William L. Brann
William Leavitt Brann | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1877 |
Died | April 11, 1951 Boynton Beach, Florida, United States |
Education | Indiana University |
Occupation(s) | Advertising executive, Racehorse owner/breeder |
Known for | Challedon, Gallorette |
Board member of | W. L. Brann Advertising Agency |
Spouse | Mabel Vreeland |
Children | 1) William Leavitt Jr. (1916-1998), 2) Mary Elizabeth |
William Leavitt Brann (c. 1877 – April 11, 1951) was an American businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder.
Born in Washington, Indiana, William Brann graduated from Indiana University Bloomington and moved to New York City where he founded the W. L. Brann Advertising Agency, serving national clients such as Montgomery Ward.
Thoroughbred racing
In partnership with Robert Stanley Castle, William Brann owned Branncastle Farm in Walkersville in Frederick County, Maryland. Among the successful horses they bred was Challedon, the 1939 and 1940 American Horse of the Year and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee. Challedon became the first Maryland-bred and Maryland-owned winner of Maryland's Preakness Stakes since Cloverbrook 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
Willam and Mabel Brann maintained a winter home in Boynton Beach, Florida where he died in 1951 at the age of seventy-three.