Sportswoman, Poet, Socialite. She was one of the wealthiest women in the United States. She managed the Greentree Stable known for its pink and black racing silks and was known as the First Lady of the Turf. She also managed the stables of her son, John Hay Whitney and her daughter, Joan Whitney Payson. She was the author of 12 books of poetry including Herbs and Apples, The Bed-Time Book, Gypsy Verses, Songs and Sonnets, The Rose of Dawn and Some Verses. She was born in New York the daughter of John Hay, Secretary of State in the administration of President McKinley. When her father became Ambassador to the Court of St. James in London, she accompanied him and was presented at court. Her debut was in Washington, D.C. She married Payne Whitney in 1902. When her husband died in 1927, he left an estate valued at over $200 million. She was the first female owner of two Kentucky Derby winners. The first was Twenty Grand who won in 1931 and Shut Out in 1942. Shut Out also won the Belmont Stakes, Arlington Classic Travers, Yankee Handicap and Empire City Handicap. In 1938, the Thoroughbred Club of America gave her the first life membership ever presented to a woman. She died in a New York hospital on Sunday, September 24, 1944, of a heart ailment at the age of 68 years. Funeral services were held at Manhasset, Long Island.
Source: The Times-Picayune, Monday, September 25, 1944.
Place of birth in her own handwriting per U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925. Place of death per New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949: Manhattan, New York City, New York.
Source: The Times-Picayune, Monday, September 25, 1944.
Place of birth in her own handwriting per U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925. Place of death per New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949: Manhattan, New York City, New York.
Sportswoman, Poet, Socialite. She was one of the wealthiest women in the United States. She managed the Greentree Stable known for its pink and black racing silks and was known as the First Lady of the Turf. She also managed the stables of her son, John Hay Whitney and her daughter, Joan Whitney Payson. She was the author of 12 books of poetry including Herbs and Apples, The Bed-Time Book, Gypsy Verses, Songs and Sonnets, The Rose of Dawn and Some Verses. She was born in New York the daughter of John Hay, Secretary of State in the administration of President McKinley. When her father became Ambassador to the Court of St. James in London, she accompanied him and was presented at court. Her debut was in Washington, D.C. She married Payne Whitney in 1902. When her husband died in 1927, he left an estate valued at over $200 million. She was the first female owner of two Kentucky Derby winners. The first was Twenty Grand who won in 1931 and Shut Out in 1942. Shut Out also won the Belmont Stakes, Arlington Classic Travers, Yankee Handicap and Empire City Handicap. In 1938, the Thoroughbred Club of America gave her the first life membership ever presented to a woman. She died in a New York hospital on Sunday, September 24, 1944, of a heart ailment at the age of 68 years. Funeral services were held at Manhasset, Long Island.
Source: The Times-Picayune, Monday, September 25, 1944.
Place of birth in her own handwriting per U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925. Place of death per New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949: Manhattan, New York City, New York.
Source: The Times-Picayune, Monday, September 25, 1944.
Place of birth in her own handwriting per U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925. Place of death per New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949: Manhattan, New York City, New York.
Inscription
Helen Hay
Whitney
September 24 1944
Home Is The Sailor
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