Sagamore Farm is an American former

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given Horse breed, breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired chara ...

farm on Belmont Avenue in

Reisterstown, Maryland Reisterstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore and Carroll counties, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,968. Founded by German immigrant John Reister in 1758, Reister ...

History

Established in 1925, Sagamore Farm was owned by Isaac Edward Emerson of Baltimore, who assembled the property as a gift for his daughter, Margaret. After his death and on his instructions, Margaret Emerson Vanderbilt passed it to her son Alfred G. Vanderbilt, Jr. for his twenty-first birthday. As a member of New York's wealthy

Vanderbilt family The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanth ...

, Alfred would become the owner and president of Baltimore's

Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of O ...

. He also became President of Belmont Park. As well, he served at various times as head of the

New York Racing Association The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest thoroughbred horse racing tracks in the state of New York (state), New York, United States: Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Q ...

and the United States

Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...

. In 1938, Vanderbilt staged the famous match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral at Pimlico. In 1941, Vanderbilt teamed up with Walter P. Chrysler Jr. and other investors to acquire for breeding services the 1935 English Triple Crown winner

Bahram Bahram may refer to: People * Bahram (name) Other uses * Bahram (''Shahnameh''), a heroic character in the Iranian epic poem * Bahram (horse) Bahram (1932–1956) was an Irish-bred, English-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. He was undefeated ...

from the

Aga Khan III Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah (2 November 187711 July 1957), known as Aga Khan III, was the 48th Imamate in Nizari doctrine, imam of the Nizari Isma'ili, Ism'aili branch of Shia Islam. He was one of the founders and the first permanent president of ...

. Bahram stood at stud at Sagamore Farm then was sent to Chrysler's North Wales Stud in

Warrenton, Virginia Warrenton is a town in Fauquier County, Virginia, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 10,057 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, an increase from 9,611 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and 6,670 at ...

. In 1966, Vanderbilt was part of another syndicate that bought

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

and

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

winner

Kauai King Kauai King (April 3, 1963 – January 24, 1989) was an American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse was foaled on April 3, 1963, at Sagamore Farm in Glyndon, Maryland. His sire was Native Dancer and his dam was Sweep In. In 1966, Kauai King won ...

who would also stand at stud at Sagamore Farm. The Vanderbilt/Sagamore Farm best known racehorses were

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

Bed o'Roses Bed o' Roses (1947 – January 5, 1953) was an American thoroughbred racehorse. Bed o' Roses was a bay filly by Rosemont out of the mare Good Thing, by Discovery (horse), Discovery, owned and bred by Alfred G. Vanderbilt II, Alfred G. Vanderbilt I ...

, and

Native Dancer Native Dancer (March 27, 1950 – November 16, 1967), nicknamed the ''Gray Ghost'', was one of the most celebrated and accomplished Thoroughbred racehorses in American history and was the first horse made famous through the medium of television ...

, all of whom were inducted into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

. Native Dancer is considered one of the greatest race horses of all time. Vanderbilt sold the farm to developer James Ward in 1986. In 2007 Maryland native

Kevin Plank Kevin Audette Plank (born August 13, 1972) is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. Plank is the founder and executive chairman of Under Armour, a manufacturer of sportswear, footwear and accessories, based in Baltimore, Maryla ...

, CEO of

Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sportswear company that manufactures footwear and clothing, apparel headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. History 20th century Under Armour was founded on September 25, 1996, by Kevin Plank, a ...

apparel company, bought the farm with a long-term plan for a major restoration. Equestrian architect, John Blackburn of Blackburn Architects in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

is renovating the farm that includes a historic 90-stall training barn with a quarter-mile interior track. The facilities are across the way of the Maryland Stallion Station. The back of the facilities are visible from Tufton Avenue. On November 5, 2010, a Sagamore Farm owned

racemare The following is a glossary of North American horse racing. Additional glossaries at: *Glossary of Australian and New Zealand punting *Glossary of equestrian terms This is a basic glossary of equestrian terms that includes both technical term ...

named Shared Account won the $2 million

Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for fillies and mares, three years old and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championsh ...

. She defeated 2009 winner

Midday Noon (also known as noontime or midday) is 12 o'clock in the daytime. It is written as 12 noon, 12:00 m. (for '' meridiem'', literally 12:00 midday), 12 p.m. (for ''post meridiem'', literally "after midday"), 12 pm, or 12:00 (using a 24-hour cloc ...

, one of the top-rated horses in the world. On November 5, 2020, Sagamore Farm announced that they were shifting from breeding and training champion Thoroughbred race horses to growing grains for the Sagamore Spirit brand, which already uses limestone-filtered spring water from Sagamore Farm to distill its line of signature award-winning Maryland

rye whiskey Rye whiskey can refer to two different, but related, types of whiskey: * American rye whiskey, which is similar to bourbon whiskey, but must be distilled from at least 51 percent rye grain * Canadian whisky, which is often referred to as (and of ...

.Sagamore Farm: Transitioning From Reins To Grains
Retrieved November 9, 2020

Racing silks

References

External links

Video at YouTube of the HRTV program on the history of Sagamore Farm
{{coord, 39, 29, 29, N, 76, 46, 24, W, display=title Horse farms in Maryland American racehorse owners and breeders Baltimore County, Maryland, landmarks 1925 establishments in Maryland Buildings and structures in Baltimore County, Maryland Reisterstown, Maryland