Thomas Charles Day was born at Houghton in 1829, the son of William Day (1803-1836) of Ascot Heath, the trainer of 1834 Oaks winner Pussy, ridden by William’s brother John Barham Day.
Thomas Day achieved his biggest success on Arcanus in the 1842 Cesarewitch. His riding career was a short one, however, ending in the mid-1840s. He then trained on Houghton Down.
His final couple of years were spent as landlord of the White Hart Hotel at Stockbridge, where he died in sad circumstances - he shot himslf with a pistol before cutting his throat with a penknife -on July 13, 1874, aged 45, leaving a widow and five children.
He was buried at Stockbridge.