Arthur B. Hancock, Jr.

1910 - 1972

Arthur B. Hancock, Jr. was given the nickname of "Bull" while in school. He was known as such thereafter, the name fitting his large physical frame and deep, commanding voice. Hancock inherited responsibility for Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, which had been established by his father and mother. The family connection to Thoroughbred racing went back one earlier generation to Capt. Richard Hancock, who settled on a farm in Virginia after being wounded there while in service to Gen. Stonewall Jackson.

Bull Hancock's father, A. B. Hancock, Sr., had established Claiborne as a leading breeding farm, and Bull Hancock placed it first among the world's Thoroughbred nurseries. His importation of the stallion Nasrullah in the early 1950s was a pivotal event in modern Thoroughbred breeding.

One of Hancock's sons, Seth, continued the high plane of operation of the farm and Claiborne won the Kentucky Derby with Swale in 1984. Another son, Arthur III, founded Stone Farm and raced Derby winners Gato Del Sol and Sunday Silence.

Marker can be reached from the intersection of East Main Street (U.S. 60) and Midland Avenue (U.S. 60), on the right when traveling west.

Courtesy hmdb.org

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