By Lorraine Mirabella
Kevin Plank is selling the historic 400-acre Sagamore Farm equestrian estate in Reisterstown for $22 million, saying, “It’s time for the next steward to carry the torch.”
Sagamore FarmThe Under Armour founder and CEO launched a thoroughbred racing operation at the Baltimore County landmark with hopes of breeding and training runners for the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and with plans to boost racing in Maryland. He paid $4.99 million for the farm at 3366 Belmont Ave. in 2007, Maryland property records show.
Plank discontinued training and breeding in 2020 and planned instead to grow corn and rye for his Sagamore Spirit whiskey brand and to house several retired horses. The refurbished farm, with horse racing history stretching back a century, was home to Native Dancer, Bed O’Roses, Discovery and other champions.
On Wednesday, Compass Baltimore, a residential real estate brokerage, announced the property was on the market.
IN THE announcement, Plank called the estate “a living testament to American greatness.”
“The moment you walk through those gates, you can feel the significance of its history and the spirit of champions,” Plank said.
Sagamore, overlooking Worthington Valley, is home to three renovated barns, paddocks, a track and several residences, including the 16,000-square-foot “Top of the Valley” home with seven en-suite bedrooms, eight full baths and amenities such as a great room, a library, a gym and conference room addition.
The general manager and a team of groundskeepers live on the farm. The general manager’s house has five bedrooms and a pool. The “Bunkhouse,” which includes eight separate apartments, was built in 2014 for staff and jockeys.
The track is three-quarters of a mile long, and “Clocker’s Tower,” with conference rooms, was built next to it to offer a vantage point to watch training.
In 2020, as Baltimore-based Under Armour was struggling through a difficult period marked by plummeting stock and investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department, Plank told the The Sun the equestrian operation was ending after an “amazing” run.
“But I’m also a believer in revolution more than evolution,” he had said. “If you’re going to make a decision, make it intentional. So the same fervor that got us into horse racing … it’s time for a new chapter out here.”
Sagamore got its start in 1925, carved out by Isaac Emerson, the creator of Bromo-Seltzer. The property was passed down to Alfred G. Vanderbilt Jr. as a birthday gift from his mother Margaret, Emerson’s daughter, in 1933. The farm was internationally recognized as a premier training and breeding facility for the next half century.
Sagamore still has training and breeding facilities with the possibility for expansion to other disciplines, the property listing says. Its three barns are used as a whiskey barn, to store hay and straw and to fix equipment.
Plank on Wednesday called restoring the farm one of the “greatest joys” of his life.
“But now it’s time for the next steward to carry the torch and continue its legacy for generations to come,” he said.
Baltimore Sun reporter Childs Walker contributed to this story.
Reprinted from The Baltimore Sun
