Daniel W. Scott II, owner of Daniel W. Scott II Farm near Lexington, died Sept. 3 at the age of 94.
Scott, who began his farm operation in 1947, was the breeder and/or owner of about 10 stakes winners alone and in partnership. His first added-money winner as a breeder, Gushing Oil, won the 1952 Blue Grass Stakes, the Arkansas Derby, and the Louisiana Derby. Gushing Oil gave it a try in that year’s Kentucky Derby but finished unplaced.
Scott’s farm was the birthplace of a number of prominent horses, including Alfred G. Vanderbilt’s Horse of the Year Native Dancer and Isabel Dodge Sloane’s champion Bowl of Flowers.
A Harrodsburg, Ky., native, Scott came from a family of successful Kentucky horsemen. His father, Harrie B. Scott, managed Faraway Farm near Lexington, where Man o’ War and War Admiral stood at stud. The younger Scott’s grandfather, Dan W. Scott, was the breeder of 11 stakes winners.
Daniel W. Scott II, who attended the U.S. Naval Academy for a year and later graduated from the University of Kentucky, served as an officer in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II. He was president of the Thoroughbred Club of America in 1951-1952 and a lifetime member of the Keeneland Association. He also was a founding member of Idle Hour Country Club in Lexington.
Scott’s survivors include sons Daniel W. Scott III and Wade Thornton Scott, who operate Daniel W. Scott II Farm; a brother, Harry B. Scott Jr., owner of nearby Shandon Farm; and Daniel III's son, Daniel IV, who assists his father and uncle in the farm's operation.