George Dunton Widener Jr. (March 11, 1889 - December 8, 1971) was an American businessman and

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 ...

racehorse 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 ...

owner; one of only five people ever designated "Exemplars of Racing" by 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 race horses, jockeys, and trainers. In 1955, the museum moved to its current location on Union Av ...

Early life

Widener was born into the prominent and wealthy

Widener family The Widener family is an American family from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Peter Arrell Browne Widener (1834–1915) and his wife, Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836–1896), it was once one of the wealthiest families in the United ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, he was the younger son of

George Dunton Widener George Dunton Widener (June 16, 1861 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman who died in the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic''. Early life Widener was born in Philadelphia on June 16, 1861. He was the eldest son of Hannah Josephine Du ...

and Eleanor Elkins, and brother to

Harry Elkins Widener Harry Elkins Widener (January 3, 1885 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman and bibliophile, and a member of the Widener family. His mother built Harvard University's Widener Memorial Library in his memory, after his death on the founde ...

(1885-1912) and

Eleanor Widener Dixon Eleanor Widener Dixon (18911966) was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was the daughter of George Dunton Widener and Eleanor Elkins Widener, and the younger sister of George Dunton Widener Jr. and Harry Elkins Widener. She married Fi ...

(1891-1966). His grandfathers, the traction (streetcar) magnate Peter A. B. Widener (1834-1915) and the oil & steel financier

William Lukens Elkins William Lukens Elkins (May 2, 1832 – November 7, 1903) was an American businessman and art collector. He began his working career as a grocer in Philadelphia and became a business tycoon with financial interests in oil, natural gas and transpor ...

(1832-1903), were long-time friends and business partners. At age 23, he lost both his father and brother when the

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

sank in the Atlantic on her maiden voyage on April 15, 1912. His sister married Fitz Eugene Dixon in 1912.

Horse racing

Greatly influenced by his uncle

Joseph E. Widener Joseph Early Widener (August 19, 1871 – October 26, 1943) was a wealthy American art collector who was a founding benefactor of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. A major figure in thoroughbred horse racing, he was head of New ...

(1871–1943), head of New York's

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 ...

and builder of

Hialeah Park The Hialeah Park Race Track (also known as the Hialeah Race Track or Hialeah Park) is a historic racetrack in Hialeah, Florida, Hialeah, Florida. Its site covers 40 square blocks of central-east side Hialeah from Palm Avenue east to East 4th Avenu ...

racetrack in Miami, he became involved in

thoroughbred horse 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 in t ...

. In 1916, he began raising thoroughbreds at

Erdenheim Farm Erdenheim Farm is a 450-acre (1.82 km2) working farm in Springfield and Whitemarsh Townships, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located just outside the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, it is bordered by the Morris Arb ...

, and at Old Kenney Farm (now Green Gates Farm) in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

. In 1962, he sold the farm and later that same year, his colt,

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

, won the

Travers Stakes The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is nicknamed the "Mid-Summer Derby" and is the third-ranked race for American three-year-olds according to internation ...

, which had eluded him since 1918. Jaipur, a sentimental favorite because of his owner and a betting favorite because of his promise, defeated

Ridan Nadir Kouidri (born 1975 in France) better known by his stage name Ridan, is a French singer/songwriter of Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 ...

by a nose. While Jaipur was not a candidate for 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 ...

, the first of the contests in the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

, he did 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, nicknamed Th ...

. From 1960 to 1968, Widener served as president of the

Personal life

In 1917, he married divorcée Jessie (

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 ...

Sloane) Dodge (1883-1968), daughter of Henry T. Sloane and Jessie Robbins of

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 ...

, former wife of Willam Earl Dodge, and became stepfather to Diana Dodge. George D. Widener Jr. died in 1971 at his

, in

Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania Whitemarsh Township is a Home rule municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It retains its former classification of "Township" in its official name despite being a home rule municipality. The population was 17,349 at the 20 ...

, north of Philadelphia. He left the farm and his personal fortune to his nephew,

Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. (August 14, 1923 – August 2, 2006) was an American educator, sportsman, and philanthropist. Early life He was the son of banker Fitz Eugene Dixon Sr. and Eleanor Widener (1891-1966), a member of the wealthy Widener family ...

Honors

The

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

School of Veterinary Medicine's George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals at the

New Bolton Center New Bolton Center is the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine's 700 acre campus in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. It is home to one of the busiest large animal teaching veterinary clinics in the nation. Since 1958, it has been lo ...

is named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widener, George D. Jr. 1889 births 1971 deaths American sports businesspeople American racehorse owners and breeders American philanthropists Businesspeople from Philadelphia Widener family Members of the Philadelphia Club New York (state) Republicans Pennsylvania Republicans People from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania