her divorce, the Kentucky court ruled that the divorce was not valid.

Madden finally secured full custody of their sons and filed for divorce from Anna Madden-Bell in February 1909. Anna Madden-Bell died on May 10, 1963, at the age of 91, having outlived both her husbands and both her sons.

Quasi-retirement John Madden wanted his sons to follow in his footsteps and continue breeding Thoroughbreds at Hamburg Place. He let them begin to purchase horses at the ages of 15 and 10, but neither developed a lasting interest in the family business. They became involved in developing oil fields in the American West, a new area of discovery and risk.

In 1926, Madden sold most of his breeding stock; he sold 139 horses for $446,200.

Nearly eleven years later, his brother Edward Madden also committed suicide, dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on February 26, 1943, at Hamburg Place. Edward was survived by his wife and two sons, Patrick (1933–1999) and Preston W. Madden (1934–2020). Edward Madden had raised mostly polo ponies at Hamburg Place.

It was not until his sons grew up and took an interest that they resumed Thoroughbred breeding in the 1950s at the farm. Preston Madden married Anita Myers. He notably stood the champion stallion T.V. Lark at the farm, and bred the 1987 Kentucky Derby winner Alysheba.