Ethel Veronica Mars (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Healy; June 1884 – December 25, 1945) was an American businesswoman and racehorse owner. She was Ethel Veronica Healy prior to her marriage in 1910 to

Franklin Clarence Mars Franklin Clarence Mars (; September 24, 1883 – April 8, 1935) was an American business magnate who founded the food company Mars, Incorporated, which mostly makes chocolate candy. Mars' son Forrest Edward Mars developed M&M's and the Mars ...

, the founder of the Mars Candy company. In 1930, she and her husband purchased a 2,800 acre property in

Giles County, Tennessee Giles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,346. Its county seat is Pulaski. History Giles County is named after William Branch Giles, a Senator from Virginia who sponsored the ...

, where they built

Milky Way Farm Milky Way Farm in Giles County, Tennessee, is the former estate of Franklin C. Mars, founder of Mars Candies. The property is named for the company's Milky Way candy bar. During the Great Depression, the estate was the largest employer in Gi ...

. There, they raised

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

cattle as well as bred

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 c ...

racehorses which were trained on a racetrack built on the property.

Early life

Ethel Veronica Kruppenbacher was born in June 25, 1884 in

Petersburg, North Dakota Petersburg is a city in Nelson County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 162 at the time of the 2020 census. Petersburg was founded in 1884. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of ...

Milky Way Farm Stable

The

Thoroughbred racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing i ...

stable of Ethel and Franklin Mars began competing at major eastern United States racetracks in 1934 and following her husband's death that year, Ethel Mars took charge of all operations. Wanting to expand her racing and develop her bloodstock, from 1935 through 1942 she was a major spender for well-bred yearlings at the Saratoga spring sales. In 1936, her Milky Way Farm stable's race winnings totaled $206,450, making the Milky Way Farm stable the year's most successful owner on the United States thoroughbred racing circuit. In 1935, her filly Forever Yours, trained by Robert V. McGarvey 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. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both t ...

. In 1937, her filly Mars Shield won the

Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred Filly, fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky O ...

. Then on May 4, 1940, Ethel Mars had her greatest single achievement in racing with her colt

Gallahadion Gallahadion (March 31, 1937 – July 7, 1958) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the 1940 winner of the Kentucky Derby. He was a son of the Champion sire Sir Gallahad III, and his dam-sire was U.S. Horse of the Year Reigh C ...

. Trained by

Roy Waldron Roy J. Waldron (April 3, 1894 - May 15, 1963) was a batboy for the History of the St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Browns before he turned to Horse trainer, training Thoroughbred racehorses. He is best known for winning the 1940 Kentucky Derby with Gal ...

and ridden by

Carroll Bierman Carroll M. Bierman (October 22, 1918 – March 22, 1970) was an American Thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing jockey born in Centralia, Illinois. In 1940, he won the Kentucky Derby on Gallahadion in an upset over heavily favored ...

, Gallahadion 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-year ...

. Declining health in the years following her Kentucky Derby win saw Ethel Mars wind down her racing and operations. A resident of

River Forest, Illinois River Forest is a suburban village adjacent to Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, U.S. Per the 2020 census, the population was 11,717. Two universities make their home in River Forest, Dominican University and Concordia University Chicago. The v ...

, Ethel Mars died at age sixty-one on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

1945 in

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

, where she had been visiting.''Baltimore Sun'' - December 26, 1945
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mars, Ethel V. 1884 births 1945 deaths American racehorse owners and breeders 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen Businesspeople in confectionery People from River Forest, Illinois Mars family