Glen Riddle Farm was a large

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

farm in

Berlin, Maryland Berlin is a town in Worcester County, Maryland, United States which includes its own historical Berlin Commercial District. The population was 4,485 at the 2010 census, and has since grown in population. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Located on what today is Route 50 between Ocean City and Berlin, it was owned by a wealthy textile businessman

Samuel D. Riddle Samuel Doyle Riddle (July 1, 1861 – January 8, 1951) was an American businessman and racehorse owner. He was born in Glen Riddle, Pennsylvania, a small town southwest of Philadelphia given the family name by his father. Samuel D. Riddle, ...

who named it for his home town Glen Riddle,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

which in turn had been named for his grandfather. In addition to the stables and large mansion, Glen Riddle Farm had a one-mile racing oval for training

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 ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

s. The farm was home to

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

racehorses

Man o' War Man o' War (March 29, 1917 – November 1, 1947) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as the greatest racehorse of all time. Several sports publications, including ''The Blood-Horse'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ESPN, and t ...

, U.S. Triple Crown winner

War Admiral War Admiral (May 2, 1934 – October 30, 1959) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fourth winner of the American Triple Crown. He was also the 1937 Horse of the Year and well known as the rival of Seabiscuit in the 'Match ...

, Crusader as well as other successful thoroughbreds such as

Massachusetts Handicap The Massachusetts Handicap, frequently referred to as the "MassCap", was a flat thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and up held annually at Suffolk Downs in East Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was an ungraded stakes race run ...

winner

War Relic War Relic (1938–1963) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background A homebred of Samuel D. Riddle, his sire was Man o' War who was ranked #1 in the Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century. His dam ...

, and

American Flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the ca ...

, a son of Man o' War who won the 1925

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nickname ...

and was voted Champion 3-year-old Male Horse. As part of a program honoring important horse racing tracks and racing stables, the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

named its baggage car #5849 the "Glen Riddle Farm". Samuel D. Riddle raced horses until his death in 1951 after which his heirs took over the property. A fire in 1969 destroyed the mansion and the farm was soon abandoned, left in disrepair for more than thirty years until real estate developers acquired it and built a residential housing complex in 2004. In the mid-1920s, Samuel Riddle acquired

Faraway Farm Faraway Farm, also known as the Daniel Ropp House, is a historic home located near Martinsburg, Berkeley County, West Virginia. It was built about 1865 and is a two-story, "L"-shaped brick dwelling. It is five bays wide and the ell is four bays ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...

where he would send his broodmares along with Man o' War, American Flag, and other stallions. Glen Riddle Farm has been developed recently into a housing complex an
golf club
Glen Riddle Farm's horses won numerous important stakes races including the following prestigious U.S. Triple Crown races: *

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...

: **1937 :

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 Graded stakes race, Grade I race run over a distance of ...

: **1920 :

**1937 :

: **1920 :

**1925 :

**1926 : Crusader **1937 :

Old appearance of farm

Part of the old appearance of the property (before development began) was a large field of primarily Purple Deadnettle's, with a few trees in the middle, housing a family graveyard.

References

{{coord, 38, 21, N, 75, 9, W, region:US-MD_type:landmark, display=title American racehorse owners and breeders Owners of U.S. Thoroughbred Triple Crown winners Owners of Kentucky Derby winners Owners of Preakness Stakes winners Owners of Belmont Stakes winners Former populated places in Maryland Berlin, Maryland Horse farms in Maryland Worcester County, Maryland