Lucille P. Markey
Encyclopedia
Lucille Parker Wright Markey (December 11, 1888 - July 24, 1982) was an American businesswoman and philanthropist
who owned Calumet Farm
, the most prestigious Thoroughbred
horse farm
in the United States
.
Lucille Parker was born in Tollesboro, Kentucky
on December 11, 1888. The youngest of seven children, she was the daughter of a tobacco
grower who also owned a Livery stable. She is a distant relative, on her mother's side, of Confederate
General
Robert E. Lee
. Her family, the Parkers, were reported to be relatives of Mary Todd Lincoln
. In 1919 she married Warren Wright, Sr. (1875-1950); they adopted a son, Warren, Jr. (died 1978), who married and had four children.
She inherited Calumet Farm on the death of her husband and ran it successfully for more than thirty years. Under her guidance, Calumet Farm won the Kentucky Derby
four times beginning with Hill Gail
(1952), Iron Liege
(1957), Tim Tam
(1958), and Forward Pass
(1968). Among her other horses, in 1977 her filly
Our Mims
(named after Admiral Markey's daughter, Melinda) won the Eclipse Award
as the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly, in 1979 another filly
, Davona Dale
won the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing
(as well as finishing Fourth in the 1979 Travers Stakes
against colts
), and in 1981 still another filly
, Before Dawn was voted the Eclipse Award
as the American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.
On September 27, 1952, Lucille Wright married screenwriter
, Admiral Gene Markey
. With her new husband, she divided her time between Lexington, Kentucky
, Miami Beach and Saratoga Springs. She owned a Yorkshire Terrier
, Timmy Tammy, and carried the dog with her in her purse everywhere she went - even on airplanes. It has been speculated that Calumet's outstanding thoroughbred Tim Tam
was named after the dog, but this has never been absolutely proven to be the case. Among her hobbies were needlepoint
and collecting statues of eagles. In 18th century Kentucky, eagles were widely believed to be a symbol of good luck.
In 1978, when Calumet Farm's outstanding three year old colt, Alydar
(named for Prince Aly Khan
, and half-brother of Our Mims), was locked in his classic battle with Affirmed
, the Markeys (due to their failing health) were brought to the rail at Keenland in Lexington to watch him run in the Blue Grass Stakes
. Alydar
won in a time of 1:49.60. Admiral Markey died in 1980.
She established the Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust. The Trust's aims were to benefit basic medical research. The University of Virginia
's Molecular Biology Institute is among the many recipients of grants from the Trust.
Her adopted son and only heir died in 1978. Following Lucille Markey's death on July 24, 1982, aged 93, in Miami, Florida
, Warren Wright, Jr.'s widow, Bertha and her four children, inherited Calumet Farm, only to lose it under very scandalous circumstances ten years later. Lucille Markey is buried next to her second husband in Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky.
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
who owned Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of Lexington's blue grass country, the finest horse breeding region in...
, the most prestigious 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 farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Lucille Parker was born in Tollesboro, Kentucky
Tollesboro, Kentucky
Tollesboro is an unincorporated community in Lewis County, Kentucky, United States. It lies along the Ohio River west of Greenup. The community is part of the Maysville Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is the birthplace of Lucille P. Markey, a racehorse breeder and philanthropist....
on December 11, 1888. The youngest of seven children, she was the daughter of a tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
grower who also owned a Livery stable. She is a distant relative, on her mother's side, of Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
. Her family, the Parkers, were reported to be relatives of Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Ann Lincoln was the wife of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and was First Lady of the United States from 1861 to 1865.-Life before the White House:...
. In 1919 she married Warren Wright, Sr. (1875-1950); they adopted a son, Warren, Jr. (died 1978), who married and had four children.
She inherited Calumet Farm on the death of her husband and ran it successfully for more than thirty years. Under her guidance, Calumet Farm won the Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
four times beginning with Hill Gail
Hill Gail
Hill Gail was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by the renowned Calumet Farm of Lexington, Kentucky, the son of Champion sire, Bull Lea, Hill Gail is best known as the winner of the 1952 Kentucky Derby....
(1952), Iron Liege
Iron Liege
Iron Liege was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1957 Kentucky Derby. A son of Calumet Farm's leading sire Bull Lea, and out of the mare Iron Maiden, his damsire was the 1937 U.S...
