Richard Louis Duchossois (; October 7, 1921January 28, 2022) was an American businessman and racehorse owner. He was the founder and chairman of The Duchossois Group, Inc., a family-owned company headquartered in Elmhurst,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

that had ownership stakes in

Arlington Park Arlington Park (formerly known as Arlington International Racecourse) is a former horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Once called the ''Arlington Park Jockey Club'', it was located adjacent to the Illinois Rou ...

and

Churchill Downs Churchill Downs is a horse racing complex in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States that hosts the annual Kentucky Derby. It opened in 1875 and was named for Samuel Churchill, whose family was prominent in Kentucky for many years. The first ...

race tracks, and did rail car and defense manufacturing.

Early life and education

Duchossois was the son of Ernestine (Hoessler) and Alphonse Duchossois. He graduated from Morgan Park Military Academy and attended

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

, before starting active military service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Military career

He served in five European campaigns, including Normandy where he was a commander with the 610th Tank Destroyer Battalion of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. He served as the military governor for the region of

Eichstätt Eichstätt () is a town in the federal state of Bavaria, Germany, and capital of the district of Eichstätt. It is located on the Altmühl river and has a population of around 13,000. Eichstätt is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Dioce ...

and attained the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

before he was released from active service in 1946.Arlington owner Duchossois, at 90, fights cancer and for his track http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20111009/news/710099904/ He received a Purple Heart for his injuries in combat at the

Moselle River The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A small part of Belgiu ...

Career

Richard Duchossois joined Thrall Car Manufacturing Company after World War II and became CEO in 1952. In 1980, the firm purchased Chamberlain Manufacturing Corp. which makes garage door openers, with Duchossois becoming its chairman. At the same time, he retained the chairmanship of the parent company, but appointed his son, Craig, as CEO. The Thrall rail car manufacturer was sold in 2001, and the defense business was sold in 2004. In 1983, as Chairman of renamed Duchossois Industries (DII), he purchased Arlington Park Race Track. In 2000, Arlington Park merged with Churchill Downs Incorporated, where DII has several seats on the board of directors. He also owned

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

TV Station KDSM-TV (formerly KCBR-TV) from 1983 to 1991. He served as a director of TCMC, Inc., the Emirates World Series of Racing, and the Thoroughbred Racing Association. The Chamberlain Group was divested to

Blackstone Inc Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman ...

in 2021.

Personal life and death

He married his high school sweetheart, Beverly Thrall. His son Craig J. Duchossois is chief executive officer of The Duchossois Group, Inc. and served as chairman of the Board of Visitors of the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

. Duchossois celebrated his 100th birthday in October 2021, and died on January 28, 2022, in Barrington Hills, Illinois.

Awards and honors

He received a Purple Heart and two Bronze Stars for his military service in World War II. His awards include the 1986 American Jockey Club's Gold Medal, the 1988 Special Sovereign Award from the

Jockey Club of Canada {{Short description, Former Canadian jockey club The Jockey Club of Canada was formed in 1973 to oversee thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the club is responsible for the annual Sovereign Awards program and the Canadian ...

, and Lord Derby Award from the Horserace Writers and Reporters Association of Great Britain, the Joe Palmer Award for Meritorious Service to Racing from the National Turf Writers Association, the 2003 Eclipse Award of Merit, and in 2019 inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame. That same year, Duchossois was voted into the

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred horse racing, Thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and Horse trainer, trainers. In 1955, the museum ...

as one of its esteemed Pillars of the Turf. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Washington and Lee. In 2015, Washington and Lee University honored him with the Washington Award. In 2014, he and his wife Judi received the Sword of Loyola award from Loyola University Chicago for their philanthropy.

References

Duchossois Industries website

NTRA Eclipse Award

External links

* USMA West Point Oral History interview of Richard Duchossois http://www.westpointcoh.org/interviews/seek-strike-destroy-a-tank-destroyer-commander-rolls-across-europe * National World War II Museum Oral History Interview of Richard Duchossois http://www.ww2online.org/terms/3957?page=10 {{DEFAULTSORT:Duchossois, Richard 1921 births 2022 deaths American business executives American sports businesspeople American men centenarians Businesspeople from Chicago Military personnel from Illinois Morgan Park Academy alumni Washington and Lee University alumni United States Army personnel of World War II People from Barrington, Illinois American horse racing industry executives United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees American racehorse owners and breeders Churchill Downs executives Eclipse Award winners United States Army officers