Raymond R. Guest
Encyclopedia
Commander Raymond Richard Guest OBE
(November 25, 1907 – December 31, 1991 was an American
businessman, thoroughbred
race horse owner and polo
player. He was United States Ambassador to Ireland
.
to Frederick Edward Guest
, a British
Cabinet minister and his American wife, Amy Phipps, daughter of Henry Phipps, Jr. He was the great-grandson of the seventh Duke of Marlborough, and was Winston Churchill's
second cousin.
During World War II
he served with the United States Navy
. He served on mine sweeper
s and was made head of the Navy section of the Office of Strategic Services
in London
, England
. By the time he left the military in 1946, he had risen to the rank of Commander
. He was awarded the Bronze Star and a Legion of Merit
, both with combat devices; the Croix de Guerre
with star; the Order of the British Empire
; the Norwegian Cross, and the Danish Defense Medal.
Raymond Guest was a member of the Senate of Virginia
from 1947–1953 and served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland
from 1965 to 1968.
He married first to Elizabeth (Lily) Polk of Dark Harbor, Maine
, with whom he had three children. She was a descendant of U.S. President, James K. Polk
. He married secondly to Princess Caroline Murat, daughter of prince Alexandre Murat, with whom he had two children.
He died of pneumonia on December 31, 1991 in Mary Washington Hospital
in Fredericksburg, Virginia
.
who was a conditions race
winner in England and Ireland as well as the Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1982. Raymond Guest also owned thoroughbreds which he raced in England, Ireland, France and the United States. In Ireland his flat racehorses were trained by Vincent O'Brien
and his National Hunt
horses by Dan Moore. His racing colours were chocolate, pale blue hoops and cap. Guest is one of only four owners to win both the Epsom Derby
and the Grand National
, the others being King Edward VII
, when Prince of Wales
, Dorothy Paget
and Jim Joel
The British flat racing Champion Owner
in 1968, among Guest's successful horses in flat racing
were Larkspur
, winner of the 1962 Epsom Derby
; Sir Ivor
, winner of the 1968 2,000 Guineas, Epsom Derby
and the Washington, D.C. International.
Raymond Guest also owned steeplechase
racers. His most outstanding was L'Escargot
, a National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
inductee who was voted the 1969 U.S. Steeplechase Horse of the Year and who then raced in England where he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup
in 1970 and 1971 and the Grand National
in 1975.
In the United States, Raymond Guest was a member of The Jockey Club
and voted President of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association in 1958. The best horse to carry his Powhatan Stable colours in American flat racing was Tom Rolfe
, winner of the 1965 Preakness Stakes
who earned American Champion 3-Year-Old Male Horse honors.
Both he and his brother Winston Frederick Churchill Guest
were polo players. Raymond Guest twice won the U.S. Open (polo) as part of the Templeton
team, and was posthumously inducted into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame
in 2006.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(November 25, 1907 – December 31, 1991 was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman, 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...
race horse owner and polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
player. He was United States Ambassador to Ireland
United States Ambassador to Ireland
There have been a total of 30 Ambassadors of the United States to Ireland meaning the Republic of Ireland. All except one, Frederick A. Sterling, have been non-career appointees, while there were three under President George W. Bush.-List of Ambassadors:...
.
Biography
He was born on November 25, 1907 in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
to Frederick Edward Guest
Frederick Edward Guest
Frederick Edward Guest CBE DSO PC , often known as Freddie Guest, was a British politician best known for being Chief Whip of Prime Minister David Lloyd George's Coalition Liberal Party between 1917 and 1921. He was also Secretary of State for Air between 1921 and 1922...
, a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Cabinet minister and his American wife, Amy Phipps, daughter of Henry Phipps, Jr. He was the great-grandson of the seventh Duke of Marlborough, and was Winston Churchill's
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
second cousin.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he served with the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. He served on mine sweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
s and was made head of the Navy section of the Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. By the time he left the military in 1946, he had risen to the rank of Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
. He was awarded the Bronze Star and a Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
, both with combat devices; the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
with star; the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
; the Norwegian Cross, and the Danish Defense Medal.
Raymond Guest was a member of the Senate of Virginia
Senate of Virginia
The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 Senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia...
from 1947–1953 and served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland
United States Ambassador to Ireland
There have been a total of 30 Ambassadors of the United States to Ireland meaning the Republic of Ireland. All except one, Frederick A. Sterling, have been non-career appointees, while there were three under President George W. Bush.-List of Ambassadors:...
from 1965 to 1968.
He married first to Elizabeth (Lily) Polk of Dark Harbor, Maine
Islesboro, Maine
Islesboro is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 603 at the 2000 census. It is a well-known summer colony accessible by ferry from Lincolnville Beach 3 miles to the west, or by air taxi service...
, with whom he had three children. She was a descendant of U.S. President, James K. Polk
James K. Polk
James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States . Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives and the 12th Governor of Tennessee...
. He married secondly to Princess Caroline Murat, daughter of prince Alexandre Murat, with whom he had two children.
He died of pneumonia on December 31, 1991 in Mary Washington Hospital
Mary Washington Hospital
-History:In 1942 the hospital was evacuated during the floods.In 1978 it was investigated for violating the Hill Burton Act....
in Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286...
.
