a cigar box bearing Dick Welles’ likeness but with his name mispelled
By Hillary Delaney, Florence, Boone County Borderlands Archive & History Center
Before big industry discovered Boone County, a different kind of production was happening in Florence, where the Northern Kentucky Industrial Park now stands. Highland Stock Farm, a 550-acre Thoroughbred breeding and training facility, was located at the southeast corner of what is now Dixie Highway and Industrial Road. The owner of Highland Stock Farm, Jerome “Rome” B. Respess, was a Boone County native, born in 1863.
The Respess family was well-respected in the area, but things began to unravel after the death of Rome’s mother, Catherine, in 1875. The decision was made that his younger sister would be raised by an aunt, while Rome and his two brothers stayed with their father, William, a Civil War veteran who never remarried. It’s likely the behavior of the Respess boys was not always what their mother would have wanted. As teens and young men, they began to get into trouble, mainly drinking and fighting. These activities escalated in 1887, when Rome and one brother were involved in what was described as a “riot” in an Erlanger barroom. Rome, who was carrying a weapon, took a bullet to the arm during the fray. Another bar fight brought legal trouble in 1888, but his attention began to shift around this same time, which may have saved him from life as a ruffian.
As a young man, he trained and showed Saddlebreds at local fairs, but in 1887, he turned his attention to horse racing. He invested in two fillies, Miss Lou and Mary Lou, who showed promise but were not successful enough to fully hold young Rome’s attention. He was not discouraged, though. He soon discovered there was money to be made in “pool rooms,” which had nothing to do with cues, balls or tables. Rome became a bookie, running betting “pools” in bars across northern Kentucky.
Profits from his betting pools allowed Rome to begin to expand his ownership of horses. He bought acreage in Boone County and leased a farm in Woodlawn, Ohio. He began to take an interest in breeding and training his racehorses, and he had a natural affinity for both. As he earned his chops as a respected horseman, Rome was keeping an eye on the money to be made “on the side.”
In the 1890s, Respess’ betting operations became the focus of several raids that brought indictments for “nuisance in running pool rooms.” In 1897, one case went all the way to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, where Rome’s conviction and fine were upheld, though he did no jail time. Another indictment came in 1898, followed by a civil lawsuit brought by a man who had lost heavily in Respess’ gambling operations. Similar cases were brought as late as 1907.
Legal woes aside, Respess was good at turning a dollar, as evidenced by a theft reported in 1903. An apartment he kept near the track in Chicago was burglarized, and Respess reported a loss of cash and diamonds worth more than $4,000 ($136,000 in today’s economy). The loss didn’t slow him; he continued to grow his reputation and empire. Rome began breeding and training champion racehorses at his Ohio stud farm around the turn of the 20th century. His place in horse racing was secured by the success of a horse named Dick Welles, purchased as a 2-year-old in 1902. Dick Welles, who was named after the father of actor Orson Welles, was a natural sprinter that set records, including two world records in 1903. A groom employed by Respess had such confidence in his charge that he once sold his own shoes to place a bet in the horse’s favor. Dick Welles frequently was compared to the famous Man o’ War and was called the “swiftest thoroughbred ever seen on the American Continent” by the Lexington Herald. Sadly, the horse suffered an injury in 1904 from which he never fully recovered and was retired to stud the following year.
His star’s retirement only brought more success to Respess as a breeder. Dick Welles passed on his speed to his offspring and ranked as a top-10 American sire for several years. In 1906, one of his sons, Wintergreen, was foaled at Respess’ Woodlawn, Ohio, farm. Respess reportedly took one look at the foal and predicted that he would win the 1909 Kentucky Derby. His confidence in Wintergreen did not waver as the young horse grew into his speed. A few days before the 1909 Derby, Respess met actor Will Rogers. Rome gave him a tour of Churchill Downs and a picture of Wintergreen. Rogers wrote home to his wife that he was sure this horse would win the Derby, and he was correct. Wintergreen easily won in a field of 10 competitors that year.
Respess’ success in racing continued for decades, and he moved his complete operation to Highland Stock Farm in Florence in 1918. At its height, the farm was equipped to house 140 horses and boasted nine bright white barns. On average, there were 50 foals born there per year. Dick Welles lived out his final years on the farm, where he died in 1923. Respess had him buried on the farm, his grave marked with a proper monument, and a brass plaque touting the horse’s accomplishments and bloodline hung in the main barn. The farm was a symbol of Respess’ success, which continued to grow. Even Hollywood studio mogul Louis B. Mayer was a client.
Tragedy struck the Respess family in 1932, when Rome and wife Rena’s only child, Jerome Jr., died in a car accident on his way to Louisville on Derby Eve. The sophomore at the University of Kentucky was traveling to Louisville to help prepare a horse for the race when the accident occurred. Though he continued in the industry, the cloud of loss followed Rome to his own dying day in 1939—seven years after he lost his son.
Respess’ storied career included not only breeding and training noted racehorses but also ownership or interest in several racetracks. He was a partner in Latonia Racetrack in northern Kentucky and Chicago’s Harlem Track. He is credited with building Essex Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and held an interest in City Park in New Orleans. He also became part-owner of a brewery.
After his death, Respess’ widow sold Highland Stock Farm to the Holton family, who filled the main barn with their show horses. It later was sold to the Northern Kentucky Industrial Park.