Martin J. Wygod
Encyclopedia
Martin J. Wygod is an American businessman and a prominent Thoroughbred
racehorse
owner/breeder. A business administration graduate from New York University
, he joined a Wall Street
stock brokerage
firm before becoming a managing partner in a similar firm.
In 1964, Wygod became involved with Computer Sciences Corporation
(CSC) in California
, run by founders Roy Nutt
and Fletcher Jones
. In the 1970s he shifted his focus to the burgeoning health care
industry, buying Glasrock Medical Services in 1977 and after five years of solid growth, sold it for a large profit. In 1983 he established Medco Containment Services, Inc.
and built it into the largest mail order
pharmacy
in the United States. In 1993 Wygod sold Medco to Merck & Co.
for more than US$6 billion.
Martin Wygod is currently Chairman of the New York City based WebMD Health Corporation which provides health information services to consumers, healthcare professionals, physicians, employers, and health plans through its public and private online portals. As well, Wygod is Chairman of HLTH Corporation, an Elmwood Park, New Jersey
technology company providing healthcare information services.
Horse racing
. Growing up in New York he spent time as a hot walker at Belmont Park
and Aqueduct Racetrack
. As a result of his friendship with Fletcher Jones of CSC, Wygod first became a Thoroughbred owner when Jones gave him two racehorses, Verification and Heliotropic, as a 25th birthday gift. Fletcher Jones owned Westerly Stud Farms near Santa Ynez, California
and was involved in horse racing for several years prior to his untimely death in 1972.
Since 1975 the Wygods have owned the 240 acre (0.9712464 km²) River Edge Farm near Buellton
in the Santa Ynez Valley
. http://www.riveredgefarminc.com/ http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050914/news_1s14horses.html In 1995, they left the East Coast of the United States
to make their home on a 110 acre (0.4451546 km²) estate in Rancho Santa Fe, California
. A member of The Jockey Club
, Martin Wygod and his wife Pamela began devoting more time to their horses and became major players in Thoroughbred racing. Their River Edge Farm was the leading breeder in California in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
In 1996 Martin Wygod became a trustee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association
and serves on the Board of Directors
of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
. Pamela Wygod also oversees two foundations, the Rose Foundation and the WebMD Health Foundation. They are supporters of Breeders' Cup Charities
Lefty Nickerson
was the first trainer
hired to condition Wygod's horses for racing. One of their early stakes race wins came in the 1973 Derby Trial with the colt, Settecento. As of 2009, their trainer is John Shirreffs
. Other successful racehorses raced by Martin and Pamela Wygod include:
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...
racehorse
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...
owner/breeder. A business administration graduate from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, he joined a Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
stock brokerage
Stock broker
A stock broker or stockbroker is a regulated professional broker who buys and sells shares and other securities through market makers or Agency Only Firms on behalf of investors...
firm before becoming a managing partner in a similar firm.
In 1964, Wygod became involved with Computer Sciences Corporation
Computer Sciences Corporation
Computer Sciences Corporation is an American information technology and business services company headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, USA...
(CSC) in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, run by founders Roy Nutt
Roy Nutt
Roy Nutt was an American businessman and computer pioneer who co-founded Computer Sciences Corporation and was a co-creator of FORTRAN....
and Fletcher Jones
Fletcher R. Jones
Fletcher Roseberry Jones was an American businessman, computer pioneer and thoroughbred racehorse owner.Born in Bryan, Texas, he was the third of three children of an impoverished Depression era family. He graduated from Allen Military Academy in 1949, then studied at university for two years but...
. In the 1970s he shifted his focus to the burgeoning health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
industry, buying Glasrock Medical Services in 1977 and after five years of solid growth, sold it for a large profit. In 1983 he established Medco Containment Services, Inc.
Medco Health Solutions
Medco Health Solutions, Inc is a health care company currently serving the needs of more than 65 million people. Medco provides pharmacy services for private and public employers, health plans, labor unions, government agencies, and individuals served by Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plans...
and built it into the largest mail order
Mail order
Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...
pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
in the United States. In 1993 Wygod sold Medco to Merck & Co.
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...
for more than US$6 billion.
Martin Wygod is currently Chairman of the New York City based WebMD Health Corporation which provides health information services to consumers, healthcare professionals, physicians, employers, and health plans through its public and private online portals. As well, Wygod is Chairman of HLTH Corporation, an Elmwood Park, New Jersey
Elmwood Park, New Jersey
Elmwood Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 19,403....
technology company providing healthcare information services.
Thoroughbred racing
Since boyhood, Martin Wygod has had a love of horses and the sport of ThoroughbredThoroughbred
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...
. Growing up in New York he spent time as a hot walker at Belmont Park
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
and Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack
Aqueduct Racetrack is a thoroughbred horse-racing facility and racino in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Its racing meets usually are from late October/early November through April.-History:...
. As a result of his friendship with Fletcher Jones of CSC, Wygod first became a Thoroughbred owner when Jones gave him two racehorses, Verification and Heliotropic, as a 25th birthday gift. Fletcher Jones owned Westerly Stud Farms near Santa Ynez, California
Santa Ynez, California
Santa Ynez is a census-designated place in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. The town of Santa Ynez is one of the communities that make up the Santa Ynez Valley, and features the Santa Ynez Airport for general aviation with a paved 2804 x 75 foot runway. The population was 4,418...
and was involved in horse racing for several years prior to his untimely death in 1972.
