Rex Cooper Ellsworth (November 15, 1907 – August 24, 1997) was a major owner in

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 ...

and twice the leading breeder in the United States whose story was featured with a cover of the February 25, 1963 edition of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'' magazine.

Racing and breeding successes

Rex Ellsworth was a young man of twenty-seven when in 1933 he entered the Thoroughbred breeding and racing business with lifelong friend and trainer,

Mesh Tenney Meshach A. "Mesh" Tenney (November 16, 1907 – November 6, 1993) was an American Thoroughbred horse trainer. From Arizona, Tenney began his career as a Thoroughbred trainer in the western United States in 1935. He won the Santa Anita Derby three ...

. From a start with six broodmares and two weanlings he was successful enough that before long he could afford to buy horses with solid pedigrees. In Ireland in 1947, with a view to breeding, he purchased Khaled from the stud of the Aga Khan. It would be eight years later when Ellsworth first earned national attention in 1955 when his homebred son of Khaled named Swaps won the

Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is currently run at a distance of miles on the dirt and carries a purse of $400,000. It is one ...

Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...

in Arcadia, California then the

1955 Kentucky Derby The 1955 Kentucky Derby was the 81st running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 7, 1955. The race carried a purse of $152,500 of which winner Swaps received $108,400, a then record. Winner of the Kentucky Derby Swaps was a Ca ...

, first leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series at Churchill Downs in Louisville Kentucky. The following year another homebred son of Khaled who was raced as

Terrang {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Terrang , image = , caption = , sire = Khaled , grandsire = Hyperion , dam = Flying Choice , damsire = Flying Heels , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1953 , country = United States , colour = Brown , br ...

provided Ellsworth with his second straight Santa Anita Derby win.

Candy Spots Candy Spots (April 14, 1960 – March 21, 1976) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Candy Spots was foaled in California and was named for the unusual white and black markings, similar to Bend Or spots, that speckled his chestn ...

, again one of Ellsworth's homebreds whose

damsire Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

was Khaled, gave him his third Santa Anita Derby plus a win in the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series when he captured the

1963 Preakness Stakes The 1963 Preakness Stakes was the 88th running of the $200,000 Preakness Stakes thoroughbred horse race. The race took place on May 18, 1963, and was televised in the United States on the CBS television network. Candy Spots, who was jockeyed by ...

Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Ol ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. In 1964, Ellsworth won Europe's most prestigious race when his newly acquired horse Prince Royal won the

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

Longchamp Racecourse The Longchamp Racecourse (french: Hippodrome de Longchamp) is a 57 hectare horse-racing facility located on the Route des Tribunes at the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, France. It is used for flat racing and is noted for its variety of interlaced ...

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

An Inglorious End

In January 1975, financial problems led to the end of Ellsworth's once great horseracing and breeding business. His farm property near Chino in

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

was seized by California health authorities when more than 100 horses were found near starvation along with the remains of five horses who had already died. One of the dead was Iron Reward, the 1955

Kentucky Broodmare of the Year The Kentucky Broodmare of the Year is selected each year by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. The title is considered the highest honor an American thoroughbred broodmare can receive, as the majority of American breeding s ...

and United States Broodmare of the Year. She was a granddaughter of

War Admiral War Admiral (May 2, 1934 – October 30, 1959) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fourth winner of the American Triple Crown. He was also the 1937 Horse of the Year and well known as the rival of Seabiscuit in the 'Match ...

and great granddaughter of

Man o' War Man o' War (March 29, 1917 – November 1, 1947) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is widely regarded as the greatest racehorse of all time. Several sports publications, including ''The Blood-Horse'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ESPN, and t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellsworth, Rex 1907 births 1997 deaths American Latter Day Saints American racehorse owners and breeders Owners of Kentucky Derby winners Breeders of Kentucky Derby winners Owners of Preakness Stakes winners Breeders of Preakness Stakes winners Owners of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners People from Safford, Arizona