Broomstick prior to the Travers, Tommy Burns up
©Keeneland-Cook

Broomstick was bred by Col. Young at McGrathiana Stud and then sold in a lot of 10 yearlings to Pittsburgh coal millionaire S.S. Brown, member of The Jockey Club and owner of tracks in Lexington and Louisville. His new bay colt had been sired by Ben Brush out of the mare Elf, by Galliard.

A small colt, at 2 Broomstick was trained by Peter Wimmer and won his first three starts: the Juvenile, Expectation, and Great American Stakes. As a result of his early victories, Broomstick was assigned unusually high weights for a 2-year-old. His percentage of wins was lower for the rest of that year.

Under trainer Bob Tucker at 3, Broomstick won the Travers, but the highlight of the year was his victory in the Brighton Handicap. Broomstick was the lightweight in this race but defeated the best older horses and set a record for 1 1/4 miles that stood for 9 years.

Broomstick was America's leading sire from 1913-1915. Although he averaged only 11 foals per crop, he sired 25% stakes winners, including Whisk Broom II, Regret, Cudgel, and Tippity Witchet, winner of 78 races over 13 seasons.

Broomstick was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1956.