6. Martin Van Buren was another president who loved to gamble on horses
Martin Van Buren was a resident of New York most of his life, and thus was a member of the elite eastern society detested by Andrew Jackson, thought the two men shared a passion for horses and betting on them. Van Buren served as Jackson’s second vice president, though he was one of Jackson’s most trusted advisors during his first term, when John C. Calhoun served as vice president. Jackson and Van Buren were frequently found riding about the streets of Washington, discussing affairs of state as well as the relative merits of the horses upon which they were mounted.
As president, Van Buren purchased a small farm in Kinderhook, New York, which he named Lindenwald after the linden trees which grew in the area. Though he did not move to the farm until after his presidency, he used it to gratify his interest in cultivating new varieties of fruits and vegetables. Van Buren was a single-term president, though from his farm he campaigned for office in the elections of 1844 and 1848, before finally accepting full retirement from office. He was also interested in modernization of houses, including furnace systems and indoor bathrooms, both of which were installed at Lindenwald.