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 ...
race horse
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 and breeder.
Herman Duryea built an estate in
Old Westbury
Old Westbury is a village in the Towns of North Hempstead and Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 4,671 at the 2010 census.
The Incorporated Village of Old Westbury i ...
on
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
known as "Knole". Completed in 1903, it was designed by
Carrere and Hastings Carrere or Carrère may refer to:
As a name
* Georges Carrère (1897–1986), French classical violinist
* Edward Carrere (1906–1984), Mexican art director
* Emmanuel Carrère (1957–), French author, screenwriter, and director
* Fernando Car ...
. In 1910 he sold the property to
Henry Phipps Henry Phipps may refer to:
* Henry Carnegie Phipps (1879–1953), sportsman and financier
* Henry Phipps Jr. (1839–1930), entrepreneur and major philanthropist
* Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave
General Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave, ...
who bought it as a wedding gift for his daughter Helen's marriage to Bradley Martin.
Haras du Gazon
Herman Duryea also owned a large estate in
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
where he bred
dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
s and
gamecock
A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...
s. In 1902 he began breeding race horses and soon became one of the leading
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 ...
racing owners in the United States. However, when many states began passing anti-betting legislation that ended most racing, Duryea moved his breeding and racing operations to Haras du Gazon in
Bazoches-au-Houlme
Bazoches-au-Houlme () is a commune in the Orne department in northwestern France.
Geography
The commune of Bazoches-au-Houlme is part of the area known as Suisse Normande.
The commune is made up of the following collection of villages and ha ...
,
Orne
Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
acquired from
Maurice Ephrussi
Maurice Ephrussi (18 November 1849 – 29 October 1916) was a French banker and horsebreeder.
Early life
Maurice Ephrussi was born on November 18, 1849, in Odessa, Russian Empire. He was a member of the Ephrussi family. His father, Charles Joac ...
.
Among Duryea's horses were Sweeper II who won the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
2,000 Guineas
The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year at ...
in 1912 and
Durbar
Durbar can refer to:
* Conference of Rulers, a council of Malay monarchs
* Durbar festival, a yearly festival in several towns of Nigeria
* Durbar floor plate, a hot-rolled structural steel that has been designed to give excellent slip resistance o ...
who won the 1914
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...
. He also owned the American-born mare, Frizette (1905-1929) purchased from friend
James R. Keene
James Robert Keene (February 8, 1838 - January 3, 1913) was a Wall Street stockbroker and a major thoroughbred race horse owner and breeder.
Biography
He was born in London, England in 1838. He was fourteen years of age when his family immigr ...
and
Payne Whitney
William Payne Whitney (March 20, 1876 – May 25, 1927) was an American businessman and member of the influential Whitney family. He inherited a fortune and enlarged it through business dealings, then devoted much of his money and efforts to ...
. Frizette, a granddaughter of Hindoo, was one of the most important foundation matrons of the twentieth century whose offspring includes
Seattle Slew
Seattle Slew (February 15, 1974 – May 7, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who became the tenth winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown (1977). He is one of only ...
Frizette Stakes
The Frizette Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race for two-year-old fillies raced annually at Belmont Park in October. It is currently a Grade I stakes race at a distance of one mile. The Frizette is the female counterpart of the Champag ...
at
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 ...
is named in her honor.
One of the other very important fillies to race under Duryea's colors was the champion,
Tanya
Tanya may refer to:
* Tanya (Judaism),an early work of Hasidic philosophy by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi.
* Tanya (name), a given name and list of people with the name
* Tanya or Lara Saint Paul (born 1946)
* List of Mortal Kombat characters#Tany ...
. Foaled in 1902 by
William Collins Whitney
William Collins Whitney (July 5, 1841February 2, 1904) was an American political leader and financier and a prominent descendant of the John Whitney family. He served as Secretary of the Navy in the first administration of President Grover Clev ...
, she was leased along with several other horses to race for Duryea in 1904 as a 2-year-old and won the
Hopeful Stakes
The Hopeful Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, the Hopeful is the first Grade I stakes for two-year-olds each season and historically has ...
, the
National Stallion Stakes
The National Stallion Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race held sixty-two times between 1898 and 1971. Inaugurated as the National Stallion Race at Morris Park Racecourse in The Bronx, the event was open to horses of either sex until 194 ...
, and the
Spinaway Stakes
The Spinaway Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old fillies, it is a Grade I event contested at a distance of seven furlongs (1,408 metres) on dirt. Th ...
. Unfortunately for Herman Duryea, she was purchased that fall by Whitney's son,
Harry Payne Whitney
Harry Payne Whitney (April 29, 1872 – October 26, 1930) was an American businessman, thoroughbred horse breeder, and member of the prominent Whitney family.
Early years
Whitney was born in New York City on April 29, 1872, as the eldest son ...
, for she is best known for her win the following spring in 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 ...
.
After Herman Duryea died in 1916 his widow maintained some of the French breeding farm's
stallions
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated).
Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck ...
but much of the operation would eventually be sold to
Marcel Boussac
Marcel Boussac (17 April 1889 – 21 March 1980) was a French entrepreneur best known for his ownership of the Maison Dior and one of the most successful thoroughbred race horse breeding farms in European history.
Born in Châteauroux, Indre, ...
.
Mr. Duryea was the benefactor of the Navesink Public Library and Monmouth Players community theater, both located in
Navesink, New Jersey
Navesink (, ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located on the northernmost stretch of the Jersey Shore in Middletown Township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Pomeranian belonging to Herman B.Duryea. millionaire manufacturer. Betty died on the Duryea estate at Westbury, Long Island N. Y., at the age of about two and a half years. She was valued at $5,000. The grief-stricken Mr. Duryea chartered a special train from the Long Island Railroad, had his own luxurious private car attached to it, and in this car he placed the deceased canine her long silken hair washed and combed and brushed with the utmost care, the body being enclosed in a satin-lined coffin, hermetically sealed. Then, as the engine bell: tolled a requiem for the departed Pomeranian, the funeral cortege got slowly under way, and soon thereafter was speeding westward toward New York City, through New York City, and on down southward to Hickory Valley, Tenn., on the Illinois Central tracks.. Arriving at Hickory Valley, where Mr. Duryea had an estate near the Shiloh National Military Park, the casket was solemnly interred in a grave adjoining that of another dog which had died some time before."