William Leavitt Brann (c.1877 – April 11, 1951) was an American businessman and

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. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse owner and breeder. Born in Washington, Indiana, William Brann graduated from

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...

and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

where he founded the W. L. Brann Advertising Agency, serving national clients such as

Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later also a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The curren ...

Thoroughbred racing

In partnership with Robert Stanley Castle, William Brann owned Branncastle Farm in Walkersville in Frederick County,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Among the successful horses they bred was Challedon, the 1939 and 1940

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. Challedon became the first Maryland-bred and Maryland-owned winner of Maryland's

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also 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 ...

since

Cloverbrook Cloverbrook was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 1877 Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, races that would become the second and third legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series. Cloverbrook was the first horse to win the Preakness S ...

in 1877. Robert Castle's health problems, that led to his death in May 1948, saw him give up racing and William Brann then operated under the name Glade Valley Farm. William Brann also owned

Gallorette Gallorette (1942–1959) was a Maryland-bred chestnut thoroughbred filly who became a Hall of Fame race horse. Sired by Challenger II, out of Gallette, Gallorette's damsire was Sir Gallahad III. Breeding Trainer Preston M. Burch bought Gal ...

whom he raced with great success in 1945 through 1948. Ranked as one of the top three

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

s in American racing during the 20th century, Gallorette was the 1946 American Champion Older Female Horse and was also inducted in the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame. Brann owned a large number of runners during his years in racing including Escadru, Pictor, Vincentive, and Legendra. Trainers who conditioned his horses included Don Cameron, Edward Christmas, and

Louis Schaefer Louis J. Schaefer (December 27, 1907 - August 8, 1988) was an American jockey and trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing best known for winning the Preakness Stakes, second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series, both as a jockey and as a trainer. S ...

. Willam and Mabel Brann maintained a winter home in

Boynton Beach, Florida Boynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is situated about 57 miles north of Miami. The population was 68,217 at the 2010 census. In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 78,679 according to the University o ...

where he died in 1951 at the age of seventy-three.

References

April 12, 1951 New York Times obituary for William L. Brann
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brann, William L. 1870s births 1951 deaths People from Washington, Indiana Indiana University Bloomington alumni American advertising executives American racehorse owners and breeders Owners of Preakness Stakes winners People from Boynton Beach, Florida People from Walkersville, Maryland