Lucky Baldwin

Lucky Baldwin

Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin (April 3, 1828 – March 1, 1909) was a prominent California businessman and investor of the second half of the 19th century. Having generated most of his wealth through both savvy and lucky mining investments (for which he received his nickname), Baldwin accumulated large landholdings of 63,000 acres (250 km²) in southern California, where the communities of Arcadia and Monrovia are now located. He is most famous today for his involvement in horse racing: Baldwin founded the original Santa Anita Park racetrack on his estate (later closed and re-opened, again on estate land), breeding and racing some of the finest racehorses of his time. His name is found today denoting the Baldwin Hills district of Los Angeles, the City of Baldwin Park, the Baldwin Stakes at Santa Anita, and Baldwin Avenue in the San Gabriel Valley, among a number of places.

Thoroughbred racing

Lucky Baldwin bred and raced a number of top Thoroughbred racehorses. He raced under the banner, "Santa Anita Stable". One of his best filly runners competed at tracks on the East Coast of the United States where she won the 1887 Tyro and Spinaway Stakes plus the 1888 Monmouth Oaks and Latonia Derby. Among other successes, Baldwin's horses won the American Derby at the now defunct Washington Park Race Track four times: Volante (1885); Silver Cloud (1886); Emperor of Norfolk (1888); and Rey el Santa Anita (1894).

References

• Historical Stories - Horse Racing at horseracing.about.com
• Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin at www.inn-california.com