Gertrude T. Widener
Encyclopedia
Gertrude T. Douglas Widener (July 8, 1897 - February 3, 1970) was an American socialite
and a successful Thoroughbred
racehorse
owner and breeder. Born in Albany, New York
, she was the daughter of New York State Senator
, Curtis N. Douglas.
Known to her friends as "Gertie," she married first to Frederick Peabody, a successful men's clothing manufacturer with whom she adopted a daughter, Joan, the natural daughter of Edward C. Johnson and Alice Brandt. The couple divorced in 1924 and in November of that year Gertrude remarried to prominent Philadelphian Peter Arrell Brown Widener II, son and heir of Joseph E. Widener
, a family heavily involved in the sport of Thoroughbred
horse racing
. In 1925 Joseph Widener had the stables at his Lynnewood Hall
estate converted into a home for Peter and Gertrude.
Gertrude Widener and her husband both owned Thoroughbred racehorses and after his death in 1948 she continued to own, breed and race Thoroughbreds with considerable success both in the United States and in France
where Joseph Widener maintained a second home and operated a racing stable. By the mid-1950s, Gertrude Widener was living almost full time in Paris
and remained there until 1968 when her failing health led to her returning home to New York City
in 1968 where she died from cancer
on February 3, 1970. Her remains were returned to Philadelphia for burial next to her husband, Peter.
won the British Classic 1,000 Guineas Stakes in 1966 and that same year her filly Right Away won the French equivalent and most important race for three-year-old fillies in France, the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches
.
Gertrude Widener's horses twice won the Prix Maurice de Gheest
(1963, 1964), Critérium International
(1962, 1964), Prix Robert Papin
(1957, 1959), Prix Daphnis
(1936, 1967). She also won the Prix Morny
three times (1957, 1961, 1964) and through 2009, she still holds the record for most wins in the Prix de Fontainebleau
with four (1961, 1962, 1965, 1968), plus the record for most wins in the Prix du Bois
with five (1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963).
During her thirty plus years in racing, Gertrude Widener bred or raced four champions:
Gertrude Widener notably bred and raced Dan Cupid, sire of Sea Bird
whose 145 Timeform
rating is the highest in flat racing
history. Her daughter Ella and husband Cortright Wetherill owned Happy Hill Farm
in Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
and bred Thoroughbreds including the very important sire, Raise a Native
.
Socialite
A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....
and a successful Thoroughbred
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...
racehorse
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...
owner and breeder. Born in Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, she was the daughter of New York State Senator
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
, Curtis N. Douglas.
Known to her friends as "Gertie," she married first to Frederick Peabody, a successful men's clothing manufacturer with whom she adopted a daughter, Joan, the natural daughter of Edward C. Johnson and Alice Brandt. The couple divorced in 1924 and in November of that year Gertrude remarried to prominent Philadelphian Peter Arrell Brown Widener II, son and heir of Joseph E. Widener
Joseph E. Widener
Joseph Early Widener was a wealthy American art collector who was a founding benefactor of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C...
, a family heavily involved in the sport of Thoroughbred
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...
. In 1925 Joseph Widener had the stables at his Lynnewood Hall
Lynnewood Hall
Lynnewood Hall is a 110-room Neoclassical Revival mansion in Elkins Park, Montgomery County designed by architect Horace Trumbauer for industrialist Peter A. B. Widener between 1897 and 1900...
estate converted into a home for Peter and Gertrude.
Gertrude Widener and her husband both owned Thoroughbred racehorses and after his death in 1948 she continued to own, breed and race Thoroughbreds with considerable success both in the United States and 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...
where Joseph Widener maintained a second home and operated a racing stable. By the mid-1950s, Gertrude Widener was living almost full time in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and remained there until 1968 when her failing health led to her returning home to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1968 where she died from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
on February 3, 1970. Her remains were returned to Philadelphia for burial next to her husband, Peter.
Thoroughbred racing
Gertrude Widener owned Ampola who became the foundation mare for her French breeding operation. The principal trainer of her racing stable based in France was Etienne Pollet who remained with her until she dispersed her stable in 1968. Her colt Hula DancerHula Dancer
Hula Dancer was a French Thoroughbred filly racehorse. She was sired by Native Dancer, the 1952 and 1954 United States Horse of the Year and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee...
won the British Classic 1,000 Guineas Stakes in 1966 and that same year her filly Right Away won the French equivalent and most important race for three-year-old fillies in France, the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches
Poule d'Essai des Pouliches
The Poule d'Essai des Pouliches, sometimes referred to as the French 1,000 Guineas, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies...
.
Gertrude Widener's horses twice won the Prix Maurice de Gheest
Prix Maurice de Gheest
The Prix Maurice de Gheest is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,300 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August.-History:...
(1963, 1964), Critérium International
Critérium International
The Critérium International is a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932....
