The start of Global Campaign in this weekend's Breeders' Cup Classic will bookend co-owner Sagamore Farm's involvement in horse racing under current farm owner Kevin Plank. Plank told The Baltimore Sun this week that the farm in Maryland's horse country will sell most of its remaining horses by the end of the year and be shifted to the production of corn and rye to support Sagamore Spirit's rye whiskey.
A few retired horses will remain on the property as a tribute to its long history as a cradle of top Thoroughbreds.
Sagamore Farm was once the main base for racing and breeding operations of Alfred Vanderbilt, Jr., and home to Discovery, Native Dancer, and Bed o' Roses — all of whom are buried there. Read more about the history of Sagamore Farm from this 2018 Paulick Report feature.
Plank, former CEO of the fitness apparel company Under Armour, purchased the property in 2007, at which point it had fallen into disrepair. Vanderbilt had sold the property to developer James Ward in the late 1980s and Ward quickly became overwhelmed by the costs of a commercial breeding operation and shuttered it. Plank spent considerable funds restoring the barns and fence lines to their former glory.
Under Plank's watch, Sagamore won the 2010 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf with Shared Account and is breeder of last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Sharing.
Plank told the Sun his departure from the sport was nothing to do with racing, but due more to a lack of time to put into the operation. Under Armour's stock has taken a hit in recent years following an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department into some of its accounting practices.
Sagamore co-owns Global Campaign with WinStar Farm. Plank told media he plans to be at the races this weekend to watch the Classic.
Read more at The Baltimore Sun
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