Ben Ali (horse)

In 1886, C. M. White purchased the pooling privileges (wagering rights) for the Kentucky Derby for $30,600 and demanded that all the Derby bookmakers pay him a $100 licensing fee to operate at the track.¹ The bookmakers refused and, as a consequence, there were no bookies at the 1886 Derby to handle high-dollar bets. Haggin could not place a large bet on his winning stallion and was so upset that he threatened to bar his entire stable from ever racing in another Kentucky Derby unless bookmakers were reinstated at the track.¹ The track director refused Haggin's demands, replying, "To hell with him anyway"¹, enraging Haggin and causing him to shun the Derby.¹ News traveled in the East Coast horse racing circuits of Haggin's treatment in Louisville, causing many Eastern horsemen to boycott the Kentucky Derby during the 1890s and early 20th century.¹ Bookmakers returned for the 1887 Derby, but the field quality and race profits dropped dramatically over the years until Churchill Downs was facing closure in 1903. Churchill Downs was sold to a syndicate led by Matt Winn in 1903.

Ben Ali is reported to have died at around 20 years of age (c. 1903) at Haggin's Rancho del Paso stud in California.^[3]