Spouse(s) Lizzie P. Pollock Parents William Henry Brown Died December 11, 1905 | Name Samuel Brown Children W. Harry Brown | |
Born December 15, 1842 Pittsburgh,
United States Occupation Coal magnate, Racehorse owner/breeder Board member of National Bank of Commerce (Pittsburgh, Pa.), First Nation Bank (Dawson, Pa.), Ohio Railway Company Residence Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States | ||
Captain Samuel Smith Brown (December 15, 1842 - December 11, 1905) was an American businessman and a prominent Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder and racetrack owner.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Samuel Brown was a student at Washington & Jefferson College when he left to serve with the Union Army during the American Civil War. On February 22, 1861, Brown and Rhodes Stansbury Sutton founded the Delta Tau Delta fraternity chapter at Washington & Jefferson College, playing an instrumental role in saving the fraternity from extinction when the first Bethany College chapter closed.
From a wealthy family, he inherited coal mining operations founded by his father. He would grow and expand the business, operating six coal mines supported by a fleet of barges and a controlling interest in a railroad for shipping the coal. In addition, Brown owned several hotels in various cities around the United States.
Thoroughbred racing
Samuel Brown owned Senorita Stock Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. Named for his favorite mare, the breeding farm's land is today occupied by the Kentucky Horse Park. He also invested in the Kentucky Association horse racetrack in Lexington, and the Bascombe Race Course in Mobile, Alabama which he used as a training base for his stable of Thoroughbred runners. Samuel Brown was one of the founding executives of the Brooklyn Jockey Club which, in 1886, built the Gravesend Race Track in New York.
For a number of years Brown's racehorses were trained by future Hall of Fame inductee John Rogers with whom he also raced horses in a partnership. Peter Wimmer succeeded Rogers as Samuel Brown's trainer and at the Brighton Beach Race Course on Coney Island, New York, jockey George Odom won the 1902 Brighton Derby with Brown's colt, Hyphen. On October 3, 1903 Peter Wimmer was succeeded by Robert Tucker who won the 1905 Kentucky and Tennessee Derbys. Other important horses owned by Samuel Brown included:
Capt. Samuel Brown died on December 11, 1905 and his son, W. Harry Brown, continued on with the horse breeding business until November 23, 1908 when he sold the bloodstock through a Fasig-Tipton auction. Senorita Farm is the site of the present day Kentucky Horse Park.