Joe Cotton was inaccurately reportedly to have died, along with another Thoroughbred called Sam Keene, on September 11, 1888, during the third race at the Mystic Park race track in
Boston, Massachusetts. In reality, he had dislocated a shoulder when he fell over the body of Sam Keene, which had fallen and broken its neck while colliding with another foundering racehorse named Zero. Afterward, Joe Cotton was bought by Charles Jacobs of
Medford, Massachusetts. Jacobs reportedly took Joe Cotton to a river and allowed the horse to swim to reset his shoulder joint into place. Jacobs used Joe Cotton as a breeding stallion and raised Thoroughbred-cross horses. Joe Cotton was sent to New York in June 1892. By 1895, he was owned by a Mr. Newhall and was employed pulling a hack in Medford. The horse was frequently observed by horseman Frank Ware at a local
steeplechase meeting until a few years before 1905 ==Pedigree==