William T. Young (February 15, 1918 – January 12, 2004) was an American businessman and major owner 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 ...

racehorses 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 ...

. William T. Young attended the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

where he was a member of the

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...

fraternity. Young graduated with high distinction in 1939 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, an ...

. After a short employment with Bailey Meter in Cleveland, Ohio, he served as a captain in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

from 1941 to 1945.

Service In World War II

William T. Young served in World War II as a

officer.

Business career

After the War he was living in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

but in 1946 returned to his native Lexington where he founded W. T. Young Foods, Inc. that made "Big Top" brand peanut butter. He developed the business into one of the leading producers of peanut butter in the United States. After he sold the company to

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

in 1955, it was renamed Jif peanut butter. William Young continued to manage the peanut butter manufacturing operation for Procter & Gamble until 1957, at which time he founded W. T. Young Storage, Inc. William Young joined the board of directors of Royal Crown Cola and served as its chairman from 1966 to 1984. He was also a director the Kentucky-American Water Company, and the First Security National Bank and Trust Company of Lexington. At one time, William Young was the single largest shareholder of

Humana Humana Inc. is a for-profit American health insurance company based in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2021, the company ranked 41 on the Fortune 500 list, which made it the highest ranked (by revenues) company based in Kentucky. It has been the thir ...

health insurance company.Schmitz, David. ''Overbrook Master'', (2004) Bloodhorse Publications
/ref> Through the 1960s and early 1970s, he served on the board of directors of Kentucky Fried Chicken with CEO John Y. Brown Jr. When Brown was elected governor of Kentucky in December 1979, he chose Young as chairman of the executive cabinet. Young also served as chairman of the Kentucky Economic Development Corporation, a private organization aimed at boosting economic development in the state.

Overbrook Farm

In 1972 William Young established Overbrook Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. In 1983 he bred

Storm Cat Storm Cat (February 27, 1983 – April 24, 2013) was an American Thoroughbred stallion whose breeding fee during the peak of his stud career was $500,000, the highest in North America at the time. He was the leading sire in North America in 1999 ...

, the most important horse of his career. Storm Cat went on to become one of the world's highest priced sires and almost entirely responsible for William Young being voted the 1994 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder. Teamed with trainer D. Wayne Lukas, in 1994 Overbrook won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies with

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

and was a partner in

Timber Country Timber Country (foaled April 12,1992 in Kentucky - February 24, 2016) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first horse to ever win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile and American Triple Crown Classic Race when he won the 1995 Preakness St ...

who won that year's

Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup W ...

. Overbrook also bred

Tabasco Cat Tabasco Cat (April 15, 1991 – March 6, 2004) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was best known for his performances in 1994 when he won the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, the second and third legs of the Triple Crown Series. ...

on a foal share partnership agreement with

Reynolds Metals Reynolds Group Holdings is a New Zealand based packaging company with roots in the former Reynolds Metals Company, which was the second-largest aluminum company in the United States, and the third-largest in the world. Reynolds Metals was acquire ...

Chairman,

David P. Reynolds David Parham Reynolds (June 16, 1915 – August 29, 2011) was chairman emeritus of Reynolds Metals Co. and an owner/breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses. He was the son of Richard S. Reynolds Sr. (1881–1955) who founded Reynolds Metals in L ...

. Tabasco Cat won the 1994

Preakness Preakness may refer to: * The Preakness or Preakness Stakes, an American flat thoroughbred horse race held in Baltimore, Maryland * Preakness (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse from Preakness Stables * Preakness, New Jersey, a section of W ...

and Belmont Stakes. Overbrook won the 1996 Kentucky Derby with the home-bred colt

Grindstone A grindstone, also known as grinding stone, is a sharpening stone used for grinding or sharpening ferrous tools, used since ancient times. Tools are sharpened by the stone's abrasive qualities that remove material from the tool through friction ...

and captured his second Breeders' Cup Juvenile that fall with

Boston Harbor Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeastern United States. History ...

. In 1999 he won the 1999

Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3-year-olds and older run at a distance of on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships in late October ...

with Cat Thief. Active in the horse racing industry, William Young served as a director of the Breeders' Cup Limited. His daughter Lucy married renowned French

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

François Boutin François Boutin (21 January 1937 – 1 February 1995) was a French Thoroughbred horse trainer. The son of a farmer, he was born in the village of Beaunay in the northerly Seine Maritime département. He began riding horses at a young age and ...

and remains active in the industry. On June 9, 2009, William Young Jr., who assumed control of the Overbrook operation upon the death of his father, announced that his family would be selling the majority of their bloodstock. During the next few months Overbrook sold off its resident stallions then in September sold 48 yearlings for $6,644,000 and in November sold 148 horses for $31,760,000 including Honest Pursuit, a daughter of Storm Cat who sold for $3.1 million to

Wertheimer et Frère Wertheimer et Frère is a Thoroughbred horse racing and breeding business partnership between brothers Alain and Gérard Wertheimer of France. The Wertheimer brothers are the owners of the House of Chanel in Paris. They inherited that company a ...

Philanthropy

Young was a community leader in such organizations as the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

Junior Achievement JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide is a global non-profit youth organization founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and Winthrop M. Crane. JA works with local businesses, schools, and organizations to deliver experiential learning ...

, Spindletop Research, the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

, and the Cancer Drive. He was a University of Kentucky trustee and donated $5 million of his own money while helping raise additional funds to build a new library at the University of Kentucky that would be named the William T. Young Library in his honor. He further created a book endowment and campaigned for donations to fund it. At the time of his death the endowment was the largest of its kind in the United States. William Young was inducted into the College of Engineering Hall of Distinction in 1992. Appointed to the board of trustees of

Transylvania University Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...

in 1967, he served as its chairman for twenty-three years from 1977 to 2000 and was a most important figure in the university's expansion and betterment. In 1985, William Young joined the board of historic Shakertown near Lexington and was appointed its chairman in 1990. In that role, he was instrumental in raising funds for important renovations needed to increase visitor revenues and as well he set up a program to insure the village's financial stability. Overall, William Young donated more than $60 million to various causes. His wife, the former Lucy Hilton Maddox, died in 2002 and he died in 2004. He was survived by a son, William T. Young Jr., and daughter, Lucy Young Hamilton.

External links

W.T. Young 1919–2004UK Alumni William T. Young

References

* Bowen, Edward L. '' Legacies of the Turf: A Century of Great Thoroughbred Breeders'' (2003) Eclipse Press {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, William T. 1918 births 2004 deaths University of Kentucky College of Engineering alumni United States Army personnel of World War II American drink industry businesspeople Transylvania University people American racehorse owners and breeders Eclipse Award winners Owners of Kentucky Derby winners Owners of Preakness Stakes winners Owners of Belmont Stakes winners Businesspeople from Lexington, Kentucky 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century American businesspeople United States Army officers