Lexington, KY – Martha Nichols Brown of Hillsboro Beach, Fla., who owned and operated Dunroven Stud in Lexington, Ky., died Sunday (Aug. 13) of complications of a stroke. She was 85.

Martha Nichols Brown died Sunday (Aug. 13). Joe Kyle photo.

Mrs. Brown was the daughter of Harold Willis Nichols Jr. and Katherine Edwards Nichols, who for many years owned and operated Walnut Hall Farm in Lexington. Mrs. Brown spent a great deal of her youth at Walnut Hall and during most of her life lived on Dunroven Stud–property that at one time was a part of historic Walnut Hall–with her husband, Steve.

Dunroven Stud bred scores of horses over the years, among them 2012 Kentucky Futurity winner My MVP; 1997 Hambletonian Oaks champion Must Be Victory; 1998 Merrie Annabelle winner Rae; the stakes-winning filly Bold Dreamer, the dam of Hambletonian elimination winner Pampered Princess; stakes winner Bramasole, dam of $1.3 million winner Caprice Hill; and the pacer Cam’s Rocket, today best known as the sire of trotting stallion Googoo Gaagaa.

In addition to breeding horses, Mrs. Brown was active in industry leadership positions, serving on the board of the U.S. Trotting Association, the Kentucky Standardbred Association, Horseman Publishing Company (publisher of The Horseman And Fair World magazine), and the Stable of Memories (the Round Barn, located at the entrance to the Red Mile). In 2009, she was inducted into the Kentucky Harness Horsemen’s Association Hall of Fame. She and her husband were regular attendees at the Hambletonian at the Meadowlands and Grand Circuit racing meets in the Midwest.

Born May 25, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio, she was a graduate of The Masters School, Dobbs Ferry, NY, and Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY. She was a former teacher at the Indian Hill School in Cincinnati, OH and at Sayre School in Lexington.

As an advocate of theater and the arts, Mrs. Brown served on the boards of Lexington Children’s Theater, Kentucky Theater Association and the Kentucky Arts and Education Association. More recently, she was past president of the Landmark Condominium Association in Hillsboro Beach, FL, where she lived for many years until her death. She was a longtime breeder of Charolais cattle, serving on boards of the Kentucky Charolais Association and the Ohio Valley Charolais Association. She was a member of Spindletop Hall in Lexington, the Boca Country Club in Florida, and the Maidstone Club in East Hampton, NY.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 51 years, Stephen M. Brown. She is survived by her sisters, Katherine N. Sautter (James), Margaret N. Jewett (Alan Leavitt), Elizabeth M. Nichols (George Lee), numerous nephews and nieces, as well as great- nephews and nieces. Mrs. Brown took great pleasure in her family and enjoyed offering advice and wisdom to them throughout the years. She followed their successes and achievements avidly.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday (Aug. 27), at 3 p.m. at Mt Horeb Presbyterian Church on Iron Works Pike in Lexington. Memorial donations may be made to the Stable of Memories, P.O. Box 11073, Lexington, KY 40512-1073 or to the charity of one’s choice.