He was born in 1901.[1] His father Daniel committed suicide [citation needed] when he was only fourteen years old.[1] He attended Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he roomed with George Swinebroad.[1]
He spent a year in Guatemala working for Herbert F. Schlubach at the South American Plantation Company and contracted malaria there.[1] Mr. Schlubach was married to his aunt [citation needed], Annette Combs Schlubach. He returned to Kentucky and worked for the American Rolling Mill Company in Ashland.[1] He moved to Huntington, West Virginia and started his own business, the Combs-Ritter Insurance Company.
In 1937, he bought 127 acres in Lexington from Daniel Swigert and called it Spendthrift Farm in honor of Spendthift.[1] Together with his uncle Brownwell Combs, he owned Myrtle Charm and Myrtlewood.[1] He was also the breeder of Majestic Prince, later owned by Frank M. McMahon.[2] Later, he advised Elizabeth Arden (1884–1966) of Maine Chance Farm about which horses to purchase, including Star Pilot, Beaugay, Jet Pilot, etc.[1] He also revitalized the syndication of racehorses, buying Nashua through a syndication for US$1.25 million.[3]
He married Dorothy Enslow, daughter of the founder of the Columbia Gas and Electric Company, in 1924.[1] He died in 1990.[4]
