Nelson Bunker Hunt could have misplaced a fortune on the silver market, however he received gold medals in thoroughbred racing for practically 20 years.
Mr. Hunt, who died in 2014 on the age of 88, was the son of oil magnate H.L. Hunt, who grew to become one of many world’s richest males via his possession of huge swaths of the East Texas oil fields.
To some, Mr. Hunt is an oilman finest recognized for his ill-fated makes an attempt to nook the silver market along with his brothers William Herbert Hunt and Lamar Hunt within the late Nineteen Seventies and early Eighties. At one level, in January 1980, he raised the worth of silver from $11 an oz to $50 an oz, making an estimated revenue of $2 billion to $4 billion. However two months later, the market collapsed, the worth of silver fell beneath $11 an oz, billions of {dollars} in losses occurred, and the Hunt brothers filed for Chapter 11 chapter in 1988.
In distinction, Hunt’s profession in horse racing was for much longer and dramatically extra profitable.
He purchased his first horse at a Keeneland sale in 1955, however it wasn’t till the Nineteen Seventies and Eighties that he established one of many world’s most formidable stables, with as many as 1,000 horses and broodmares at its peak, centered across the 8,000-acre Bluegrass Ranch in Lexington.
Though an American, a lot of Hunt’s best victories got here in Europe.
His first massive success story got here after Hunt received an public sale at a Vaguely Noble sale. He was then provided half the stallion’s share after his two-year-old season and was rewarded in 1968 when Virgo Noble received the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, beating Sir Ivor as a three-year-old.
Vaguely Noble was syndicated for $5 million and have become the main sire in England and Eire in 1973 and 1974. He has produced 70 group/main stakes winners and was the broodmare of 165 stakes winners. The lengthy record of stakes winners included a few of the Hunt’s finest horses.
The star of Virgley Noble’s first offspring was the mare Dahlia, who retired in 1976 because the highest-earning filly and filly in historical past, after successful main races in the USA, Canada, Nice Britain, Eire and France.
Dahlia, bred and owned by Hunt, was a European stakes winner as a two-year-old, however blossomed as a three-year-old, successful the Prix Grotto, Prix St. Allary, Irish Oaks, King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and Prix Niel earlier than being shipped to the USA and successful the celebrated 1973 Washington D.C. Worldwide at Laurel for coach Maurice Zilber.
Named Britain’s Horse of the 12 months in 1973, Dahlia went on to win back-to-back races at King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, in addition to the Saint-Cloud Grand Prix and Benson & Hedges Gold Cup in Europe, in addition to the Man O’ Struggle Stakes at Belmont Park and the Canadian Worldwide at Woodbine.
Dahlia was named Britain’s Horse of the 12 months two years in a row, and received the Eclipse Award in the USA because the 1974 champion turf horse.
In 1976, on the age of six, she was despatched to the USA to race with coach Charlie Whittingham in California. Her 13 begins as a Corridor of Fame coach embrace a victory within the G1 Hollywood Invitational.
On the time of his retirement, Dahlia was revered as among the best distaff runners within the historical past of the game and had a file earnings of $1,489,105. She was inducted into the Horse Racing Corridor of Fame in 1981 at Saratoga.
Additionally amongst Virgley Noble’s first offspring was Noble Decree, the 1972 English champion two-year-old colt by Hunt and coach Bernard van Cutsem.
In 1976, Hunt received the Epsom Derby with Empelly and the French Derby, Canadian Worldwide and Washington, D.C. Worldwide along with his youth, which have been later syndicated for a complete of $12 million.
Youth received the Eclipse Award as Champion Turf Horse in 1976, and Hunt received the Eclipse Award as Champion Breeder of the yr, and likewise received the award in 1985 and 1987.
Additionally in 1976, Hunt bought a son of Virgley Noble on the Keeneland sale for $25,000 and named him Exceller. Exceller received the Canadian Worldwide at Woodbine in 1977, and in 1978 he had a hard-fought stretch battle with Seattle Slew within the Jockey Membership Gold Cup, defeating the Triple Crown champion by a nostril.
Exceller received 15 of 33 begins, together with wins for Whittingham within the 1978 Hollywood Gold Cup, Hollywood Invitational Turf Handicap and San Juan Capistrano. He retired with an earnings of $1,654,003, inserting him sixth on the all-time record on the time, one spot forward of Dahlia.
In 1979, Hunt ran Trillion and received the inaugural Champion Turf Filly Eclipse Award.
Different high horses he raced or produced embrace 1980 Santa Margarita winner Wonderful Tune. Dahal, winner of the 1985 Century Handicap. 1985 Yellow Ribbon and 1986 Arlington Million winner Estrapade. and Noble, who received the 1975 Washington DC Worldwide.
In 1988, Hunt’s monetary difficulties pressured him to promote 580 horses at Keeneland for $46.9 million, however he re-entered racing 10 years later in 1999, buying roughly 50 horses for $2 million.
From 2000 to 2011, his horses received 352 races and earned greater than $8.8 million, in response to Equibase statistics. He received the Grade 3 Native Diver Handicap at Piensa Sonando in 2002, which was his final graded win.
Simply as silver is all the time related to gold in horse racing, it was Nelson Bunker Hunt’s mild inexperienced and darkish inexperienced colours, worn by a lot of his main and grade winners, that led to many golden years within the racing world.
Be aware: This story was initially revealed in 2018 and has been up to date.
Attention-grabbing information about Nelson Bunker Hunt
- Dahlia was the primary filly or filly to interrupt the $1 million mark in earnings.
- Hunt has produced 158 stakes winners and has produced or owned 25 champions.
- When Exceller defeated each Seattle Slew and Affirmed within the 1978 Jockey Membership Gold Cup, he grew to become the one horse to defeat two Triple Crown winners in the identical race.
