- John Sanford (1851)
John Sanford (
January 18 ,1851 -September 26 ,1939 ) was an American businessman, aprominent owner/breeder ofThoroughbred racehorses and a U.S. Representative fromNew York .The son of
Stephen Sanford , and a grandson of namesake John Sanford, he was born inAmsterdam, New York . John Sanford attendedAmsterdam Academy , and Poughkeepsie Military Institute then studied atYale 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 prestigioussteeplechase race in the world when his horseSergeant Murphy won the EnglishGrand National . In 1933, Sanford won theAmerican Grand National withBest Play .John Sanford was member of the New York Racing Commission and the
Sanford Stakes , run annually atSaratoga 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 fromEurope where he ownedHaras de Cheffreville inCheffreville-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 Sanfordjockey 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]Notes
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