Dr. Fager
Dr. Fager was a homebred for Tartan Stable, owned by William L. McKnight (chairman of the board of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co.) and managed by Hall of Famer John Nerud. Nerud, who owned 25% of Dr. Fager and was his trainer, developed Tartan Stable from "literally nothing" into a prominent racing stable. Dr. Fager was from the first crop of Tartan Farm's Rough'n Tumble, a good racehorse with soundness problems and dubious breeding. Thanks in part to Dr. Fager, Rough'n Tumble developed into a leading regional sire in Florida, preserving the now-rare sire line of Plaudit, the Kentucky Derby winner of 1898. Dr. Fager's dam Aspidistra earned only two wins during her racing career and could have been claimed for only $6,500 in her last start. As a broodmare though, she produced 10 winners, including two Hall of Famers: Dr. Fager and his younger half-sister Ta Wee.