Brookmeade Stable
Brookmeade Stable was a successful thoroughbred horse racing stable owned by Dodge Automobile heiress and socialite Isabel Dodge Sloane. Sloane first won using the name Brookmeade Stable at the Manly Memorial Steeplechase at Pimlico in 1924.
| Type | Thoroughbred Racing Stable & Horse breeding Farm |
|---|---|
| Industry | Thoroughbred Horse racing |
| Founded | 1924 |
| Defunct | 1962 |
| Headquarters | Upperville, Virginia |
Key people | Isabel Dodge Sloane, owner Trainers: |
In 1929, Sloane divorced and expanded her interest in horse racing. She purchased 850 acres (3.4 km2) in Upperville, Virginia, again using the name Brookmeade Stable. Sloane later developed the estate into a breeding farm, Brookmeade Stud, producing several successful race horses, including Sword Dancer.
U.S. Triple Crown successes
Brookmeade Stable won each of the three races constituting the American Triple Crown series. The first win came in the 1934 Kentucky Derby with Cavalcade then his stablemate High Quest won that year's Preakness Stakes. Bold gave Brookmeade Stable its second Preakness win in the 1951 event. In 1959, Sword Dancer completed the triple with a victory in the final leg of the series, the Belmont stakes.
Brookmeade Stable also won the most prestigious steeplechase event in the United States, the American Grand National. High Boots won the race in 1949 and again in 1953.
Brookmeade's success allowed Sloane to become the first woman to lead the United States in race earning in 1934, with $251,138.
The stables of Brookmeade in Upperville, Virginia now constitute Lazy Lane Farms.
References
- TIME magazine article of Monday, May 28, 1934 titled "Mrs. Sloane's Week"
- Bowen, Edward L. (January 2003). Legacies of the Turf. Eclipse Press. ISBN 1-58150-102-1.