Daniel Swigert

Daniel Swigert. Elmendorf Farms, one of the enduring symbols of the Bluegrass, on Paris Pike, was named by Daniel Swigert. He purchased the 544-acre core of the farm in 1881 for $150,000 from John Sanford, who had called the property Preakness Stud. Earlier, Swigert had been the horse manager of the great Woodburn Stud and also had owned a smaller property, Stockwood Farm. A succession of owners for more than a century have retained the name of Elmendorf. The stallions Virgil and Glenelg were standing at Elmendorf when Swigert took it over, and with their offspring he added to his already burgeoning reputation as a breeder of champions. Among the best horses he bred, many to sell, were three Kentucky Derby winners, Hindoo, Apollo, and Ben Ali, and he also owned an additional Derby winner in Baden-Baden. Swigert also was the breeder of champions Tremont and Firenze. Hindoo was the winner of 30 races from 35 states in the early 1880s and was so brilliant that for many years horsemen would refer to a superior prospect as "the second coming of Hindoo." Spendthrift, another distinguished Swigert horse, became the namesake of the famous Lexington farm established in 1937 by Leslie Combs II, a great-grandson of Daniel Swigert.