Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr.

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr.
Vanderbilt, c. 1937
Born	(1912-09-22)September 22, 1912 London, England
Died	November 12, 1999(1999-11-12) (aged 87) Mill Neck, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Vanderbilt Family Mausoleum, Staten Island, New York, U.S.
Education	St. Paul's School Yale University
Occupation	Thoroughbred racehorse / racetrack owner
Spouses	Manuela Mercedes Hudson ​ ​ (m. 1938; div. 1942)​ Jeanne Lourdes Murray ​ ​ (m. 1945; div. 1956)​ Jean Harvey ​ ​ (m. 1957; div. 1975)​
Children	6, including Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt III and Heidi Vanderbilt
Parent(s)	Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Margaret Emerson
Family	Vanderbilt family

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr. (September 22, 1912 – November 12, 1999) was a British-born member of the prominent Vanderbilt railroad family, and a noted figure of American thoroughbred horse racing. He was the youngest-ever member of The Jockey Club, president of Belmont Racetrack, New York, and Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, and chairman of the board of the New York Racing Association. In World War II, he was decorated for bravery in the South Pacific.

Born in London, England, Vanderbilt was the second son of the first Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, who died a hero in the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. His mother, Margaret Emerson (daughter of the Bromo-Seltzer inventor Isaac Edward Emerson),[1] was one of America's wealthiest women and most sought-after hostesses, operating at least seven large estates around the country. His grandfather, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, had been one of America's most revered businessmen; his great-grandfather, William Henry Vanderbilt had been the richest man in the world. "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt started the family fortune in shipping and railroads as the founder of the New York Central Railroad and builder of Grand Central Depot (built 1869–1871), the precursor to Grand Central Terminal, built on approximately the same location, and completed in 1913.

He was educated at St. Paul's School and at Yale, where he entered with the class of 1935, but did not graduate.[2] His mother, Margaret Emerson, gave him a 600-acre (2.4 km2) horse farm in Glyndon, Maryland, called Sagamore Farm, for his 21st birthday, and it was in thoroughbred horse racing that he made his mark. The Vanderbilt family had by then given up control of most of their former railroad interests. Alfred G. Vanderbilt was President of Belmont Racetrack in New York and was the principal owner and president of Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.[3]

When he was called into service for World War II, he captained a PT boat in the South Pacific, earning the Silver Star for bravery. He was promoted to lieutenant, junior grade on March 2, 1944. On his discharge, he returned to racing in a major way.

Alfred's father, Alfred G. Vanderbilt I, died in 1915 in the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. Under the terms of his will, Alfred and his brother George W. Vanderbilt III were named equal beneficiaries of their father's residuary estate, to be distributed after payment of debts and specific bequests.[4] Appraisal proceedings before the New York Surrogate’s Court in 1917 reported that Alfred's share of the residuary amounted to $2,553,204.

The will directed that Alfred's portion be held in a trust during his minority, with the income payable to him until he reached adulthood. His principal was scheduled to vest in four equal instalments—25% on his 21st, 25th, 30th, and 35th birthdays.[5] Alfred's mother, Margaret Emerson Vanderbilt, also received a life interest in a $5,000,000 trust, the remainder of which was to pass in equal shares to Alfred and his brother George after Margaret's death.[4]

In 1919, the brothers jointly inherited an additional $1,700,000 that reverted to their father’s residuary estate. This amount represented the principal of a trust created as part of Alfred Sr.’s divorce settlement with his first wife, Elsie French, which terminated upon her remarriage.[6]

In 1929, Alfred received a further $1,000,000 as the result of a ruling by the Surrogate’s Court of New York concerning surplus funds in a trust established for his grandmother, Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt. This trust had been created under the will of Alfred's grandfather Cornelius Vanderbilt II; the Court found in 1929 that the Trust had accumulated more income and principal than required to satisfy Alice’s fixed annuity of $250,000 per year. The court held that a surplus of approximately $2,000,000 should revert to the residuary estate of Cornelius Vanderbilt II. The terms of Cornelius' will designated Alfred G. Vanderbilt Sr as the beneficiary of his residuary estate; however, as Alfred Sr. had also died prior to the Court proceedings, the funds were treated as part of his residuary estate, which Alfred and his brother George were the equal co-beneficiaries of under the terms of their father's will.[7]

A report submitted to the New York Surrogate's Court in October 1943 by the executors of Alfred G. Vanderbilt Sr.'s estate noted that $4,227,717 had been placed in Trust for Alfred Junior.[8] By 1943 Alfred Jr. had reached the age of 31, and had been paid $6,727,514 in income and capital distributions from the trust fund created for him from his father's estate.[8] The remaining amount held in the trust was $2,002,989, from which Alfred Jr. would continue to receive the income until the remaining trust capital vested into his full ownership on his 35th birthday.[8]

Alfred, his brother George W. Vanderbilt III, and their older half-brother William H. Vanderbilt III shared a $500,000 bequest in the Will of their paternal grandmother Alice Claypoole Vanderbilt following her death in 1934.[9]

