Ogden Phipps (November 26, 1908 – April 21, 2002) was an American
stockbroker
A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stock ...
,
court tennis champion and Hall of Fame member,
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. Thoroughbreds are ...
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
executive and owner/breeder, and an
art collector and
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
. In 2001, he was inducted into the International
Court Tennis Hall of Fame.
Background
Ogden Phipps was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on November 26, 1908, the son of
Henry Carnegie Phipps
Henry Carnegie Phipps (May 11, 1879 – March 21, 1953) was an American sportsman and financier, the owner of Wheatley Stable along with his wife Gladys Mills Phipps, and a member of the wealthy Phipps family.
Early life
Phipps was born on May 1 ...
and
Gladys Livingston Mills.
He was named for his mother's brother,
Ogden L. Mills
Ogden Livingston Mills (August 23, 1884October 11, 1937) was an American lawyer, businessman and politician. He served as United States Secretary of the Treasury in President Herbert Hoover's cabinet, during which time Mills pushed for tax increa ...
. His grandfather
Henry Phipps was a major
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
who had amassed a fortune as the second-largest shareholder in the
Carnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel-producing company primarily created by Andrew Carnegie and several close associates to manage businesses at steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century. The company was form ...
. Educated at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...
, Ogden Phipps became a champion
court tennis player, capturing the U.S. championship seven times and the British championship once.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Ogden Phipps served with the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. After the war, he became a partner in the prominent brokerage firm,
Smith Barney & Co. then used his training to head up
Bessemer Securities Corporation, a private holding company that managed the fortune left to
Phipps family
The Phipps family of the United States is a prominent American family that descends from Henry Phipps Jr. (1839–1930), a businessman and philanthropist. His father was an English shoemaker who immigrated in the early part of the 19th century ...
members by their grandfather.
Career
Thoroughbred racing
His mother and uncle loved Thoroughbred horses and formed
Wheatley Stable
Wheatley Stable was the '' nom de course '' for the thoroughbred horse racing partnership formed by Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother, Ogden Livingston Mills. The horses were raised at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky.
History
Over the yea ...
in 1926 as a partnership that successfully raced and
bred Thoroughbreds. Influenced by his mother, Ogden Phipps first registered his own black with cherry cap racing silks in 1932.
After World War II, Ogden Phipps bought a group of horses from the estate of
Colonel Edward R. Bradley that formed the basis for what would become his major horse racing operation. Like his family's Wheatley Stable, Phipps too would use
Claiborne Farm
Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred horse breeding operation near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910 by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Stud in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever sin ...
in
Paris, Kentucky
Paris is a home rule-class city in Bourbon County, Kentucky. It lies northeast of Lexington on the Stoner Fork of the Licking River. Paris is the seat of its county and forms part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. As ...
, for breeding and developing of his horses. In 1959 he became a founding member of the
New York Racing Association and a member of its board of trustees. Approaching his 80th birthday, he resigned in 1988 and was named a director emeritus. He also served as a chairman of
The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club is the breed registry for Thoroughbred horses in the United States and Canada. It is dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing and fulfills that mandate by serving many segments of the industry through its s ...
for twenty years and at the time of his death was the club's longest-reigning member.
Ogden Phipps owned and bred Reviewer, who sired
Ruffian for his sister, Barbara Phipps Janney. He inherited the
stallion
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated).
Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...
Bold Ruler
Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 11, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign that included wins in the Preakness Stakes and Trenton Handicap, in whic ...
from his mother's estate, who was mated with the mare
Somethingroyal
Somethingroyal (March 12, 1952 – June 9, 1983) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the dam of the 1973 U.S. Triple Crown champion and Hall of Fame inductee Secretariat. She also produced three other stakes winners and was nam ...
in 1969. Through the toss of a coin, Penny Chenery, on behalf of her father
Christopher Chenery, got the red chestnut colt
Secretariat
Secretariat may refer to:
* Secretariat (administrative office)
* Secretariat (horse)
Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...
, the 1973
Triple Crown Winner.
Ogden Phipps bred nine champions of his own, winning
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse.
An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...
s for both leading owner and leading breeder in 1988. His most famous horses include
Buckpasser
Buckpasser (1963–1978) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1966 Horse of the Year. His other achievements include 1965 Champion Two-Year-Old, 1966 Champion Three-Year-Old, 1966 Champion Handicap Horse, and 1967 Champi ...
,
Personal Ensign
Personal Ensign (April 27, 1984 – April 8, 2010) was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse who retired undefeated with 13 wins. At the time, this was the longest win streak for a horse at the elite level of American racing in 80 years. Her come ...
, and
Easy Goer, all of whom are in the
United States Racing Hall of Fame. He never won the
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-yea ...
but came close twice, finishing second with Dapper Dan in 1965 and second again with Easy Goer in 1989, who went on to win the
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nickname ...
. He won two
British Classic Races
The British Classics are five long-standing Group 1 horse races run during the traditional flat racing season. They are restricted to three-year-old horses and traditionally represent the pinnacle of achievement for racehorses against their o ...
, taking the
St. Leger Stakes with
Boucher in 1972 and the
1,000 Guineas
The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...
at
Newmarket Racecourse
Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...
with
Quick As Lightning
Quick As Lightning (17 March 1977 – 1981) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the classic 1000 Guineas in 1980. She was one of the leading British-trained juvenile fillies of 1979, when she w ...
. He won four
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, i ...
races. First with the undefeated Personal Ensign in 1988, then
Dancing Spree in 1989,
Inside Information
Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider information ...
and
My Flag in 1995.
