Women Horse Owners

Laska Durnell; 1904 Elwood: The first woman to start a horse in, and win the Kentucky Derby, she did not tell her trainer/husband, Charles, that she had nominated Elwood to the Derby.

Rosa M. Hoots; 1924 Black Gold: On his deathbed, her husband requested she have his beloved mare Useeit bred to the famed stallion Black Toney. The offspring was named Black Gold for the oil that was found on her land. She was so confident of a Derby win that she supposedly brought a box of cigars to the track to present to track president, Col. Matt Winn.

Mrs. John D. "Fannie" Hertz; 1928 Reigh Count, 1943 Count Fleet: Two starters and two winners, she successfully operated Stoner Creek Farm in Bourbon County, Kentucky. Her husband had tried unsuccessfully to sell Triple Crown winner Count Fleet as a yearling for $4,500.

Helen Hay Whitney; 1931 Twenty Grand, 1942 Shut Out: Known as the "First Lady of the Turf," she was the first woman to win the Derby twice.

Isabel Dodge Sloane; 1934 Cavalcade: Raced under the title of Brookmeade Stable, she purchased Cavalcade as a yearling for $1,200.

Ethel V. Mars; 1940 Gallahadion: Widow of the famed candy manufacturer, she campaigned under the name Milky Way Farms and invested over $500,000 to develop her racing stable over a six-year period. She did not witness the 1940 Derby due to a severe cold and listened to the race on radio.

Elizabeth Arden Graham; 1947 Jet Pilot: Known as the cosmetics queen due to her business success with a line of Elizabeth Arden products. Her stable was named Maine Chance Farm. The year before her Derby win, she lost 22 two-year-olds in a barn fire at Arlington. Jet Pilot survived because he had been shipped to Churchill where he won the first race on Derby Day 1946.

Lucille Wright Markey; 1952 Hill Gail, 1957 Iron Liege, 1958 Tim Tam, 1968 Forward Pass: She took over the leadership of Calumet Farm after the death of her husband, Calumet founder Warren Wright, and accounted for four of the farm's eight Derby victories.

Katherine Price; 1961 Carry Back: After the death of her beloved horse in 1983, which was trained by her husband Jack, she made arrangements to have his ashes be reinterred at the Kentucky Derby Museum in 1985.

Ada L. Rice; 1965 Lucky Debonair: Active in racing since the mid-forties, she and her husband operated Danada Farm, with all the horses racing in her name.

Penny Chenery; 1972 Riva Ridge, 1973 Secretariat: She was placed in charge of her father's operation, Meadow Stable, in 1972. Following his death, January 3, 1973, she was forced to syndicate Secretariat in order to raise enough money to settle the tax debt on her father's estate.

Karen Taylor; 1977 Seattle Slew: She and her husband entered into racing in 1973 with the purchase of two yearling fillies at Keeneland. Karen had formerly served as an airline stewardess before her marriage to Mickey Taylor.

Diana Firestone; 1980 Genuine Risk: The most recent of four women owners to have won both the Oaks and Derby. In the arrangement with her husband, fillies raced under her name and the colts/geldings raced under the name of her husband Bert. Three fillies have won the Derby, but Genuine Risk was the only one owned by a woman.

Elizabeth Keck; 1986 Ferdinand: She and her former husband, Howard, heir to Superior Oil Company, had an arrangement where horses would race under her name and he was listed as breeder.

Frances Genter; 1990 Unbridled: As a 92-year-old when she won the Derby, she holds the distinction as the oldest winning owner. She and her husband entered racing in 1940 when they bought their first yearling at Saratoga.