Thoroughbred racing
In the United States, members of his mother's family have been major figures in the sport of thoroughbred racing for many decades. In England, Raymond Guest's sister, Diana Guest Manning, owned and raced a horse she named Be My GuestBe My Guest (horse)
Be My Guest was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and Champion sire. He was bred in Kentucky by Walter Haefner, a Swiss businessman and owner of Moyglare Stud Farm in Ireland...
who was a conditions race
Conditions races
Conditions races are horse races where the weights carried by the runners are laid down by the conditions attached to the race. Weights are allocated according to; the sex of the runners, with female runners carrying less weight than males; the age of the runners, with younger horses receiving...
winner in England and Ireland as well as the Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1982. Raymond Guest also owned thoroughbreds which he raced in England, Ireland, France and the United States. In Ireland his flat racehorses were trained by Vincent O'Brien
Vincent O'Brien
Dr. Michael Vincent O'Brien was an Irish race horse trainer from Churchtown, County Cork, Ireland. In 2003 he was voted the greatest influence in horse racing history, according to a worldwide vote hosted by the Racing Post newspaper...
and his National Hunt
National Hunt racing
National Hunt racing is the official name given to the sport of horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Ireland in which the horses are required to jump over obstacles called hurdles or fences...
horses by Dan Moore. His racing colours were chocolate, pale blue hoops and cap. Guest is one of only four owners to win both the Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
and the Grand National
Grand National
The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
, the others being King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, when Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, Dorothy Paget
Dorothy Paget
Dorothy Wyndham Paget was a British racehorse owner.She was the daughter of Lord Queenborough and Pauline Payne Whitney of the United States Whitney family. She was a cousin of Jock Whitney, owner of the dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Easter Hero and latterly American Ambassador in London. She...
and Jim Joel
The British flat racing Champion Owner
British flat racing Champion Owner
The Champion Owner of flat racing in Great Britain is the owner whose horses have won the most prizemoney during a season. The list below shows the Champion Owner for each year since 1894.-----See also:* British flat racing Champion Jockey...
in 1968, among Guest's successful horses in flat racing
Flat racing
Flat racing is a form of Thoroughbred horse racing which is run over a level track at a predetermined distance. It differs from steeplechase racing which is run over hurdles...
were Larkspur
Larkspur (horse)
Larkspur was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse and sire who won the Epsom Derby 1962. He was the first of six Derby winners trained by Vincent O’Brien at Ballydoyle. Larkspur achieved little of note either before or after his Epsom triumph.-Background:...
, winner of the 1962 Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
; Sir Ivor
Sir Ivor
Sir Ivor was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed from a base in Ireland. Owned by American businessman and U.S. Ambassador to Ireland, Raymond R...
, winner of the 1968 2,000 Guineas, Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
and the Washington, D.C. International.
Raymond Guest also owned steeplechase
Steeplechase
Steeplechase may refer to:* Steeplechase, an event in horse racing* SteepleChase, a Danish jazz label* Steeplechase , a 1975 arcade game released by Atari...
racers. His most outstanding was L'Escargot
L'Escargot (horse)
L'Escargot was a racehorse notable as being the horse who halted the winning run of Red Rum at the Aintree Grand National in 1975. L’Escargot was owned by Raymond R. Guest, and ridden by champion Irish jockey Tommy Carberry. He was trained by Dan Moore, and beat Red Rum by 15 lengths.He won as a...
, a National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
inductee who was voted the 1969 U.S. Steeplechase Horse of the Year and who then raced in England where he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup
Cheltenham Gold Cup
The Cheltenham Gold Cup is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in the United Kingdom which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and 2½ furlongs , and during its running there are twenty-two fences to be jumped...
in 1970 and 1971 and the Grand National
Grand National
The Grand National is a world-famous National Hunt horse race which is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, near Liverpool, England. It is a handicap chase run over a distance of four miles and 856 yards , with horses jumping thirty fences over two circuits of Aintree's National Course...
in 1975.
In the United States, Raymond Guest was 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...
and voted President of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association in 1958. The best horse to carry his Powhatan Stable colours in American flat racing was Tom Rolfe
Tom Rolfe
The racehorse Tom Rolfe was one of the best American sons of the great racehorse and sire Ribot. His dam was Pocahontas, from whom he takes his name...
, winner of the 1965 Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
who earned American Champion 3-Year-Old Male Horse honors.
Both he and his brother Winston Frederick Churchill Guest
Winston Frederick Churchill Guest
-Biography:Winston Guest was the son of Frederick Guest, a British politician, and his wife, Amy Phipps, who was the daughter of American businessman and philanthropist Henry Phipps, Jr. Guest was born in 1906. He won the International Polo Cup in 1930, 1936 and 1939. He died in 1982 at Nassau...
were polo players. Raymond Guest twice won the U.S. Open (polo) as part of the Templeton
Templeton
-People:* Alan Templeton, American geneticist and statistician* Alec Templeton, Welsh-American musician* Bert Templeton, Canadian junior ice hockey coach* Brad Templeton, Canadian software engineer and entrepreneur* Charles Templeton, Canadian personality...
team, and was posthumously inducted into the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame
Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame
The Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame is in Lake Worth, Florida.The first inductions were in 1990.-Honorees:*Rodolphe Louis Agassiz *Lester Armour, III*Harold A. Barry*Harold L. Barry*Paul W. Barry*Roy M. Barry*Carlton Beal...
in 2006.