Since 1975 the Wygods have owned the 240 acre (0.9712464 km²) River Edge Farm near Buellton
Buellton, California
Buellton is a small city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. The city of Buellton is one of the communities that make up the Santa Ynez Valley...
in the Santa Ynez Valley
Santa Ynez Valley
The Santa Ynez Valley is located in Santa Barbara County, California, between the Santa Ynez Mountains to the south and the San Rafael Mountains to the north. The Santa Ynez River flows through the valley from east to west. The Santa Ynez Valley is separated from the Los Alamos Valley, to the...
. http://www.riveredgefarminc.com/ http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050914/news_1s14horses.html In 1995, they left the East Coast of the United States
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
to make their home on a 110 acre (0.4451546 km²) estate in Rancho Santa Fe, California
Rancho Santa Fe, California
Rancho Santa Fe known locally as ″The Ranch″, is one of the most exclusive and affluent communities in Southern California. It is also a census-designated place in San Diego County, California and an unincorporated bedroom community of San Diego County...
. A member of The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club, formed on February 9, 1894, is the keeper of The American Stud Book. It came into existence after James R. Keene spearheaded a drive in support of racehorse trainers who had complained about the Board of Control that governed racing in New York State.-History:On its formation, The...
, Martin Wygod and his wife Pamela began devoting more time to their horses and became major players in Thoroughbred racing. Their River Edge Farm was the leading breeder in California in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
In 1996 Martin Wygod became a trustee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association
Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association
The American Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association based in Lexington, Kentucky is a trade organization for Thoroughbred racehorse owners and breeders...
and serves on the Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the seaside city of Del Mar, California, 20 miles north of San Diego. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, it is known for the slogan: "Where The Turf Meets The Surf." It was built by a partnership...
. Pamela Wygod also oversees two foundations, the Rose Foundation and the WebMD Health Foundation. They are supporters of Breeders' Cup Charities
Lefty Nickerson
Victor J. Nickerson
Victor J. "Lefty" Nickerson was an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer. He embarked on a career as a professional trainer in 1953, working primarily at racetracks in the Northeastern United States...
was the first trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
hired to condition Wygod's horses for racing. One of their early stakes race wins came in the 1973 Derby Trial with the colt, Settecento. As of 2009, their trainer is John Shirreffs
John Shirreffs
John A. Shirreffs is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.Based in California, Vietnam War veteran John Shirreffs began training Thoroughbreds in 1978. He has won a number of stakes races with his most important coming in the 2005 Kentucky Derby when Giacomo scored a major upset...
. Other successful racehorses raced by Martin and Pamela Wygod include:
- Exotic Wood (b. 1992) - won G1s Go For Wand HandicapGo For Wand HandicapThe Go For Wand Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race established in 1954 for fillies and mares age three and up. Raced at the end of July/early August, it is a Grade II race on dirt at a distance of one and one-eighth miles .Inaugurated in 1954 at Belmont Park as the Maskette Stakes in...
, Santa Monica HandicapSanta Monica HandicapThe Santa Monica Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race run annually in late January/early February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California...
, Santa Maria HandicapSanta Maria HandicapThe Santa Maria Handicap is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early February at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California... - Tranquility Lake (b. 1995) - multiple Grade 1 winner and successful broodmare for the Wygods. Her 2004 colt (later named JalilJalil (horse)Jalil, , is an American Thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. His sire is the former leading North American stallion Storm Cat. His dam is the multiple Grade 1 winning race mare Tranquility Lake, sired by Rahy...
) sired by Storm CatStorm CatStorm Cat was an American Thoroughbred stallion whose breeding fee during the peak of his stud career was $500,000, the highest in the world. As such, he was one of the few horses with a 24-hour armed guard....
was sold at the September 2005 Keeneland SalesKeeneland SalesThe Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene...
for $9.7 million - Sweet Catomine (b. 2002) - American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. Won 2004 Breeders' Cup Juvenile FilliesBreeders' Cup Juvenile FilliesThe Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a 1 1/16-mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships.-Automatic Berths:Beginning in 2007, the Breeders' Cup...
- After Market (b. 2003) - son of Tranquility Lake. Won four straight graded stakes including back-to-back Grade 1s, the Charles Whittingham Memorial Charles Whittingham Memorial HandicapThe Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the second week of June at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California...
and Eddie Read HandicapEddie Read HandicapThe Eddie Read Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually during the second half of July at the Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. Open to horses age three and older, it is raced at a distance of one and one-eighth miles on turf...
s - Life Is SweetLife Is Sweet (horse)Life Is Sweet is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who in early 2009 was thought to be a threat to her unbeaten stablemate, Zenyatta. She was bred by her owners, Pam & Martin Wygod. Sired by Storm Cat, she is out of the Kris S...
(b. 2005) - in 2009 won the G1 Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic and Santa Margarita Invitational HandicapSanta Margarita Invitational HandicapThe Santa Margarita Invitational Handicapis an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California...