Although he ran only in Yorkshire and Lancashire and was beaten into third place in his most important race, the St Leger Stakes, Velocipede was regarded by nineteenth-century experts as one of the best British horses of the era.

As a stallion he was most influential as the sire of Voltaire, the direct male ancestor of numerous successful runners including Voltigeur, Galopin and St.

[1] Velocipede's dam, an unnamed mare by Juniper, had many other successful descendants including the 1000 Guineas winners Pic-nic and Mayonaise.

Racing over a one-mile course and ridden by Bill Scott, he started favourite and won very easily ("in a canter"[4]) from Game Boy and Rector.

Laurel set a strong pace but Velocipede overtook him inside the final furlong and won "cleverly" by half a length.

[19] In May 1886 The Sporting Times carried out a poll of one hundred racing experts to create a ranking of the best British racehorses of the 19th century.

Despite having been retired more than fifty years previously, Velocipede was ranked in the top ten by eight of the contributors, placing him thirtieth in the final list.

He sired three classic winners: Amato (Derby), Queen of Trumps (Oaks, St Leger) and Meteor (2000 Guineas).