William Haggin Perry (December 5, 1910 - November 12, 1993) was an American owner and breeder of

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.

Early life

Perry was the son of Henry Pierrepont Perry, a

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

stockbroker A stockbroker is a regulated broker, broker-dealer, or registered investment adviser (in the United States) who may provide financial advisory and investment management services and execute transactions such as the purchase or sale of stocks an ...

, and Edith Lounsbery, who was the daughter of Richard P. Lounsbery and Edith Hunter Haggin who in turn was the daughter of one of America's most prominent horsemen, James Ben Ali Haggin. The Ben Ali Haggin family were the descendants of

Ibrahim Ben Ali Ibrahim ben Ali ( tr, Ali oğlu İbrahim) or after baptism Ibraham Adam Ben Ali (1756–1800), was an Ottoman-Turkish soldier and physician who first drew notice as a convert-friend of the Dublin Methodist theologian Adam Clarke, and after spen ...

, who was one of the first Turkish settlers to the United States. Although born in

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 ...

, Perry spent a good deal of his childhood at

Rancho Del Paso Rancho Del Paso was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day Sacramento County, California, In 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena, Captain John Sutter’s old friend, gave 44,000 acres to Elijah Grimes. Grimes called it the Ran ...

, the huge Haggin family ranch in

Sacramento County, California Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854. Sacramento County is the ...

. The family owned a summer estate in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

and young Perry studied there at St. George's School before going on to

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

Racing

In 1960, through his Gamely Corporation, Perry entered into an annual foal sharing partnership with Arthur Hancock of

Claiborne Farm Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred horse breeding operation near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910 by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Stud in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever since. ...

. Perry raced many top runners including 1979

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 ...

winner

Coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

. His early success in racing came with the

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, t ...

Alanesian Alanesian (1954–1977) was an American Thoroughbred racing filly and successful broodmare. She was bred in Kentucky by E. Barry Ryan, a society trainer and owner of Normandy Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. She was purchased privately by William ...

who in turn produced Boldnesian and

Princessnesian Princessnesian (foaled in 1964 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Princessnesian was a bay mare bred and raced by William Haggin Perry. Racing career In 1968 the four-year-old mare became only the third female to wi ...

. Perry's first

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

was Lamb Chop in 1963, followed by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee

Gamely Gamely (February 10, 1964 – 1975) was an American Thoroughbred race horse who was voted the champion filly of her age group on three occasions. Background Gamely was bred and born at Claiborne Farm outside Paris, Kentucky. Her dam was the st ...

in 1967, and

Revidere Revidere (foaled in 1973 in Kentucky) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that was voted the 1976 Eclipse Award as the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly.Her sire was Reviewer, who is best known as the sire of champion filly Ruffian. Her d ...

in 1976.

Personal life

Perry and his wife Nicole made their home at Waterford Farm, a 144-acre

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

estate in Buchanan County, Virginia about four miles from the village of Middleburg. According to Armfield, Miller & Ripley Fine Properties, LLC, real estate agents who sold the property, ''

The Chronicle of the Horse ''The Chronicle of the Horse'' is an American weekly equestrian magazine.Mary Fishback, ''Northern Virginia's Equestrian Heritage'', Arcadia Publishing, 200/ref> It covers dressage, hunters and jumpers, eventing, foxhunting and steeplechase racin ...

'' publication called Waterford Farm "one of the ten most important thoroughbred facilities in the United States during the late 1970s and early 80s."

Death

In 1993, William Haggin Perry died at Waterford Farm at age eighty-five. He was inducted posthumously in the Virginia Thoroughbred Association Hall of Fame in 1994.Virginia Thoroughbred Association Hall of Fame
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, William Haggin 1910 births 1993 deaths American people of English descent American people of Turkish descent American racehorse owners and breeders Sportspeople from New York City People from Buchanan County, Virginia St. George's School (Rhode Island) alumni