Sigmund Sommer (June 19, 1916 – April 30, 1979) was a Brooklyn, New York–based building contractor, philanthropist, and racehorse owner of Sham, the horse that placed second to Secretariat in two legs of the 1973 U.S.
[2] By the 1970s, Sommer had expanded his real estate holdings to include shopping malls and commercial and residential properties in and around the metropolitan New York City area.
The stable was among the leading money earners for ten consecutive years,[4] earning over $1.5 million in 1971, a record, and beating that amount in 1972.
Racing Hall of Fame trainer Frank "Pancho" Martin, Sommer enjoyed considerable success that included winning the Display Handicap five times (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1978).
Sham, the Sommer stable’s most famous horse, purchased from Claiborne Farm after the death of Arthur B. Hancock, Jr. in 1972,[6] and trained by Pancho Martin, holds the unofficial record for the second-fastest time in the Kentucky Derby when he placed second to Secretariat, clocking in unofficially in 1:59 4/5.