Bedford's Sunnyfield Farm Sold Tuesday For Record-Smashing $30.675M

BEDFORD, NY — If you have had your eye on the famed Sunnyfield Farm on over 214 acres, with seven barns with 82 stalls, indoor and outdoor riding rings, over 100 acres of paddocks, a 3,864-square-foot main residence, two caretaker cottages and a manager's house, the horse has already left the barn — so to speak.

Property records reveal that Sunnyfield was sold on Tuesday for a record-shattering $30.675 million, which is less than half of its original asking price of $65 million when first put on the market in September 2022.

Tuesday's sale is the highest ever recorded in Bedford real estate history, according to Sotheby's International Realty.

The Town of Bedford has previously referred to Sunnyfield as "the essence of Bedford's character," differentiating the town from surrounding communities such as Chappaqua or Armonk.

"One of the first things you may see upon entering Bedford is Sunnyfield Farm, 230 acres of rolling pastures with yellow stables and grazing horses," the Town of Bedford said on its website. "Sunnyfield houses several barns for lessons and competitive training. It is also a leading thoroughbred breeding farm. Sunnyfield foals have gone on to run in the Kentucky Derby, and in the spring of 2017 welcomed two foals sired by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah."

According to The Wall Street Journal, the new owners also breed and race horses, and plan on keeping the property running as an equestrian estate.

The listing, by Krissy Blake of Sotheby's International Realty, described Sunnyfield Farm as being "unrivalled in its scope, beauty and prime caliber," on "214+ acres of pastoral rolling countryside with verdant pastures, woodlands and two stream-fed ponds, bordering the Guard Hill Preserve and [Bedford Riding Lanes Association] trail network, right by the charming village center."

According to Sotheby's, the property is an "ideal family compound... epitomizing the appeal of Bedford’s lifestyle and equestrian traditions, and extraordinary by every measure, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

The farm was first established as a multi-discipline equestrian center by A&P heiress Joan McIntosh, until the Nielsen family (along with three other families) bought the farm in 1976, according to Mansion Global.

The Nielsens eventually became the sole owners of the farm, and for almost five decades, "have been proud stewards of this acclaimed thoroughbred breeding farm and competitive training site for Olympians," according to Sotheby's.

Sandy Nielsen Baumann, who owned the property with her mother and siblings, told Mansion Global that Sunnyfield has also been used in several Hollywood films, including the 1998 movie "Stepmom," starring Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon.

Baumann also told Mansion Global that the Nielsen family decided to sell the property because the siblings are now spread out across the country and do not use the property as much as they used to.

Annual taxes w/ agricultural exemptions are estimated to be $169,812, and the property is zoned for the Bedford school district.

You can watch a Sotheby's video of Sunnyfield Farm here.