A SAM HUFF LEGACY:
The West Virginia Breeders Classic on Oct. 8
Photo © by Vicky Moon
Carol Holden, president of the West Virginia Breeders Classics, with West Virginia native and NFL Hall of Famer, the late Sam Huff, co-founded the Classics in 1987 with more than $26 million in purses through the years.
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By Bill Cauley
am Huff was the kind of a guy who never took no for an answer. A Hall of Fame middle linebacker for the New York Giants and Washington Redskins, Huff, who died last year at age 87, had a lot of influence, both in football and in horse racing circles.
He loved horses and horse racing. The West Virginia native and son of a coal miner who lived out his final years in Middleburg, was devoted to the sport. He owned horses, and was an influential figure on the horse racing scene at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in Charles Town, West Virginia. When racing officials there wanted to have a major event centered around the track, Huff took the lead and was instrumental in helping create the West Virginia Breeders Classic racing series, which celebrates its 36th anniversary on Saturday, Oct. 8. “Sam was the driving force behind its creation,” said Carol Holden, Huff ’s long-time partner and president of the West Virginia Breeders’ Classic. “He and I had gone to the Maryland Million before, and wondered why we couldn’t do this type of event in West Virginia. At the time, I was an administrator of the West Virginia Thoroughbred Development Fund.” Holden said she told Huff there weren’t enough horses available that were sired by West Virginia stallions to start such a venture. Still, they decided to press on. They reached out to Maryland Million officials in an effort to begin the slow process of establishing a similar event for West Virginia. “At the time, Sam was a color commentator for Redskins’ radio broadcasts,” Holden said. “He was also involved with the Marriott Corporation. With his connections, he was able to get a lot of people interested with the advertising end of it.”
MIDDLEBURG SUSTAINABLE COMMITTEE| Autumn 2022
