J. K. L. Ross

Infobox_Person
name = J. K. L. Ross


imagesize =
caption =
birth_date = 1876
birth_place = Lindsay, Ontario
Canada flagicon|Canada
death_date = 1951
death_place =
residence = Montreal, Quebec, Canada
education = Bishop's College School
McGill University.
occupation = Businessman
Racehorse owner/breeder
Philanthropist
spouse = Etheldine Matthews
children = James K. M. Ross
parents = James Ross & Annie Kerr
religion = Anglican

John Kenneth Leveson Ross (CBE) (1876 - 1951) was a Canadian businessman, sportsman, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, and philanthropist. He is best remembered for winning the first United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing in 1919 with his Hall of Fame colt, Sir Barton.

Known as "Jack," he was born in Lindsay, Ontario, the only child of Kingston, New York native Annie Kerr and her husband James Ross, a wealthy co-founder of the Canadian Pacific Railway. With the family living in Montreal, Jack Ross was sent to study at Bishop's College School in Lennoxville, Quebec then at McGill University. He played for the McGill ice hockey team and was a member of the university's Canadian football championship team.

Business ventures

Jack Ross, in cooperation with prominent Montreal businessman, Sir Herbert Holt and others, established Côte St. Luc Realties in 1911 which built the town of Hampstead, Quebec. On his father's death in 1913, Jack Ross inherited a substantial fortune as well as his father's French Chateau-style mansion at 3644 Peel Street in Montreal designed by architect Bruce Price which was eventually bought by John W. McConnell and donated to McGill University which renamed it Chancellor Day Hall. [http://cac.mcgill.ca/campus/Buildings/Chancellor_Day_Hall.html] Jack Ross built another home on Peel Street in Montreal in 1909, designed by William Sutherland Maxwell. It was purchased by Marianopolis College in 1961 and used as administration offices until 1976 when McGill University acquired the property.

At one time, father James Ross owned a controlling interest in Dominion Coal Company and Dominion Iron and Steel Company. As a result, Jack Ross spent a number of summers at St. Ann's Bay in the northern part of Victoria County, Nova Scotia on Cape Breton Island. It was while staying there that he developed a passion for the sport of deep-sea fishing and on August 28th, 1911 he landed a 680 pound tuna which set a record for a tuna caught with a rod and reel. The Yarmouth County Museum and Archives in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia has a photo of J.K.L. Ross and the fish. [http://www.kellscraft.com/somefish/somefish03.html]

After his father's death, Jack Ross moved to Nova Scotia where for a time he was involved in the management of the companies.

World War I

During World War I, Jack Ross donated three large yachts for use in the war effort by the Royal Canadian Navy and took command of one of them in the North Atlantic. He was made a Commanderof the Order of the British Empire for distinguished naval service. Afterwards, the media would commonly refer to him as "Commander J.K.L. Ross."

Philanthropy

James Ross had used his enormous wealth to become a major benefactor to the city of Montreal, Quebec and his son continued the family's philanthropy. In 1916, acting on his late father's desire to support the Royal Victoria Hospital, Jack Ross was responsible for the building of the first major addition to the hospital which became known as the Ross Pavilion.

Thoroughbred racing

Jack Ross owned several riding horses that led to an interest in Thoroughbred horse racing and breeding. In 1915 he purchased twelve Thoroughbreds that immediately paid dividends when Damrosch won the 1916 Preakness Stakes. Later that year, he acquired a 2,000-acre farm property at Vercheres, Quebec where he established his own breeding operation. Ross contracted jockeys Earl Sande, Carroll Shilling and John Loftus, all of whom would be elected to the United States Racing Hall of Fame, plus he hired H. Guy Bedwell who became one of America's leading trainers and who, too, was inducted in the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. Running one of the most successful racing stables in North America, at Toronto's Old Woodbine Race Course, his horses won numerous races including five editions each of the Maple Leaf Stakes, the Connaught Cup, and the Grey Stakes. Racing success led Jack Ross to build a second breeding and racing stable near Toronto he called Agincourt Farms and a third such operation in the State of Maryland called the Yarrow Brae Stud Farm.

ir Barton

Widely respected for his good manners and sportsmanship, the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame says that the United States press called him "the best sportsman Canada has ever sent to this country." In 1919, Ross owned two of the best three-year-olds in North America. Sir Barton and the 1918 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, Billy Kelly, finished one-two in the 1919 Kentucky Derby. Sir Barton then went on to win the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes to become the first-ever winner of the U.S. Triple Crown. For 1919, Sir Barton was voted American Horse of the Year.

The following year, Sir Barton set a world record for 1 3/16 miles on dirt in winning the August 28, 1920, Merchants and Citizens Handicap at the Saratoga Race Course. However, plagued by tender hooves, Sir Barton was beaten in a now-famous match race on the hard dirt surface of the Kennilworth Park in Windsor, Ontario by the great Man o' War. In 1957, Sir Barton was inducted in the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E02E1DC103FE432A2575AC2A96E9C946195D6CF] .

In addition to Sir Barton, notable among the Ross stable of racehorses were:
* Damrosch (b. 1913), won 1916 Preakness Stakes
* Cudgel (b. 1914), American Champion Older Male Horse (1918, 1919)
* Milkmaid (b. 1916), American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly
* Constancy (b. 1917), American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly
* Hallucination (b. 1920), multiple stakes winner including the Autumn and Durham Cups

Financial reverses forced Jack Ross to disband his entire racing operations in 1927. In 1920, he had been appointed president of Blue Bonnets Raceway in Montreal, and although no longer a stable owner after 1927, he held the position until 1931 when he retired to a home in Jamaica.

J. K. L. Ross died in 1951 and, in accordance with his wishes, was buried at sea. On its formation in 1976, he was inducted posthumously into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame. In 1956, his son, James K. M. Ross, published a book titled "Boots and Saddles : The Story of the Fabulous Ross Stable in the Golden Days of Racing".

References

* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A0DE1D6123FE233A25757C0A9619C946496D6CF July 4, 1915 "New York Times" article on record Tuna caught by J.K.L. Ross]
* [http://www.canadianhorseracinghalloffame.com/builders/1976/Commander_Ross.asp J. K. L. Ross at the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame]
* Ross, James K. M. "Boots and Saddles : The Story of the Fabulous Ross Stable in the Golden Days of Racing" (1956) E. P. Dutton, New York
* [http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/hospitals/bldg/bldg03.htm McGill University - The Ross Pavilion]
* Adams, Annmarie "Medicine by Design: The Architect and the Modern Hospital, 1893-1943" (2008) University of Minnesota Press ISBN: 978-0-8166-5113-9