View source for Rancocas Farm

{{Infobox company 
| name  = Rancocas Farm & Racing Stable
| logo  = 
| type  = [[Horse breeding]]/[[Thoroughbred horse racing|Racing]] [[stable]]
| predecessor = 
| successor  = 
| foundation = c. 1873
| location  = [[Jobstown, New Jersey|Jobstown]], [[New Jersey]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| key_people  = '''Owners:'''<br>[[Pierre Lorillard IV]]<br>[[Lily A. Livingston]]<br>[[Harry F. Sinclair]]<br>[[William G. Helis, Sr.]] 
| industry   = [[Thoroughbred]] [[horse racing]]
| image = [[File:HelisStockFarm1.jpg|200px|center|caption =Helis Stock Farm, January 2011]]Helis Stock Farm, January 2011
}}
'''Rancocas Farm''' was an American [[thoroughbred horse racing]] [[Horse breeding|stud]] farm and racing stable located on Monmouth Road ([[County Route 537 (New Jersey)|County Road 537]]) in the [[Jobstown, New Jersey|Jobstown]] section of [[Springfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey|Springfield Township, Burlington County]],  [[New Jersey]].

==Pierre Lorillard IV==
The farm was founded in the 1870s by the wealthy [[tobacco]] manufacturer [[Pierre Lorillard IV]] (1833-1901) who had a home in the town of Rancocas, now a part of [[Westampton Township, New Jersey]]. Lorillard built his stable into one of the premier [[thoroughbred]] breeding and training operations in the United States. Lorillard bred [[Parole (horse)|Parole]], one of the three greatest runners of the 1870s.  In 1881, Lorillard's horse [[Iroquois (horse)|Iroquois]] became the first American-owned and -bred horse to win a [[Europe]]an classic race. Ridden by the champion English jockey, [[Frederick J. Archer|Fred Archer]], Iroquois won [[Epsom Derby|The Derby]] then went on to also capture the [[St. Leger Stakes]].

==Lily A. Livingston==
On the death of Pierre Lorillard, Rancocas Stable was inherited by [[Lily A. Livingston|Lillian "Lily" Barnes-Allen-Livingston]].<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/12/12/104815504.pdf New York Times - December 12, 1908]</ref> She later sold it to [[Kansas]] [[petroleum|oil]] industrialist [[Harry Ford Sinclair|Harry F. Sinclair]] and moved to Canada where she set up her own breeding and racing operation that would see her inducted into the [[Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame]] in 2011.<ref>[http://canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com/?p=1017 Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame]</ref>

==Harry Ford Sinclair==
Harry Sinclair would invest considerable funds to continue the Rancocas breeding and racing success, making it one of the dominant racing stables in the United States during the 1920s. For Sinclair, trainer [[Sam Hildreth]] brought the stable victories in the [[Kentucky Derby]] and in three [[Belmont Stakes]]. Between 1923 and 1929 the stable had six horses compete in the [[Preakness Stakes]] but never managed a win. Two of the stable's colts, [[Grey Lag]] and [[Zev (horse)|Zev]], are in the [[National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame]].  After their racing careers, both [[Purchase (horse)|Purchase]] and [[Lucullite (horse)|Lucullite]] stood there.  Such was the fame of Rancocas Stable that the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] named [[baggage car]] #5858 in its honor.

Among the jockeys who rode for Rancocas Stable were Hall of Famers [[Earl Sande]] and [[Laverne Fator]]. Sinclair's Rancocas Stable set the record as top money winner in a single season in 1923 that stood until 1941 when it was broken by [[Calumet Farm]].

Personal problems culminating in a prison term for his part in what became known in American history as the [[Teapot Dome scandal]] (Sinclair sold US oil reserves to private interests for his own aggrandizement), forced Harry Sinclair to sell his horses and the farm.

==William Helis==
In 1943, [[William G. Helis, Sr.|William Helis]] purchased the {{convert|1300|acre|km2|adj=on}} farm <ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RCsaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uiMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3268,5116732&dq=helis+farm&hl=en ''Milwaukee Journal'' - August 29, 1944]</ref> and in 1946 acquired adjoining acreage to bring it up to {{convert|2040|acre|km2}}.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pQgtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wdUFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5794,3414476&dq=helis+farm&hl=en ''Miami News'' - June 11, 1946]</ref> On his death in 1950, management of the property was taken over by his son, [[William G. Helis, Jr.|William Jr.]] who was also involved in racing.

The site continues to operate as the Helis Stock Farm, and is run by Linda and Ed Lovenduski. The more than {{convert|2000|acre|km2|adj=on}} farm includes a number of original Rancocas Stable-era buildings that can be seen from the roadside; including a training barn with 1,100 windows enclosing a half-mile oblong indoor track.<ref>[http://www.dalejtravis.com/rblist/rbnj.htm New Jersey Round Barns List]</ref>

==References==
;Footnotes
{{reflist}}
;Citations
*''Encyclopedia of New Jersey'', p.&nbsp;765, edited by Maxine N. Lurie, Marc Mappen [[Rutgers University Press]] {{ISBN|978-0-8135-3325-4}} 
* [https://www.nytimes.com/1880/03/22/archives/pierre-lorillards-stud-the-horses-at-the-rancocus-farm-thirty.html March 22, 1880 ''New York Times'' article on Pierre Lorillard's Rancocas Stud]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/1882/04/16/archives/the-rancocus-stud-farm-some-of-the-famous-horses-in-pierre.html April 16, 1882 ''New York Times'' article on Pierre Lorillard's Rancocas Stud]
* [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B04E4DB1431EF33A25750C1A9669D946095D6CF October 13, 1921 article in the New York Times on Rancocas Stable]

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[[Category:American racehorse owners and breeders]]
[[Category:Horse farms in the United States]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Burlington County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Farms in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Lorillard family residences]]
[[Category:Springfield Township, Burlington County, New Jersey]]