Maryland Family Has Triple Crown Dreams
BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) -- A Maryland family rich in the horse racing industry hopes to one day breed a Triple Crown winner.
In the 1890s, Vincent Allen said his family made their first big mark.
He said it all starts with relative Dudley Allen in Lexington, Kentucky, who held a 40-year career in the horse racing industry.
"My grandfather owned the horse and trained the horse that won the Kentucky Derby 1891, Dudley Allen," he said.
Dudley won with jockey Isaac Murphy and thoroughbred horse Kingman.
Through the craft being passed down from generation to generation, Vincent learned the trade.
"According to the elders, I was picked for this," Vincent said. "Since '95, I've been running things."
With decades of experience, Vincent is now trying to break the glass ceiling by breeding a foal that he hopes will eventually be a Triple Crown Winner.
"Winning that Triple Crown," Vincent said. "That's the main goal though. One of the main goals."
Vincent became the owner of a 15-year-old horse about a year and a half ago who is being bred with Divining Rod in hopes of producing a horse that can sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes.
The horse's name is Shannon Brooke.
Shannon Brooke is a retired racehorse, equestrian jumper, and fox hunter who is being kept at Willowdale Farm in Baltimore County until she conceives, Vincent said.
"Now she's on her fourth career, which is going to give us a foal so I can win the Triple Crown," he said.
Vincent believes his family background and personal experience through the years will make this dream a reality. A gift he hopes to continue passing down.
"I'm hoping the grandsons take to the game, to the biz, to the lifestyle, and then I can just lay back and watch and smile like they used to do to me," Vincent said.
