Queen Empress (foaled 1962 in Kentucky) was an American National Champion Thoroughbred racemare bred and raced by the

Wheatley Stable Wheatley Stable was the '' nom de course '' for the thoroughbred horse racing partnership formed by Gladys Mills Phipps and her brother, Ogden Livingston Mills. The horses were raised at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Kentucky. History Over the ye ...

Gladys Mills Phipps Gladys Mills Phipps (June 19, 1883 - October 19, 1970) was a United States socialite, sportsperson, and a thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder who began the Phipps family dynasty in American horse racing. She was known as the "first lady of ...

and her brother,

Ogden Livingston Mills Ogden Livingston Mills (August 23, 1884October 11, 1937) was an American lawyer, businessman and politician. He served as United States Secretary of the Treasury in President Herbert Hoover's cabinet, during which time Mills pushed for tax increa ...

Background

Queen Empress was a full sister to multiple stakes winner King Emperor. They were the daughter of the outstanding U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Bold Ruler Bold Ruler (April 6, 1954 – July 11, 1971) was an American Thoroughbred National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame racehorse who was the 1957 American Horse of the Year, Horse of the Year. This following a three-year-old campaign t ...

who was a multiple National Champion including the 1957

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...

. However, he is more widely remembered as the eight-time

Leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to stallions which are based in N ...

between 1963 and 1973, the most of any sire in the twentieth century. The dam of Queen Empress and King Emperor was the Wheatley Stable's good runner Irish Jay whose wins included the

Acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

Comely Comely (foaled 1912) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. She was bred by James R. Keene who sold her in a package deal to James Butler, owner of the Empire City Race Track. Butler had bought the entire 1912 crop produced by Keene's Castleto ...

, Demoiselle, and

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 ...

. In turn, Irish Jay was a daughter of Double Jay, the 1946

American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when the ''Daily Racing F ...

and the

Leading broodmare sire in North America The list below shows the leading Thoroughbred sire of broodmares in North America for each year since 1924. This is determined by the amount of prize money won during the year by racehorses which were foaled by a daughter of the sire. The most freq ...

in 1971, 1975, 1977, and 1981.

Racing career

1964: Two-Year-Old Season

Trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Bill Winfrey William Colin Winfrey (May 9, 1916 – April 14, 1994) was an American Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Bill Winfrey was born Colin Dickard. His father died when he was three, and two years later his mother married Hall-of-Fame tra ...

, at age two Queen Empress won six of the important 1964 stakes races for fillies including the Gardenia Stakes, the world's richest race for two-year-old females. In addition, Queen Empress finished first in the 1964

Astarita Stakes The Astarita Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race run between 1946 and 2005 at New York (state), New York's Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens and at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, Elmont. Open to two-year-old Filly, filli ...

Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park, Queens, South Ozone Park and Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack locate ...

but was disqualified to second for interference. For her 1964 performances, Queen Empress was voted that year's

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 ...

honors.

1965: Three-Year-Old Season

At age three Queen Empress did not make her first start until July 20, 1965. She made it winning one, defeating seven other fillies in a six furlong allowance race at

Monmouth Park Racetrack Monmouth Park Racetrack is an American race track for thoroughbred horse racing in Oceanport, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and is operated under a five-year lease as a partnership with ...

in New Jersey. Back in her New York base, a week later she won another six furlong allowance race, this time at

. In what would prove to be a difficult year of racing, Queen Empress got her best result in a stakes event with a runner-up finish behind Cestrum in a division of the 1965

Test Stakes The Test Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies and run each summer at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is contested at a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt and is an influential ...

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actua ...

. Also a daughter of Bold Ruler, Cestrum was owned by

Allaire du Pont Allaire du Pont (May 4, 1913 – January 6, 2006) was an American sportswoman and a member of the prominent French-American Du Pont family of chemical manufacturers who is most remembered as the owner of the Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fam ...

who also owned the mighty Kelso. On August 12 Queen Empress won another non-stakes race at

then was brought back three days later to compete in the

Alabama Stakes The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it cu ...

. Won by What a Treat, in the first half mile Queen Empress was among the leaders but quickly tired and finished 17th in a field of 18 runners.

1966: Four-Year-Old Season

In 1966, Queen Empress returned to form under the care of Edward Neloy, another future Hall of Famer who took over that year as Wheatley Stable's head trainer. In February Queen Empress would earn third place in the

Columbiana Handicap Columbiana may refer to: Taxonomy In botany: * ''Arctostaphylos columbiana'' or hairy manzanita, a plant species native to North America * ''Calatola columbiana'', a species of plant in the family Icacinaceae endemic to Colombia * ''Clematis colum ...

at Florida's

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 ...

then returned north where she won the

Correction Correction may refer to: * A euphemism for punishment * Correction (newspaper), the posting of a notice of a mistake in a past issue of a newspaper * Correction (stock market), in financial markets, a short-term price decline * Correction (novel), ...

and

Vagrancy Handicap The Vagrancy Handicap is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are three years old and older run over a distance of furlongs on the dirt track held annually in late May or early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, Ne ...

s at Aqueduct Racetrack. At the same track she was in the mix in top races, earning seconds in the Interborough, Liberty Belle, and

Distaff Handicap The Distaff Handicap is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares that are four years old or older at a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt run annually in early April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New Y ...

s. As well, she ran second in both the New Castle Stakes at

Delaware Park Racetrack Delaware Park (also known as ''DelPark'') is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track, casino, and golf course in Stanton, Delaware. It is located just outside the city of Wilmington, and about 30 miles from Philadelphia. Thoroughbred racing ...

and the

Barbara Fritchie Handicap The Barbara Fritchie Stakes is an American race for Thoroughbred horses run at Laurel Park Racecourse in February. A Grade III event, this race is open to fillies and mares age four and up. It is run at seven furlongs on the dirt and offers a purs ...

at Maryland's

Bowie Race Track The Bowie Race Track was a horse racing track located just outside the city limits of Bowie, Maryland. The one mile oval racetrack, known as Prince George's Park, was opened October 1, 1914 under the auspices of the Southern Maryland Agricultural ...

. Retired to broodmare duty for her owner, Queen Empress produced seven winners, the best of which was her 1978

Graustark Graustark is a fictional country in Eastern Europe used as a setting for several novels by George Barr McCutcheon. Graustark's neighbors, which also figure in the stories, are Axphain to the north and Dawsbergen to the south. Description Gra ...

foal Hail Emperor that won the 1983 Native Dancer Handicap. Hail Emperor was the sire of stakes winner Royal Haven.

Pedigree

References

{{reflist 1962 racehorse births American Champion racehorses Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 23 Phipps family