Vanderbilt, Whitney gain entry to Hall of Fame as Pillars of the Turf

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt and John Hay Whitney, two owners and breeders whose impact on racing stretched into the sport’s corporate suites, will be inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame as the two latest “Pillars of the Turf” inductees, the Hall of Fame announced on Wednesday.

Vanderbilt (1912-99) and Whitney (1904-82) will become the fifth and sixth members of the Hall of Fame as Pillars of the Turf, a category created in 2013 to honor “individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to Thoroughbred racing at the highest national level.” Previous inductees have been Paul Mellon, August Belmont II, E.R. Bradley, and E.P. Taylor.

The Vanderbilt and Whitney names are most prominent in New York racing, where two major stakes races are named in honor of their families. Vanderbilt was associated with Sagamore Farm, a Maryland property started by his family, whereas Whitney hailed from the family that raced in the famed Greentree Stud silks.

Over his lifetime, Vanderbilt bred 77 stakes winners, including Native Dancer, who won 21 of 22 career starts from 1952-54 while racing in the sport’s heyday. The first horse Vanderbilt purchased, at the age of 21 in 1933, was Discovery, who won 27 races from 63 starts en route to the Hall of Fame.

At the age of 24, Vanderbilt purchased Pimlico Race Course and was credited with brokering the track’s 1938 match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral, an event that captivated the U.S. sporting world. In 1940, he began running Belmont Park before serving in the Navy in World War II. After retiring from track management, he returned to the New York Racing Association as chairman in 1970. He was presented with the Eclipse Award of Merit in 1994, the sport’s highest honor.

Whitney, an heir of the influential Greentree racing operation, founded the American Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association, the forerunner to the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, and was elected to The Jockey Club at age 24 and was a longtime steward of the organization. He also served on the New York Racing Commission when the state’s racing was reorganized in 1934.

Although Greentree campaigned 91 stakes winners from its expansive family operation during his era, Whitney’s most famous horse was a private purchase, Tom Fool, who was voted Horse of the Year in 1953 after winning all 10 of his races that year.

Vanderbilt and Whitney will be inducted at the Hall of Fame ceremony Aug. 7 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., with this year’s other inductees.