Fame, Fortune & Farm Equipment

Fame alone doesn’t lead to fortune. But for the clever entrepreneur, it can certainly smooth the way. When he bought the most famous racehorse of a generation, Marion Willis Savage, owner of International Stock Food Co., Minneapolis, was banking on a proven winner.

In 1902, Savage bought legendary pacer Dan Patch. Two years earlier, on Aug. 30, 1900, in his harness race debut as a 4-year-old, Dan Patch trounced the competition. For nearly a decade after that, the horse never lost a race.

“By 1901,). “During the year, Dan Patch became the most talked-about phenomenon on the American sports scene, finishing the year with 12 straight race wins and $13,800 in winnings.”