(1957), Tim Tam
Tim Tam (horse)
Tim Tam was an American thoroughbred racehorse. Sired by Tom Fool and out of the great racing mare Two Lea , the dark bay colt was owned and bred by Calumet Farm...
(1958), and Forward Pass
Forward Pass (horse)
Forward Pass was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who is the only horse in the history of the Kentucky Derby to have been declared the winner as the result of a disqualification....
(1968). Among her other horses, in 1977 her filly
Filly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
Our Mims
Our Mims
Our Mims was a champion Thoroughbred racing mare and broodmare, and yet she came very close to dying abandoned in a field of cattle.-A grand beginning:...
(named after Admiral Markey's daughter, Melinda) won the Eclipse Award
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
as the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly, in 1979 another filly
Filly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
, Davona Dale
Davona Dale
Davona Dale is an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred filly racehorse. Owned and bred by Calumet Farm, her sire descends from Nearco and her damsire is Hall of Famer Tim Tam who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes....
won the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing
Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, formerly known as the Filly Triple Crown, is a set of three horse races in the United States which is open to three year old fillies...
(as well as finishing Fourth in the 1979 Travers Stakes
Travers Stakes
The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers...
against colts
Colt (horse)
A colt is a young male horse, under the age of four. The term "colt" is often confused with foal, which refers to a horse of either sex under one year of age....
), and in 1981 still another filly
Filly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
, Before Dawn was voted the Eclipse Award
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
as the American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.
On September 27, 1952, Lucille Wright married screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, Admiral Gene Markey
Gene Markey
Eugene Willford "Gene" Markey was an American author, producer, screenwriter, and highly decorated naval officer.-Biography:...
. With her new husband, she divided her time between Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, Miami Beach and Saratoga Springs. She owned a Yorkshire Terrier
Yorkshire Terrier
The Yorkshire Terrier is a small dog breed of terrier type, developed in the 19th century in the county of Yorkshire, England to catch rats in clothing mills. The defining features of the breed are its size, to , and its silky blue and tan coat...
, Timmy Tammy, and carried the dog with her in her purse everywhere she went - even on airplanes. It has been speculated that Calumet's outstanding thoroughbred Tim Tam
Tim Tam (horse)
Tim Tam was an American thoroughbred racehorse. Sired by Tom Fool and out of the great racing mare Two Lea , the dark bay colt was owned and bred by Calumet Farm...
was named after the dog, but this has never been absolutely proven to be the case. Among her hobbies were needlepoint
Needlepoint
Needlepoint is a form of counted thread embroidery in which yarn is stitched through a stiff open weave canvas. Most needlepoint designs completely cover the canvas...
and collecting statues of eagles. In 18th century Kentucky, eagles were widely believed to be a symbol of good luck.
In 1978, when Calumet Farm's outstanding three year old colt, Alydar
Alydar
Alydar was a chestnut colt and an American thoroughbred race horse who was most famous for finishing a close second to Affirmed in all three races of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a feat not achieved before or repeated since.-Racing career:Trained by John M...
(named for Prince Aly Khan
Prince Aly Khan
Prince Ali Solomone Aga Khan , known as Aly Khan was a son of Aga Khan III, the head of the Ismaili Muslims, and the father of Aga Khan IV. A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, he was the third husband of actress Rita Hayworth...
, and half-brother of Our Mims), was locked in his classic battle with Affirmed
Affirmed
Affirmed was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the eleventh and most recent winner of the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing...
, the Markeys (due to their failing health) were brought to the rail at Keenland in Lexington to watch him run in the Blue Grass Stakes
Blue Grass Stakes
The Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, currently sponsored by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is an American Grade 1 horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in mid April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky....
. Alydar
Alydar
Alydar was a chestnut colt and an American thoroughbred race horse who was most famous for finishing a close second to Affirmed in all three races of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a feat not achieved before or repeated since.-Racing career:Trained by John M...
won in a time of 1:49.60. Admiral Markey died in 1980.
She established the Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust. The Trust's aims were to benefit basic medical research. The University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
's Molecular Biology Institute is among the many recipients of grants from the Trust.
Her adopted son and only heir died in 1978. Following Lucille Markey's death on July 24, 1982, aged 93, in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, Warren Wright, Jr.'s widow, Bertha and her four children, inherited Calumet Farm, only to lose it under very scandalous circumstances ten years later. Lucille Markey is buried next to her second husband in Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky.