Equine statuette, late 20th century. The Rothschilds’ successes with 'the Sport of Kings' helped strengthen their position in a society where Jewish members could often count on an uphill struggle for acceptance.
The English Rothschilds
The English Rothschilds began to own and compete race-horses from the late 1830s. They became keen riders with hounds, perhaps taking up an active pastime to compensate for the hours spent at the bank. The move from hunting to racing demonstrated the family’s social aspirations, as at this time the pre-eminent race-horse owner in England was the Prince of Wales.
Baron Mayer Amschel de Rothschild (1818-1874) first registered the Rothschild racing colours of dark blue and yellow, and found considerable success with horses from his Mentmore estate, winning won four of the five classic races in 1871. His nephew Leopold de Rothschild (1845-1917) inherited Palace House in Newmarket from his uncle, and his horse St Amant famously won the Derby in 1904.
The French & Austrian Rothschilds
The French Rothschilds began to race-horses as early as 1835 when Baron James Mayer de Rothschild (1792-1868) created racing stables at his Ferrières estate. Still in existence, now relocated to Normandy, the Rothschild stables are one of the oldest in France. The Austrian Rothschild family were also keen race-goers and thoroughbred owners.
See The Racing Rothschilds: the sportsmen, the maverick and the legend in The Rothschild Archive Annual Review 2008-2009 for further information.
