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The tumultuous racing career of long-distance racehorse Eole was marked by both triumph and tragedy in equal measure. Bred in Albemarle County, Virginia by owner Richard J. Hancock in 1878, Eole was purchased in 1880 by wealthy New York lothario and sportsman Frederick "Freddy" Gebhard (1860-1910) and raced for the first time at age three. By the following year, Eole had begun to distinguish himself as one of the top distance runners in the country, and between the ages of four and six, he won the Champion Stakes, Great Metropolitan Stakes, Monmouth Cup, Autumn Cup, and Freehold Stakes, and placed second in England's prestigious Ascot Gold Cup.

Conversely, Gebhard's ownership of Eole was mired in controversy that remained unresolved through the summer of 1884. Fellow turfman Arthur M. Hunter maintained that he had purchased Eole first and agreed to sell him to Gebhard, who had failed to pay the stipulated price in full and then denied Hunter's subsequent financial interests in the horse. Hunter threatened to bring suit against Gebhard, but the two men agreed to arbitration, the result of which was that Hunter's claims were unsubstantiated.

Now clearly in the possession of Gebhard, Eole continued to race through 1887, notably winning the Kearney Stakes at Saratoga Race Course of that year. Eole retired in 1888 and was being shipped aboard an Erie Railroad express train from New York City to Chicago for stud duty when the train abruptly derailed in Shohola, Pennsylvania. The railcar carrying Eole and fourteen other horses owned by Gebhard rolled down a steep embankment and burst into flames. All but one horse, Eole's brother St. Savior, perished in the fire.