05/05/2025
Fascinating history, right on our doorstep!
🐎 Before The Kentucky Derby, There Was Sumner County
While all eyes were on the Kentucky Derby yesterday, few realize that in the 1800s, Sumner County, Tennessee was the epicenter of horse breeding and racing in the United States!
With longer fall grazing seasons, milder winters, and early spring grass, Tennessee provided the perfect conditions for raising thoroughbreds—and Sumner County led the charge.
📍 In 1804, Gallatin hosted Tennessee’s first official horse race. Among the guests? Andrew Jackson and his wife, Rachel. Jackson would go on to become a major breeder and racer in Tennessee.
➡️ One notable figure was Moore Cotton, son of Thomas Cotton, founder of Cottontown, TN. Moore used his father’s 640-acre Revolutionary land grant for horse racing and breeding.
🏇The most renowned breeding eatate at its time? Rose Mont, a sprawling 500-acre thoroughbred pasture in Gallatin, TN, owned by Judge Guild. Even amid the chaos of the Civil War, Guild’s love of racing remained unshaken. As Union troops camped at the gates of Rosemont, his head groomer, Uncle Ike, hatched a clever plan to protect their prized horses.
☀️ By day, four of the finest thoroughbreds were hidden in the basement. By night, Uncle Ike bribed the Union soldiers with corn whiskey, slipping out under cover of darkness to exercise the horses in the quiet back pastures, lit only by moonlight.🌙
These prominent Sumer Countians passion for horses helped build the county’s legacy as a breeding ground for world-class thoroughbreds, alongside historic estates like Fairvue Plantation, Foxland Hall, and Kennesaw!
📖 Dive deeper into the rich history of horse racing in Sumner County with Executive Director Ryan Baker’s article—a journey through the estates that shaped Tennessee’s racing heritage. https://www.sumnercountymuseum.org/blog/horse-racing-in-sumner-county
