Twelve years before the establishment of the United States of America a chestnut foal, with a narrow blaze and long white stocking on his off-hind leg, entered the world at East Ilsley in Berkshire. Foaled in dim light as the moon passed directly between the Sun and the Earth, he was named Eclipse and he became one of the most influential horses in history.

Unbeaten in 18 races, some of which included multiple heats of four miles or more, Eclipse was so successful that the phrase “Eclipse first, the rest nowhere” entered the vernacular as an expression of sporting dominance.

Retired, partially due to the lack of competition, Eclipse commenced stud duties near Epsom and stood initially for a fee of 10 guineas in 1771. By the time Philidelphia based Thomas Jefferson sat down to draft the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Eclipse’s fee for covering mares had increased fivefold. So popular were his progeny that many of them went on to become prolific stallions too and it is estimated that 95% of the current Thoroughbred population contains Eclipse somewhere in their pedigree. His skeleton has been preserved at the Royal Veterinary College at Hertfordshire.

It is fitting, therefore, that we have an occasion to celebrate one of the greatest racehorses of all time. And it just so happens that this year the Coral Eclipse Stakes at Sandown falls on Saturday 4 July, 2026 – the 250th anniversary of Independence Day. Not the film, you understand (in which Jeff Goldblum defeats malevolent aliens in the Nevada Desert), but the signing of the document that established modern day America (which most historians concede was actually signed on 2 August, 1776) celebrated so impressively with fireworks on the other side of the Atlantic.

Three American Presidents have died on 4 July and Saturday will mark the 200th anniversary since the passing of both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, both of whom were signatories to the declaration, and the 195th anniversary since the death of James Monroe in 1831. Other notable anniversaries on Saturday include the first running of the London omnibus (between Marylebone Road and Bank Junction) in 1829 and the conception of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, during a boat trip, by Lewis Carroll in 1862.

This year will mark Aidan O’Brien’s tenth victory in the Coral Eclipse Stakes and, while Constitution River may not be the most original of selections to appear in this space, a winner is a winner – and backing this horse is about as close as you’ll ever get to printing your own bank notes (unless your name is Donald Trump).