(1962, 1964), Prix Robert Papin
Prix Robert Papin
The Prix Robert Papin is a Group 2 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Maisons-Laffitte over a distance of 1,100 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July.-History:...
(1957, 1959), Prix Daphnis
Prix Daphnis
The Prix Daphnis is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and geldings. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,850 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June or early July.-History:The Prix Daphnis was established in 1921 alongside...
(1936, 1967). She also won the Prix Morny
Prix Morny
The Prix Morny is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,200 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August.-History:...
three times (1957, 1961, 1964) and through 2009, she still holds the record for most wins in the Prix de Fontainebleau
Prix de Fontainebleau
The Prix de Fontainebleau is a Group 3 flat horse race in France which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in April.-History:...
with four (1961, 1962, 1965, 1968), plus the record for most wins in the Prix du Bois
Prix du Bois
The Prix du Bois is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Chantilly over a distance of 1,000 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June or early July.-History:...
with five (1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963).
During her thirty plus years in racing, Gertrude Widener bred or raced four champions:
- PolynesianPolynesian (horse)Polynesian was an American Thoroughbred racehorse owned by Gertrude T. Widener, of the prominent Widener family of Philadelphia, and bred by her father-in-law Joseph E...
(b. 1942) - multiple stakes winner including the 1945 Preakness StakesPreakness StakesThe Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
. Voted 1947 American Champion Sprint Horse. Sire of U.S. Racing Hall of FameNational Museum of Racing and Hall of FameThe 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...
inductee, Native DancerNative DancerNative Dancer , nicknamed the Grey Ghost, was one of the most celebrated and accomplished Thoroughbred racehorses in history, the first horse made famous through the medium of television. He was one of the best horses produced in USA after the war...
. - Prudent (b. 1959) - wins included the 1961 Prix de la SalamandrePrix de la SalamandreThe Prix de la Salamandre was a Group 1 flat horse race in France which was open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It was run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,400 metres , and it was scheduled to take place each year in September.-History:The event was established in 1872, and it was...
, Prix YacowlefPrix YacowlefThe Prix Yacowlef is a Listed flat horse race in France open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,000 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late June or early July....
, and Prix MornyPrix MornyThe Prix Morny is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,200 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in August.-History:...
. French Champion Two-Year-Old Colt. - Hula DancerHula DancerHula Dancer was a French Thoroughbred filly racehorse. She was sired by Native Dancer, the 1952 and 1954 United States Horse of the Year and a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee...
(b. 1960) - won multiple top races in Europe including a British Classic in 1963, the 1,000 Guineas Stakes. Sold in 1968 for a European auction record price of 1.02 million French francFrench francThe franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
s. - Grey DawnGrey Dawn IIGrey Dawn was an French Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who was the only horse to ever beat the great Sea Bird. Grey Dawn was bred and raced by American Gertrude Widener, a member by marriage of the prominent racing Widener family...
(b. 1962) - wins in France included the most important race for juveniles, the Grand Critérium (1964). Voted French Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, he won in the United States before being retired to studStud (animal)A stud animal is a registered animal retained for breeding. The terms for the male of a given animal species usually imply that the animal is entire—that is, not castrated—and therefore capable of siring offspring...
duty where he was the Leading broodmare sire in North AmericaLeading broodmare sire in North AmericaThe list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of broodmares in North America for each year since 1924. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won during the year by racehorses which were foaled by a daughter of the sire.-----References:* *...
in 1990.
Gertrude Widener notably bred and raced Dan Cupid, sire of Sea Bird
Sea Bird II
Sea Bird II is considered by many to be the greatest post-war European flat racehorse. His Timeform rating of 145 is still the highest ever flat figure awarded by that publication. Sea Bird II is most famous for his breathtaking victories in two of Europe's most prestigious races: the Epsom Derby...
whose 145 Timeform
Timeform
Timeform Publications is a publishing company in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England founded in 1948 to provide information to fans, bettors, and others involved in the horse racing industry...
rating is the highest in flat racing
Flat racing
Flat racing is a form of Thoroughbred horse racing which is run over a level track at a predetermined distance. It differs from steeplechase racing which is run over hurdles...
history. Her daughter Ella and husband Cortright Wetherill owned Happy Hill Farm
Happy Hill Farm
Happy Hill Farm is a Thoroughbred horse racing operation in Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It was originally owned by Cortright Wetherill and his wife Ella A...
in Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Newtown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States . Newtown Township is the oldest township in Delaware County. The population was 11,700 as of the 2000 census.-History:...
and bred Thoroughbreds including the very important sire, Raise a Native
Raise a Native
Raise a Native was an undefeated Thoroughbred racehorse that was named 1963 champion two-year-old colt in the Turf and Sport Digest poll. He sired 74 stakes winners, including Majestic Prince and Alydar...
.