Approximately $9 million of the $12.7 million estate of Alfred's maternal grandfather, Isaac Edward Emerson, was placed in a 20-year Trust following Emerson's death in 1931.[10][11] Under the terms of his grandfather's will, Alfred was to receive 2% of the annual income, and 2% of the Trust Capital when it vested in 1951. His mother Margaret and her step-mother each received a 35.5% share of the trust.[12] The value of the Trust was reported to be approximately $6,000,000 when the Trust vested in 1951, indicating that Alfred's share would amount to $120,000, and his mother's share as $2,130,000.[13]

A 1940 profile of Alfred published in The New Yorker magazine quoted Alfred as stating that contemporary estimates of his wealth ranging to $20 million were grossly exaggerated.[11] Alfred asserted that he was worth approximately $8,500,000 in 1940, although this included funds held in Trust for his benefit.[11]

Vanderbilt was one of the original members of the Westchester Racing Association and a driving force behind thoroughbred racing in America for most of the 20th century. His mother, Margaret Emerson, took him to his first race, the Preakness Stakes, in 1922. He often said, "After that, I was hooked." On his 21st birthday, his mother gave him Sagamore Farm, her racing operation in Reisterstown, Maryland, which she had inherited from her father, Isaac Emerson, who invented Bromo-Seltzer and founded the Emerson Drug Company, which later became Warner-Lambert.

Vanderbilt personally oversaw the breeding and training of his stable. His first major acquisition was Discovery, one of the great handicap horses of the age, who became his foundation sire.

At age 20 in 1932, he bought Pimlico Race Course outside Baltimore. Three years later, Vanderbilt was elected to The Jockey Club, the youngest member in its history. In 1938, he arranged the famous match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral. He was president of Belmont Park and Pimlico at the same time before joining the Navy.

During World War II, he captained a PT boat in the South Pacific and was awarded the Silver Star for bravery under fire.

He then returned to racing, bringing his greatest champion, Native Dancer, to the track in 1952. Native Dancer won all 9 starts as a 2-year-old and was named Horse of the Year. He won every start as a three-year-old except the Kentucky Derby, which he lost by a head to Cain Hoy Stable's Dark Star. Still, Native Dancer was named 3-year-old Male Champion and was Horse of the Year again in his 4th year. All told, he won 21 of 22 starts, with the single second-place finish in the 1953 Kentucky Derby his only career loss. Many consider the Grey Ghost of Sagamore to have been the first Thoroughbred television star, and TV Guide ranked him as a top icon of the era".[14][page needed]

He eventually campaigned four national champions: Discovery, Next Move, Bed O' Roses, and Native Dancer.

Vanderbilt continued racing throughout his life and served as chairman of the board of the New York Racing Association from 1971 to 1975. The New York Turf Writers voted him "The Man Who Did The Most for Racing" a record four times, posthumously renaming the award in his honor.

Vanderbilt was married three times. His first marriage was in 1938 to Manuela Mercedes Hudson (1920–1978), a niece of racehorse owner Charles S. Howard.[15][16] The couple separated and began living apart in December 1940. Before their divorce in 1942, they were the parents of:[17]

• Wendy Maria Vanderbilt (1939–2016),[18] an artist who married Orin Lehman (1920–2008), the long-serving commissioner of the New York State Office of Parks and Recreation.[19]

His second marriage was on October 13, 1945, to Jeanne Lourdes Murray (1919–2013), a sister of Catherine Murray di Montezemolo and granddaughter of Thomas E. Murray.[20] Before their divorce in 1956,[21] they were the parents of:[22]

• Heidi Murray Vanderbilt (1948–2021), who married Jones Harris (b. 1929), the son of actors Ruth Gordon and Jed Harris, in 1971.[23] They had a son named Jack Harris in 1972. Heidi made her Broadway debut in 1965 in Gordon's A Very Rich Woman, along with Katharine Houghton.[24] She published her first novel, The Scar Rule, on her 72nd birthday.
• Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt III (b. 1949), who married Alison Campbell Platten in 1971.[25] He is the father of screenwriter James Vanderbilt.

In 1957, he married for the third time to Jean Harvey (b. 1937) of the Cudahy meat-packing empire. Before their eventual divorce in 1975,[22] they were the parents of:[26]

• Nicholas Harvey Vanderbilt (1958–1984), who went missing on Mount Robson in British Columbia,[27] and was presumed dead.[28]
• Victoria Emerson Vanderbilt (b. 1959), who married James Weiss.
• Michael Daggett Vanderbilt (b. 1967), who was born in Saratoga Springs, New York,[29] and graduated from Trinity College (Connecticut) in 1989.[30]

He died November 12, 1999, at his home in Mill Neck, New York after attending the morning racehorse workouts, two months after his 87th birthday.[26] He was buried in the Vanderbilt Mausoleum on Staten Island, New York.

In the early 1950s, he was a regular panelist on the NBC game show Who Said That? along with H. V. Kaltenborn, Boris Karloff, and American actress Dagmar.

• Vanderbilt family

• Brief profile of Alfred G. Vanderbilt at the NYRA