Happy Hill Farm is a Thoroughbred

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...

 horse racing

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 operation in Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania

Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania

Newtown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States . Newtown Township is the oldest township in Delaware County. The population was 11,700 as of the 2000 census.-History:...

. It was originally owned by Cortright Wetherill (1923-1988) and his wife Ella A. Widener-Wetherill (1928-1986) whose Widener family

Widener family

The American Widener family of Peter Arrell Brown Widener and his wife Hannah Josephine Dunton were from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and were one of the wealthiest families in the United States...

 of Philadelphia is one of the most prominent and respected in American Thoroughbred racing history.

Most notably, Happy Hill Farm was the breeder of the Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

-born stallion

Stallion (horse)

A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded .Stallions will follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck, as well as a somewhat more muscular physique as compared to...

 Raise a Native

Raise a Native

Raise a Native was an undefeated Thoroughbred racehorse that was named 1963 champion two-year-old colt in the Turf and Sport Digest poll. He sired 74 stakes winners, including Majestic Prince and Alydar...

 who became one of the most important sire

Sire

Sire may refer to:* Father, the counterpart of a dam, particularly in animal breeding. See also stallion* James W. Sire, author on worldviews* Sire Records, a record label* Sire Advertising, an advertising agency...

s in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. With trainer Frank I. Wright, the Wetherills had a number of successes on the racetrack. In 1968, Ludham won the New York

New York Handicap

The New York Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the third week of June at Belmont Park in Elmont, Long Island, New York. A Grade II event open to fillies and mares age three and older, it is contested on turf at a distance of one and one-quarter miles .Prior to 1962...

 and Sheepshead Bay Handicap

Sheepshead Bay Handicap

Sheepshead Bay Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the end of May at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. A Grade II event contested on turf at a distance of 1 3/8 miles , it is open to fillies and mares, three-years-old and up...

s. Their gelding

Gelding

A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...

 Kingmaker won races from age three through five including the Whitney Handicap

Whitney Handicap

The Whitney Handicap is an American Grade 1 handicap race for Thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and older run at a distance of 1⅛ miles. In 2007, the Breeders' Cup Ltd...

 and New Orleans Handicap

New Orleans Handicap

The New Orleans Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Open to horses four years old and up, the race is run at a distance of one and one-eighth miles on the dirt...

 in 1957 and in 1958, the Excelsior Handicap.

In recent years, Peter Wetherill raced multiple winner Self Rising, a son of Classic Race winner Hansel

Hansel (horse)

Hansel is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the final two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown races in 1991 and was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding 3-Year-Old Male Horse. Out of the mare Count on Bonnie, his sire was Woodman, a Champion 2-year-old colt in Ireland who was a son of the...

, and currently has Academy Royale, sired by Breeders' Cup Mile

Breeders' Cup Mile

The Breeders' Cup Mile is a Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships since the event's inception in 1984...

 winner Royal Academy

Royal Academy (horse)

Royal Academy is an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse bred in the United States best known as the winner of the 1990 Breeders' Cup Mile in which famed British jockey Lester Piggott came out of retirement to ride the colt to victory....

, along with a few other horses competing on the New York racing circuit

New York Racing Association

The New York Racing Association, Inc. is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest thoroughbred horse-racing tracks in the state of New York. It runs Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens, Belmont Park in Elmont, Long Island , and Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga...

, all of which are trained by Peter D. Pugh.