The outstanding mare of her era in the American West, Marian (1871–1893) was also the dam of Yo Tambien as a result of Theodore Winters mating her to his stallion, Joe Hooker.

[3] As a two-year-old racing in 1889, El Rio Rey competed at racetracks in Chicago and St. Louis, Missouri before heading to New York City.

The next day's issue of The New York Times declared him the best two-year-old in the country, stating that horsemen consider him "the greatest colt ever foaled.

[6] In 1890, El Rio Rey was scheduled to run, but breathing problems led to the belief that he was a roarer, and his career eventually ended without him making a start at age three.

He relocated his breeding operations to his Rancho del Sierra in Nevada's Washoe Valley with El Rio Rey and Joe Hooker as his main stallions.