Charles J. Cella
Encyclopedia
Charles J. Cella is president of Southern Real Estate and Financial Company, an executive in the American Thoroughbred
horse racing
industry, and a racehorse owner.
Raised in St. Louis, where he still makes his home, Cella studied at Washington and Lee University
in Lexington, Virginia
, graduating with a B.A. degree in political science
. He was a nationally ranked squash
player and is a Life Member of the United States Squash Racquets Association
.
The Southern Real Estate and Financial Company owns commercial properties in St. Louis and St. Louis County, including a handful of office buildings; the land at Kiener Plaza, which is leased long-term to the city of St. Louis; and several shopping centers: the Market Place and Clayprice Shopping Center in Ladue and the Shops at Clarkson Corner in Chesterfield. It also owns Busch’s Grove, long a restaurant and more recently a grocery store.
Cella is a member of the third generation to head the Cella family's Oaklawn Jockey Club Inc., which owns and operates Oaklawn Park Race Track racetrack in Hot Springs, Arkansas
. He took over as its president in 1968 on the death of his father, John G. Cella. John Cella had also owned Fort Erie Racetrack in Fort Erie, Ontario
, Canada
, but sold it in the 1950s to E. P. Taylor
. An innovator, Charles J. Cella led Oaklawn Park Race Track to even greater success, including growth unequaled by any other U.S. racing facility. In 2005, the Cella family and Oaklawn Park received the Eclipse Award of Merit
.
Oaklawn Park is a member track with the Thoroughbred Racing Association; Cella served as the association's president in 1975-76.
Cella owns racehorses, most notably Northern Spur
, who was a colt racing in France
in 1994, when Cella purchased him from his Japan
ese owner, Tomohiro Wada. Conditioned in the U.S. by Racing Hall of Fame
trainer
Ron McAnally
, Northern Spur won the 1995 Breeders' Cup Turf
.
Cella is chairman of the Knowlton Awards for Excellence at St. Louis' Barnes Hospital
. He is an honorary trustee of the Schepens Eye Research Institute
, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School
and the world's largest independent eye research institute.
In 1999, he opened Truffles restaurant in Ladue, a St. Louis suburb.
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
industry, and a racehorse owner.
Raised in St. Louis, where he still makes his home, Cella studied at Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...
in Lexington, Virginia
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
, graduating with a B.A. degree in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
. He was a nationally ranked squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
player and is a Life Member of the United States Squash Racquets Association
U.S. Squash
U.S. Squash is the national governing body for the sport of squash in the United States. U.S. Squash was previously known as the United States Squash Racquets Association . The organization is headquartered in New York City and is a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee. U.S. Squash owns and...
.
The Southern Real Estate and Financial Company owns commercial properties in St. Louis and St. Louis County, including a handful of office buildings; the land at Kiener Plaza, which is leased long-term to the city of St. Louis; and several shopping centers: the Market Place and Clayprice Shopping Center in Ladue and the Shops at Clarkson Corner in Chesterfield. It also owns Busch’s Grove, long a restaurant and more recently a grocery store.
Cella is a member of the third generation to head the Cella family's Oaklawn Jockey Club Inc., which owns and operates Oaklawn Park Race Track racetrack in Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
. He took over as its president in 1968 on the death of his father, John G. Cella. John Cella had also owned Fort Erie Racetrack in Fort Erie, Ontario
Fort Erie, Ontario
Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly across the river from Buffalo, New York....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, but sold it in the 1950s to E. P. Taylor
E. P. Taylor
Edward Plunket Taylor was a Canadian business tycoon and famous breeder of thoroughbred race horses. Known to his friends as "Eddie", he is universally recorded as "E. P...
. An innovator, Charles J. Cella led Oaklawn Park Race Track to even greater success, including growth unequaled by any other U.S. racing facility. In 2005, the Cella family and Oaklawn Park received the Eclipse Award of Merit
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
.
Oaklawn Park is a member track with the Thoroughbred Racing Association; Cella served as the association's president in 1975-76.
Cella owns racehorses, most notably Northern Spur
Northern Spur
Northern Spur was a Thoroughbred racehorse who raced in France and the United States. Bred at Robert Sangster's Swettenham Stud in Swettenham, Cheshire, England, he was a son of the champion sire Sadler's Wells and out of the mare, Fruition...
, who was a colt racing in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1994, when Cella purchased him from his Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese owner, Tomohiro Wada. Conditioned in the U.S. by Racing Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
Ron McAnally
Ron McAnally
Ronald L. McAnally is an American Hall of Fame trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing. Called "one of the most honored and respected of North American trainers" by Thoroughbred Times Co., Inc, as a child, he and his four siblings were placed in an orphanage following the death of their mother...
, Northern Spur won the 1995 Breeders' Cup Turf
Breeders' Cup Turf
The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current title sponsor is Emirates Airlines.The forerunner...
.
Cella is chairman of the Knowlton Awards for Excellence at St. Louis' Barnes Hospital
Barnes Hospital
Barnes Hospital, also known as Barnes Convalescent Home, in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England, is a former hospital. It is located near to the A34 road and is in the middle of the complex interchange between the A34, M60 motorway and M56 motorway. Whilst the hospital was constructed in a rural...
. He is an honorary trustee of the Schepens Eye Research Institute
Charles Schepens
Charles L. Schepens was an influential Belgian ophthalmologist, regarded by many in the profession as "the father of modern retinal surgery", and member of the French Resistance....
, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
and the world's largest independent eye research institute.
In 1999, he opened Truffles restaurant in Ladue, a St. Louis suburb.