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Basto (horse)

horse

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJan 20, 2026
Entity authorityQ11327706 ↗
Source-derived summary

Basto (1703 – c. 1723) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse, who was one of the most celebrated racehorses of the early 18th century. He was described as "remarkably strong... one of the most beautiful horses of his colour that ever appeared in this kingdom".

History

Basto was a brown horse, sired by the Byerley Turk, out of Bay Peg, a daughter of the Leedes Arabian. His breeder, Sir William Ramsden, sold the horse to the Duke of Devonshire while he was still young.

In his racing career at the home of British racing in Newmarket, he won at least five match races (possibly more, since he raced before records were reliably kept) against some of the leading horses of the time.

At the Duke of Devonshire's stud, he sired several important racemares and broodmares including the dams of Old Crab, Blacklegs and Snip. Other offspring included Brown Betty, Coquette and Soreheels.

Race record

Sire line tree

Pedigree

References

Bibliography

Whyte, James Christie (1840).

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Basto (horse)” as horse. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Basto and horse.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1703, 1723, 1840—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1703. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Basto and horse providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Basto (horse)”, the useful work is to connect “horse” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jan 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q11327706. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1703, 1723 and 1840.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Basto (horse)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Basto (horse) primary sources, Basto (horse) archive and Basto research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Basto (horse)”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Basto (horse)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.