Sagamore Farm To Start Making Spirits
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — An iconic Maryland farm known for horse breeding is now transitioning to making spirits.
Sagamore Farms made the announcement Thursday. The farm's owner, Under Armour founder Kevin Plank, wants the farm to shift away from horseracing.
Instead, they'll use the farmland to grow corn and rye to make Sagamore branded spirits.
"I love this farm and am so proud of what we've built with Sagamore Racing, including helping to reenergize 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," Plank said. "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."
Sagamore Farms' soil is rich in history. It became the crown jewel in creating champions, including several racehorses that were all inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
"We're going to move it to build award-winning rye whiskey that's right here from the State of Maryland, the City of Baltimore, and continue to drive pride to our city and state," Plank said.
Like winning races, Plank's new focus is about perfect timing.
Ten years to the day next month, his award-winning horse, Global Campaign, will close this chapter by competing in his final Breeder's Cup.
It's Plank who hopes you'll savor the Sagamore spirit and farm tradition for a while longer.
"We're going to end this chapter of Sagamore's history of racing, you know with one of the biggest fields, with one of the biggest days in horse racing, and who knows, maybe we'll get lucky," he said.
Editor's Note: This story was originally published on November 5, 2020, and has since been updated.