Gaines’ Denmark sired a dozen good sons, most of them gotten before the Civil War. In terms of registry representation, Washington Denmark 1855, Star Denmark 1856, Diamond Denmark (also called Gays’ Denmark) 1858, Sumpter Denmark 1865 and Lail’s Denmark Chief 1865 are the most important. I completely agree with the Registry’s first President, Gen. John B. Castleman, in believing that another important horse, Mambrino Patchen, was sired by Gaines’ Denmark (he continues to be listed in the Register as a son of Mambrino Chief). Each of these stallions in turn sired some good horses. Unfortunately we possess images of only a few, although grandsons and great-grandsons are easily found. From the evidence we have, note the uniformity of type; Saddlebreds had already begun “breeding true” by the 1870’s, and this is borne out by the early appearance of names coded pink in the pedigrees.
This image is a reconstruction made from a portrait done in the last years of the stallion’s life by an unknown artist working in the style of Edward Troye. To create a realistic portrait, I have corrected the distortions that were so fashionable in
