Prestigious Race will Lead to Transition for Iconic Maryland Farm
Glyndon, Md. (November 5, 2020) – Sagamore Racing today announced that Global Campaign, the four-year old thoroughbred that got his first Grade 1 win in the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga, will run in the prestigious Breeders’ Cup Classic on November 7 at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Ky. Global Campaign enters the race with six wins in nine overall starts.
Global Campaign was sired by Curlin, winner of the 2007 Preakness Stakes and 2008 Dubai World Cup and inducted into the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame in 2014.
The race will come nearly ten years to the day that Sagamore Racing’s Shared Account shocked the racing world and, at 46-1, won the Breeders’ Cup World Championship Fillies and Mare Turf on November 5, 2010.
Global Campaign’s run will serve as a transition for the iconic Maryland Farm founded in 1925 by Isaac Emerson and bequeathed to Alfred Vanderbilt, Jr. for his 21st birthday in 1933. Under Vanderbilt’s leadership Sagamore Farm became the premier training and breeding facility in the world for the half century with the Queen of England keeping a broodmare on the property during its heyday. Sagamore Farm’s most famous equine resident was Native Dancer who went 21 for 22 during his racing career and is buried on Sagamore Farm along with other Hall of Fame horses of the farm.
Kevin Plank purchased the farm in 2007 after it had fallen into disrepair and conducted a major renovation of the farm. Plank established the Sagamore Racing team and returned horse racing on the farm to prominence. He has now decided that it is time for the farm to shift its focus again. Sagamore Farm will remain in the Plank family but will move away from thoroughbred breeding and racing to focus on growing corn and rye for the Sagamore Spirit brand and continue as a community asset.
Plank said, “I love this farm and am so proud of what we’ve built with Sagamore Racing, including helping to re energize racing in Maryland and experience success on the track. The farm will remain in my family, but after 14 years it is time to use this beautiful piece of property in a new way. It will remain an asset to the community, but the primary purpose of our next chapter will focus on growing corn and rye to support all we are doing with Sagamore Spirit and our award-winning rye whiskey.”
The transition of the farm will take place by the end of the year. A small number of retired horses will remain on the farm as pasture horses to symbolize the rich history of horse racing that is, and always will be, Sagamore Farm.
Hunter Rankin, President of Sagamore Racing, added, “While this day is somewhat bittersweet, I am very proud of all we accomplished and look forward to working with Kevin and my team on the transition to the next, exciting phase in the life of this historic property.”
Plank continued, “We look forward to Global Campaign competing at Keeneland in the Breeder’s Cup Classic this Saturday as this race marks the end of this incredible chapter in Sagamore Farm’s rich history.”
The 2020 Breeder’s Cup Classic will be broadcast on NBC, NBCSports.com and through the NBC Sports app. Coverage will run from 2:30-5:30 pm ET with post time approximately 5:13 pm ET.
Press Release / Photo courtesy of Sagamore Farm
