John Sanford (1851)

John Sanford (January 18, 1851 - September 26, 1939) was an American businessman, aprominent owner/breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses and a U.S. Representative from New York.

The son of Stephen Sanford, and a grandson of namesake John Sanford, he was born in Amsterdam, New York. John Sanford attended Amsterdam Academy, and Poughkeepsie Military Institute then studied at Yale College from which he graduated in 1872.

He engaged with his father in the carpet manufacturing industry in Amsterdam, New York.

Sanford was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-first and Fifty-second Congresses (March 4, 1889-March 3, 1893).He was not a candidate for renomination in 1892.He resumed former business pursuits.He served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1892.

Thoroughbred horse racing

On the death of his father Stephen in 1913, John Sanford inherited Hurricana Farm. His father had been successful in racing and John Sanford would become a major figure in the industry. He raced a number of top horses and in 1916 won the Kentucky Derby with his colt, George Smith. In 1923 he became the first American to win the most prestigious steeplechase race in the world when his horse Sergeant Murphy won the English Grand National. In 1933, Sanford won the American Grand National with Best Play.

John Sanford was member of the New York Racing Commission and the Sanford Stakes, run annually at Saratoga Race Course, is named in his family's honor.

During the 1930s, John Sanford changed the Hurricana Farm name to Sanford Stud Farms. A major breeder, Sanford imported several important stallions from Europe where he owned Haras de Cheffreville in Cheffreville-Tonnencourt, France.

John Sanford died in Saratoga, New York oin 1939 and was interred in the family plot in the Green Hill Cemetery in Amsterdam, New York. His once renowned breeding farm and training facility in Amsterdam has fallen into severe decay. In 2007, the "Friends of Sanford Stud Farm" was formed by a former Sanford jockey Louis F. Hildebrandt in an attempt to raise the funds necessary to restore the property. [ [http://sanfordstudfarm.org/ Friends of Sanford Stud Farm | PO Box 106, Amsterdam, NY 12010 ] at sanfordstudfarm.org]

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