Spendthrift Farm
Spendthrift Farm is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm and burial site in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded by Leslie Combs II and named for the great stallion, Spendthrift, who was owned by Combs' ancestor, Daniel Swigert of Elmendorf Farm. Spendthrift was the great-grandfather of Man o' War.
History
In 1966 Majestic Prince was foaled at Spendthrift, bred by Combs. The famous son of Raise A Native later was returned to the farms and died there in 1981. In 1979, the great Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew was retired to stud and stood at Spendthrift until 1987.
Spendthrift Farms went public in 1983.[1] In 1984 Queen Elizabeth II visited Spendthrift Farms to view not only Seattle Slew but also Affirmed as possible studs for her stable of Thoroughbreds containing 22 broodmares.[2] In 1988, Spendthrift Farms filed for bankruptcy.[3] The farm was acquired out of bankruptcy the next year by Terry McBrayer, Curtis C. Green, Henry "Cap" Hershey, and William du Pont III[4]
Spendthrift Farms was sold in a foreclosure auction to MetLife in 1993.[5] MetLife resold it to lawyer Ted Taylor the next year.[6] In 2000, the farm was acquired by Bruce Klein.[7] In 2004, B. Wayne Hughes, the founder of Public Storage, purchased the historic farm.
Burial site
Along with being a breeding facility in the 1960s and 70's, several important racehorses are buried at the farm. These include, Nashua, Never Bend, Prince John, Raise A Native, Gallant Man, Caro, and Valdez.
Stallion roster
As of 2013, the current stallions that they stand in Kentucky are Archarcharch, Dominus, Into Mischief, Line of David, Malibu Moon, Notional, Paddy O' Prado, Temple City, Tiz Wonderful, Tizway, and Willburn. They also stand Court Vision and Victor's Cry in Canada, My Pal Charlie in Louisiana, and Dublin in New York.[8]
Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm
The 1995 United States Supreme Court case Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc. arose from a securities fraud lawsuit against the farm relating to its 1983 public offering of stock.
References
- Notes
- Further reading
- Patton, Janet (February 26, 2012). "At Spendthrift, it all begins in the breeding shed". Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Kentucky: The McClatchy Company).