The Phipps Horse Racing Legacy: Seabiscuit

Success in horse racing and breeding is one of the legacies of the Mills family that endures to this day.  Although the Mills name ended with the death of Ruth and Ogden's son Ogden Livingston Mills(he had no children), the family has continued through the children and grandchildren of Gladys Mills Phipps and Beatrice Mills Forbes.  Ogden Mills owned racing stables in the United States and France. His horse Cri de Guerre won the 1928 Grand Prix of Paris in Longchamps.  Beatrice inherited the French stables and her heirs in Europe have been involved for many years in the horse business including Lady Georgina Forbes (Beatrice's granddaughter) who was named the world's leading owner of showjumping horses in this 2006 article.  Many branches of the family have had success in horse racing, but it was Gladys Mills Phipps who had an all-encompassing love for horses and began a legacy that remains truly prolific.  Our focus here is on that legacy which Gladys began when she co-founded Wheatley Stable with her brother in 1926.  This blog is the first in a series examining the Phipps family legacy as successful race horse owners and breeders.

This press photo from 1933 shows Gladys and her daughter Audrey attending a race at Hialeah Park Race Track in Hialeah, Florida.