Milton Holbrook Sanford (August 29, 1813 – August 3, 1883) was an American businessman

Businessperson

A businessperson is someone involved in a particular undertaking of activities for the purpose of generating revenue from a combination of human, financial, or physical capital. An entrepreneur is an example of a business person...

 and owner/breeder of Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorses

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

.

Born in Medway, Massachusetts

Medway, Massachusetts

Medway is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the town had a population of 12,752.-History:Medway was first settled in 1657 and was officially incorporated in 1713. At that time, Medway began as a farming community of two hundred thirty-three...

, the son of Sewall Sanford and Edena Holbrook, Milton Sanford would become one of the town's greatest benefactors. http://medwaylib.org/History/MPR/MiddlePostRoad.htm Sanford owned wool and cotton mill

Cotton mill

A cotton mill is a factory that houses spinning and weaving machinery. Typically built between 1775 and 1930, mills spun cotton which was an important product during the Industrial Revolution....

s and made a fortune manufacturing blankets for the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. In 1883 he built the Sanford Textile Mill in Medway which still stands to this day as a condominium property.

Thoroughbred horse racing

Wealthy enough to satisfy his passion for Thoroughbred horse racing

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

, Milton H. Sanford owned Preakness Stables

Preakness Stables

Preakness Stables was a Thoroughbred horse racing stable established by Massachusetts businessman Milton H. Sanford in Wayne, New Jersey at what today is the corner of Valley Road and Preakness Avenue....

 at the corner of Valley Road and Preakness Avenue in Preakness, New Jersey

Preakness, New Jersey

Preakness is a section of Wayne located in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States.The colt Preakness, for whom the Preakness Stakes Thoroughbred horse race at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland is named, was owned by Milton H...

 as well as the 544 acres (2.2 km²) Preakness Stud Farm in Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

.

In the summer of 1868, following a day of racing at Saratoga Race Course

Saratoga Race Course

Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...

, Milton Sanford hosted a now famous dinner party for horsemen and other distinguished guests at the Union Hall Hotel in Saratoga Springs, New York

Saratoga Springs, New York

Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...

. During the evening, John W. Hunter

John W. Hunter

John Ward Hunter was a United States Representative from New York. Born in Bedford , New York , he received a liberal schooling and was a clerk in a wholesale grocery store in New York City in 1824. He was a clerk in the U.S...

 suggested that the occasion be marked with the creation of a Stakes race

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

  to be called the Dinner Party Stakes with a very substantial purse of $15,000. It was agreed that the race be held in the fall of 1870 and be open to three-year old colts

Colt (horse)

A colt is a young male horse, under the age of four. The term "colt" is often confused with foal, which refers to a horse of either sex under one year of age....

 and fillies

Filly

A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....

 at a distance of two miles (3 km). Maryland governor

Governor of Maryland

The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of Maryland, and he is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state, and he has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments,...

 Oden Bowie

Oden Bowie

Oden Bowie , a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 34th Governor of the State of Maryland in the United States from 1869 to 1872.-Childhood:...

 was in attendance and he promised that if the race would be run in Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, he would see to it that a new racetrack would be built to host it. As a result, Pimlico Race Course

Pimlico Race Course

Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London...

 in Baltimore was built and on October 25, 1870 a horse named Preakness

Preakness (horse)

Preakness was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Preakness was from Milton Holbrook Sanford's Preakness Stables in Preakness, Wayne Township, New Jersey.-Racing Career:...

 owned by Milton Sanford won the inaugural Dinner Party Stakes. The Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...

, established at Pimlico Race Course in 1873, was named in honor of Sanford's horse.

In 1881, the sixty-eight-year-old Milton Sanford sold Preakness Stud in Kentucky to Daniel Swigert who renamed it Elmendorf Farm

Elmendorf Farm

Elmendorf Farm is a Kentucky Thoroughbred horse farm in Fayette County, Kentucky, and has been involved with horse racing since the early 19th century...

. He died less than two years later at his summerhouse at 72 Washington Street in Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

. The property, designed by William Ralph Emerson

William Ralph Emerson

-Biography:Emerson was born in Alton, Illinois, a cousin of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and trained in the office of Jonathan Preston , an architect–builder in Boston, Massachusetts. He formed an architectural partnership with Preston , practiced alone for two years, then partnered with Carl Fehmer...

, is now a bed and breakfast called the Sanford-Covell Villa Marina

Sanford-Covell Villa Marina

The Sanford-Covell Villa Marina in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, was completed in 1870 by architect William Ralph Emerson for Milton H. Sanford of Pimlico Race Course fame. It is also known as the William King Covell III House....

http://www.sanford-covell.com/gallery.asp

Milton Sanford is buried in his birthplace of Medway, Massachusetts where Sanford Hall and Sanford Street are named in his honor.