Ben Franklin Whitaker (August 24, 1892 – April 20, 1954) was a

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

oilman with producing properties throughout the state of Texas, an owner of the Hotel Whitmore in Dallas, and a major owner and breeder of

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorses including two

National Champions National champions are corporations which are technically private businesses but due to governmental policy are ceded a dominant position in a national economy. In this system, these large organizations are expected not only to seek profit but als ...

. Ben Whitaker served with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Ben Whitaker began racing horses under his wife's name in the 1930s with stables based at

Garland, Texas Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located within Dallas County, Texas, Dallas County with portions extending into Collin County, Texas, Collin and Rockwall County, Texas, Rockwall counties. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a ...

. His horses competed at the Arlington Downs racetrack located between

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

and Dallas but after racing was banned in the state of Texas he relocated his operations to

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. During his time in racing, Ben Whitaker employed trainers Jack Howard, "Blackie" McCoole, and future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

inductee Jimmy Conway who was in charge from 1946 until Whitaker's death in 1954. The owner of horses that won 231 races, among Whitaker's top runners were: * Requested - purchased for $1300 - at two he won seven stakes races. Sire of Champion, Miss Request. * My Request - won 16 stakes races at age two through five including the

Wood Memorial The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memorial ...

* Miss Request -

American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ...

(1948) *

Grecian Queen Grecian Queen (foaled in 1950) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. She was bred by Dallas, Texas businessman Ben Whitaker and raced under the name of his wife Florence. A consistently good and durable runner at age two and three, sh ...

(1953) In April 1954, sixty-year-old Ben Whitaker suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and died a week later in a Dallas hospital.Montreal Gazette – April 21, 1954 "Ben Whitaker Dies, Owned Top Horses"
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitaker, Ben F. 1892 births 1954 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War I American businesspeople in the oil industry American hoteliers American racehorse owners and breeders Businesspeople from Dallas