Belle Meade Plantation has been in business for over 200 years. The founder John Harding became interested in breeding and racing horses. Additionally, he was the first in the state of Tennessee to use auctions to sell horses. He was known throughout the racing community as raising the best thoroughbreds in the business, to date, most of the champions are a direct bloodline to horses bred at Belle Meade. Successfully, those values and the history of the plantation are the driving factors in the non-profit organization that exists today. However, non-profit organizations such as Belle Meade face significant adversities, especially during recessionary periods. For instance, during the decline in the economy donations from corporations decrease,
