August 2018 Member of the Month: Nancy Polk

Nancy Polk was a long-time TOBA member and owner of Normandy Farm in Lexington, Ky.

Nancy Polk was a long-time TOBA member and owner of Normandy Farm in Lexington, Ky. Earlier this month, Mrs. Polk was selected as TOBA’s August Member of the Month, but sadly, she passed away last week. The following story is our tribute to Mrs. Polk.

Sometimes, one mare can change an entire farm’s trajectory. In the case of Nancy Polk’s Normandy Farm, that mare was the late Miss Hot Salsa. In the name of Normandy Farm–a centuries-old property located in Lexington, Kentucky–Polk bred two life-changing foals from Miss Hot Salsa: 2015 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) victor Mongolian Saturday and four-year-old Daddy’s Lil Darling, most recently winner of the July 7 Modesty Handicap (G3T) at Arlington Park.

Racing as a homebred, Daddy’s Lil Darling scored in the 2016 Pocahontas Stakes (G2), finishing off the board in the 14 Hands Winery Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). The following year, the Scat Daddy filly captured the American Oaks (G1T). She also ran second in three grade 1 races last year, including Kentucky Oaks (G1). In addition to her 2018 Modesty win, Daddy’s Lil Darling has placed in two graded stakes this year.

At the 2003 Keeneland November sale, Polk purchased Miss Hot Salsa, then aged eight and in foal to Mr. Greeley, for $100,000. With the help of bloodstock advisor Les Brinsfield, Polk struck it rich with the Houston mare. “It was a combination of pedigree and looks” that drew them to Miss Hot Salsa, she recalled. At the time, Polk added, “I was upgrading my broodmare band and she was the first mare that I paid $100,000 for. She was my first big investment and obviously it turned out to be a really good one.”

Polk said, “I loved horses, but I loved all animals. I’m just an animal lover and horses were part of that. Her husband, Ralph, sadly passed away in 1985. In the ensuing decade, she nurtured a growing love of Thoroughbreds. She added, “Well, actually, I lived in Michigan for a long time and sort of had done all I was going to do there and I’d been coming down to Kentucky to visit friends and just fell in love with it.”

One day, Polk told a friend, “‘Well, let’s go look at horse farms.'” She struck it rich, adding, “And we did and Normandy was the first one I put my foot on and fell in love with it.” Polk bought Normandy Farm, formerly part of the famed Elmendorf property, in 1997, and hasn’t looked back since. Polk estimates the current number of horses at Normandy at 46, 15 of which are her own broodmares. Only a few of the stock are boarders.

Now, Polk has added a new chapter of success to Normandy Farm, a place that the sire and dam of Man o’ War, Fair Play and Mahubah, once called home. She said, “It’s just a wonderful farm and there have been a lot of historic horses that have come off of this farm, and I always feel like a caretaker pretty much, that takes care of the farm now for the people that come on along and it’s been a pleasure to do so.”

Adding to that prestige was Mongolian Saturday, whom Miss Hot Salsa foaled to the cover of 2008 Haskell Invitational Handicap (G1) winner Any Given Saturday. To produce Daddy’s Lil Darling, Miss Hot Salsa visited the court of Scat Daddy, also sire of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. Polk recalled, “The Any Given Saturday was a breeding that was recommended by Les, and Scat Daddy was one I’d wanted to do because I really liked the sire. He was just coming into prominence then and you could just tell he was going it be a great sire.”

Polk sold Mongolian Saturday to eventual owner Mongolian Stable and trainer Enebish Ganbat. She enjoyed his success from afar, saying, “Well, it was interesting to watch him. Of course, I’d sold him, so I didn’t have him around all the time. We did certainly keep track of him and it was a surprise–and a very nice one, at that–that he did so well.” Of his Breeders’ Cup win, she added, “I just couldn’t quite believe it was happening[…]”

After selling Mongolian Saturday, Polk decided to keep a daughter of Miss Hot Salsa, saying, “I wanted to keep the bloodlines going. She’s from good bloodlines and we knew we wouldn’t get a whole lot more produced out of Miss Hot Salsa[…]” The filly she kept became Daddy’s Lil Darling. Polk observed, “I think we could tell that Daddy’s Lil Darling was going to be precocious, which I don’t think I realized with Mongolian Saturday. He sort of came on later, but you could tell that Daddy’s Lil Darling was going to be something special.” For Polk, that special filly and her family have added another gilded layer to her farm’s legacy.