He was bred by Gaston Dreyfus at his Haras du Perray in Les Bréviaires, Yvelines.
Maintenon was out of the mare, Marcia, and sired by Le Sagittaire, a multiple winner of what today are Group One races.
In 1906, Maintenon won ten major races in France, including the French Derby, and another two the following year.
[1] In the 1906 Grand Prix de Paris, Maintenon was beaten by Epsom Derby winner Spearmint and in anticipation of a rematch, Vanderbilt entered the colt in the 1907 Ascot Gold Cup at Ascot Racecourse in England.
Following the death of owner Vanderbilt in 1922, the Haras du Quesnay and Maintenon were acquired by another American, A. Kingsley Macomber.