Jane du Pont Lunger (June 20, 1914 - September 18, 2001) was an American heiress, philanthropist, and an owner/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 Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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 bas ...

. A sixth-generation member of Delaware's prominent

Du Pont family The du Pont family () or Du Pont family is a prominent family descended from Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (1739–1817), a French minor aristocrat. Currently residing in the U.S. states of Delaware and Pennsylvania, the Du Ponts have been ...

, her father, Philip Francis du Pont, was a major benefactor to the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

Personal life

In 1934, Jane du Pont married Harry W. Lunger (1905–1976) who worked at

All American Aviation Company All American Aviation was an airline company founded by Lytle Schooler Adams in 1937. It evolved over the decades to become Allegheny Airlines, then USAir and subsequently US Airways, with the latter's merger with American Airlines in 2013 crea ...

, a company founded by Richard du Pont and based in Wilmington, Delaware. During 1936-1937 the Lungers built "Oberod," a stone mansion on rural acreage at 400 Burnt Mill Road in the Brandywine River Valley about 8 miles from downtown

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. Oberod is now owned by the Wilmington-base LabWare corporation, who use it as a training facility and to host special events. Her son

Brett Lunger Robert Brett Lunger (born November 14, 1945) is an American racecar driver. Lunger was educated at the Holderness School, and Princeton University. He dropped out of Princeton after three years to enlist for service in Vietnam. He was a politica ...

was a

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an Open-wheel car, open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel ...

and

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an SCCA/ CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1974, and again from 1977 to 1987. The Can-Am rules were deliberately simple and placed few limits on the entries. This led to a wide variet ...

racing driver.

Philanthropy

In 2005, the Jane du Pont Lunger Residual Charitable Trust donated $250,000 to the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation, Inc. which underwrites

veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in non-human animals. The scope of veterinary medicine is wide, covering all animal species, both ...

research projects dedicated to the well being of horses. Her estate and family are major contributors to the

Delaware Art Museum The Delaware Art Museum is an art museum located on the Kentmere Parkway in Wilmington, Delaware, which holds a collection of more than 12,000 objects. The museum was founded in 1912 as the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts in honor of the arti ...

Christiana Stables

In 1937, Jane and Harry Lunger established Christiana Stables, named for the community of

Christiana, Delaware Christiana is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in New Castle County, Delaware, New Castle County, Delaware, United States, located on the Christina River, 12 miles southwest of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington. It is home to the ...

. Their first trainer was Selby Burch, son of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, William Burch. Next,

John Healey John Healey (born 13 February 1960) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Defence since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parl ...

, son of Hall of Fame trainer Thomas J. Healey, took charge of Christiana Stables but he died at age 43 in 1947. Future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Henry Clark Henry Clark may refer to: Politicians *Henry Toole Clark (1808–1874), Governor of North Carolina, 1861–1862 *Henry Selby Clark (1809–1869), U.S. Representative from North Carolina *Henry A. Clark (New York politician) (1818–1906), New Yor ...

took over and remained with the Lungers into the 1980s. He was followed by James Maloney, William Badgett Jr. and then James W. Murphy. The Lungers raced some 45 stakes winners, many of which they bred themselves. Among their successful runners were Miss Ferdinand,

Cyane Cyane (; from ) was a naiad in Greek mythology who tried to prevent Hades from abducting Persephone, her playmate. Mythology Cyane (sometimes anglicized as "Kyane") was a naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydria ...

Dance Spell Dance Spell (1973–1979) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Kentucky by Harry and Jane Lunger's Christiana Stables. They entrusted his race conditioning to U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, James W. Maloney. As a two-year-old i ...

, Endine, Light Hearted,

Obeah Obeah, also spelled Obiya or Obia, is a broad term for African diaspora religions, African diasporic religious, Magic (supernatural), spell-casting, and healing traditions found primarily in the British West Indies, former British colonies of th ...

, Salem, and Thinking Cap. Following the 1976 death of her husband, Jane Lunger continued racing and breeding and enjoyed success with horses such as 1982

Blue Grass Stakes The Blue Grass Stakes, currently the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes due to sponsorship by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is a horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. The race is ru ...

winner, Linkage. In 1986, Jane Lunger sent her

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...

Obeah to

Windfields Farm Windfields Farm was a six square kilometre (1,500 acre) Thoroughbred Stud farm, horse breeding farm that was founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Origin The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor o ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

where she was bred to

Deputy Minister Deputy minister is a title borne by politicians or officials in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. A deputy minister is positioned in some way "under" a minister, who is a full member of Cabinet, in charge of a particular sta ...

. The mating resulted in the April 6, 1987 birth of Christiana Stables' greatest foal. A filly Mrs. Lunger named

Go For Wand Go For Wand (April 6, 1987 – October 27, 1990) was a champion American thoroughbred racehorse. Go For Wand was sired by Canadian Hall of Famer Deputy Minister, out of Obeah (winner of, among other races, the Blue Hen Stakes, and the Delaw ...

was born at Walnut Green Farm in Unionville, Pennsylvania owned by her son-in-law, Richard I.G. Jones. After a stellar year in which Go For Wand won the 1989

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a -mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt (although the distance has varied, depending on the configuration of the host track) for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the Un ...

she was voted

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, typically involving ...

. In 1990 she won six

Grade 1 First grade (also 1st Grade or Grade 1) is the first year of formal or compulsory education. It is the first year of elementary school, and the first school year after kindergarten. Children in first grade are usually 6–7 years old. Examples ...

races and earned her second

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. The trophy is made by a few small selected A ...

as the

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 ...

. Go For Wand suffered a catastrophic injury while leading down the homestretch in the 1990

Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, three years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic between 2008 and 2012, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United Stat ...

and had to be humanely

euthanized Animal euthanasia (euthanasia from ; "good death") is the act of killing an animal humanely, most commonly with injectable drugs. Reasons for euthanasia include incurable (and especially painful) conditions or diseases, lack of resources to con ...

. She was inducted in the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame in 1996. In 1980, Jane du Pont Lunger was recognized by the Thoroughbred Club of America as their Honored Lady Guest. Jane du Pont Lunger was still significantly involved with racing and breeding at the time of her death in 2001 at age eighty-seven.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lunger, Jane Du Pont 1914 births 2001 deaths American racehorse owners and breeders American philanthropists People from Wilmington, Delaware Du Pont family Delaware Republicans