Four Hall of Fame trainers conditioned Phipps' horses, beginning with the renowned
Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons
James Edward "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons (July 23, 1874 – March 11, 1966) was a Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.
Early life
Born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn in 1874, Fitzsimmons began his career in 1885 working at a racetrack as a stable boy. Aft ...
, who also trained for his mother's Wheatley Stable. After Fitzsimmons' retirement,
Bill Winfrey came out of retirement to train for him in 1963 then
Eddie Neloy took over in 1966, followed by
John Russell in 1973,
Angel Penna, Sr. in 1977 and
Shug McGaughey in 1985.
In 2003, Ogden Phipps was voted the
Eclipse Award of Merit and in 2019 the American Thoroughbred horse racing industry's highest honor as a
Hall of Fame Pillar of the Turf.
Business career
In 1969,
Phipps Plaza
Phipps Plaza is a shopping mall in the Buckhead district of Atlanta, Georgia. It is located at the intersection of Peachtree Road ( SR 141) and Lenox Road (SR 141 Connector), adjacent to the Phipps Tower office building. The mall is currently o ...
opened as the first multi-level mall in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, aiming to become the South's leading luxury shopping destination. The mall originally opened with two levels. Purchased by financier Ogden Phipps in 1966 for less than $600,000, the development was sold in 1992 to
Simon Properties Group for $488 million.
Personal life
On June 14, 1930, Phipps married Ruth Pruyn (1907–1994) of
Glen Cove, New York
Glen Cove is a city in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island. At the 2020 United States Census, the city population was 28,365 as of the 2020 census.
The city was considered part of the early 20th century ...
. Before divorcing in 1935, they had two children:
* Henry Ogden Phipps (1931–1962), who committed suicide.
* Robert Lansing Phipps (b. c. 1933)
After their divorce, Ruth remarried in 1936 to
Marshall Field III
Marshall Field III (September 28, 1893 – November 8, 1956) was an American investment banker, publisher, racehorse owner/breeder, philanthropist, grandson of businessman Marshall Field, heir to the Marshall Field department store fortune, ...
. Ogden Phipps remarried on November 4, 1937, to divorcee
Lillian Stokes Bostwick McKim (1906–1987), the sister of Hall of Fame
steeplechase
Steeplechase may refer to:
* Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles
* Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...
jockey
A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
,
George Herbert Bostwick. Lillian would become a major figure in American steeplechase racing who owned two U.S. Racing Hall of Fame horses and won the
American Grand National eight times. She was also the mother of three daughters from her first marriage to Robert McKim, and together, Ogden and Lillian had two more children:
*
Ogden Mills Phipps
Ogden Mills "Dinny" Phipps (September 18, 1940 – April 6, 2016) was an American financier, Thoroughbred racehorse industry executive, and horse breeder. Widely known by the nickname "Dinny," he was chairman of the family's Bessemer Trust until ...
(1940–2016)
* Cynthia Phipps (1945–2007), who died as a result of injuries sustained in a fire in her Manhattan apartment.
Phipps was 93 when he died on April 21, 2002, at Good Samaritan Medical Center in
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populati ...
. Friend and fellow Thoroughbred owner
Marylou Whitney
Marie Louise "Marylou" Whitney (née Schroeder; December 24, 1925 – July 19, 2019) was an American socialite and philanthropist. A prominent owner and breeder of thoroughbred racehorses, Whitney was notable for "reigning for decades as the soci ...
called Phipps's death "the end of an era in racing".
Collections and philanthropy
Ogden and Lillian acquired 18th century French and English furniture and were early clients of
Denning & Fourcade, who decorated fifteen homes for them, and they made many acquisitions through them. Ogden Phipps had an
art collection that included works by
Claude Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
and
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...
. He also maintained a
greenhouse
A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...
collection of
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of floweri ...
varieties from around the world.
An honorary governor of the
New York-Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools, Cornell University and Columbia University. The hospital comprises seven distinct campuses located in the N ...
, Phipps continued the family's
philanthropic work. The
Ogden Phipps Handicap
The Ogden Phipps Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, four years of age and older run over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt track held annually in mid June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New ...
at
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905.
It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...
is named in his honor.
In popular culture
In the film ''
Secretariat
Secretariat may refer to:
* Secretariat (administrative office)
* Secretariat (horse)
Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse who is the ninth winner of the Ame ...
'', released in 2010, Ogden Phipps was portrayed by actor
James Cromwell
James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American actor and activist. Some of his best-known films include '' Babe'' (1995), '' Star Trek: First Contact'' (1996), ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997), '' The Green Mile'' (1999), '' The Queen' ...
.
References
External links
Ogden Phipps obituary at The Jockey ClubOgden Phipps, 2002, The (London) Independent*
Bowen, Edward L. ''
Legacies of the Turf: A Century of Great Thoroughbred Breeders'' (2003)
Eclipse Press
Blood-Horse Publications is an American multimedia publishing house focused on horse-related magazines headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. It began in 1916 through its flagship magazine, ''The Blood-Horse''. From 1961 to 2015, Blood-Horse Public ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phipps, Ogden
Harvard University alumni
United States Navy personnel of World War II
American financiers
American money managers
American real tennis players
American racehorse owners and breeders
Eclipse Award winners
United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees
American art collectors
Philanthropists from New York (state)
1908 births
2002 deaths
Livingston family
Phipps family
New York Racing Association executives
Stockbrokers
New York (state) Republicans
Florida Republicans
People from Old Westbury, New York
People from West Palm Beach, Florida
Pruyn family
Businesspeople from New York City