He was a bay colt sired by the great turf-racer Falsetto out of the mare Patroness.

His dam (with His Eminence in utero) was sold to Overton H. Chenault at the 1897 Woodburn Stud dispersal sale for $75.

His Eminence was ridden in the 1901 Derby by African-American jockey James Winkfield.

The colt was purchased in the latter part of 1901 for $15,000 by millionaire racing enthusiast Clarence Mackay as a stud horse, but was later sold in 1902 due to the death of Mackay's father.

[4] He was again sold to William Collins Whitney who trained him for steeplechasing, but His Eminence was killed while trying to jump a hurdle sometime before 1910.