05/09/2020
Preston E. Madden
85, met his Epiphany, Tuesday, May 5, in Lexington, Ky.
He and late wife, Anita, owned the world famous Hamburg Place on Wi******er Rd in Lexington, founded in the 1890s by his late grandfather, German native and horseman the great John Madden. It was named for the first great race horse he had as well as his native Hamburg, Germany.
At Hamburg, a plethora of champion thoroughbreds have been bred, owned, raced, and sold, including the highly regarded first triple crown winner, Sir Barton, which is the name of the main thoroughfare going thru the circa 2000 acres formerly the farm, which is now Hamburg Place, a residential and shopping mecca built some 30 years ago. The streets are named after the famous horses from the farm, including Sir Barton, Alysheba, Flying Ebony, Paul Jones Grey Lag; Kentucky Derby producing broodmare, Plaudit; the 1893 K D winner, Barton place, War Admiral the1937 Ky Derby winner and the second triple crown winner.
Madden took the reins of Hamburg Place in the mid 50's, shortly after graduating from U K and marrying Anita. For some six decades, she, an Ashland, Ky native. They met at UK and she was known for her famous Derby Eve
parties at the farm, under a huge tent placed on the former Polo Fields, attracting the locals and celebs from across America for some 30 plus years until a few years ago.
Probably the most famous horse bred and under his watch of the farm was the 1987 Kentucky Derby winner, Alysheba.
Back when Preston was a youngster for many years, they had some hackneys; and a herd of Shetland Ponies, very popular thru the 1950s as a family pet and harness show ponies. The farm was also known for its famous Standardbreds in the early years including the Standardbred mare, Nancy Hanks, a famous blood bay trotting mare, named for Abe Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks, foaled in the 1850’s.
She along with other Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds, are buried in the famous cemetery at Hamburg place, which sadly had to be all moved with the encroachment of development along Wi******er Road where the original plot was located. The graves were exhumed, the stones moved and placed in a horse show design cemetery along Sir Barton Way as you enter this shopping mecca. Where the old cemetery was located for over a century, is the driveway to a Lowe's and Wal-Mart Supercenter.
Madden graduated from the Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana.
He is survived by a son in Lexington, Patrick, and wife, and two grand daughters.
A celebration of life will be announced later. The death was not Chinese Virus related.
