William Haggin Perry was a prominent owner and breeder of 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...

 racehorses. He was the son of Henry Pierrepont Perry, 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...

 broker

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...

, and Edith Lounsbery, the daughter of Richard P. Lounsbery and Edith Hunter Haggin who in turn was the daughter of one of America's

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 most prominent horsemen, James Ben Ali Haggin

James Ben Ali Haggin

James Ben Ali Haggin was an Turkish Americanattorney, rancher, investor and a major owner/breeder in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing...

.

Although born in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, William Perry spent a good deal of his childhood at Rancho Del Paso

Rancho Del Paso

Rancho Del Paso was a Mexican land grant in present day Sacramento County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Eliab Grimes. The grant extended along the north bank of the American River and was bounded roughly by today’s Northgate Boulevard, Manzanita Avenue, and Elkhorn...

, the huge Haggin family ranch in Sacramento County, California

Sacramento County, California

Sacramento County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Sacramento, which is also the state capital. As of 2010 the county had a population of 1,418,788....

. The family owned a summer estate in Newport, Rhode Island

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

 and young William Perry studied there at St. George's School

St. George's School, Newport

St. George's School is a private, Episcopal, coeducational boarding school in Middletown, Rhode Island, USA, just east of the city of Newport. The school was founded in 1896 by the Rev. John Byron Diman, a member of a prominent Rhode Island family. It sits on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean...

 before going on to Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

.

William Perry and his wife Nicole made their home at Waterford Farm, a 144-acre equestrian

Equestrianism

Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

 estate in Buchanan County, Virginia

Buchanan County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 26,978 people, 10,464 households, and 7,900 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile . There were 11,887 housing units at an average density of 24 per square mile...

 about four miles from the village of Middleburg

Middleburg, Virginia

Middleburg is a town in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States with a population of approximately 976 as of July 2010.-History:The town was established in 1787 by American Revolutionary War Lieutenant Colonel and Virginia statesman, Levin Powell. He purchased the land for Middleburg at $2.50 per...

. According to Armfield, Miller & Ripley Fine Properties, LLC, real estate agents who sold the property, The Chronicle of the Horse publication called Waterford Farm "one of the ten most important thoroughbred facilities in the United States during the late 1970s and early 80s."

In 1960, through his Gamely Corporation William Perry entered into an annual foal sharing partnership with Arthur Hancock

Arthur B. Hancock, Jr.

Arthur B. "Bull" Hancock, Jr. was a breeder and owner of thoroughbred racehorses at Claiborne farm in Kentucky. He acquired European horses to breed in the United States, in particular Nasrullah and Princequillo, and gained great standing in the racing world as a result.-Early life:Hancock was...

 of Claiborne Farm

Claiborne Farm

Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred Horse breeding operation in near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910, by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Farm in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever since.-Owners:...

. Perry raced many top runners including 1979 Belmont Stakes

Belmont Stakes

The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...

 winner Coastal

Coastal (horse)

Coastal was an American thoroughbred stallion racehorse. He was sired by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Majestic Prince out of the mare, Alluvial, who was in turn was sired by U.S. Racing Hall of Fame stallion, Buckpasser. He was a half-brother, thru Alluvial, to Slew o' Gold.Owned by William...

. His early success in racing came with the 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....

 Alanesian

Alanesian

Alanesian was an American Thoroughbred racing filly and successful broodmare. She was bred in Kentucky by E. Barry Ryan, a society trainer and owner of Normandy Farm in Lexington, Kentucky...

 who in turn produced Boldnesian

Boldnesian

Boldnesian was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known in racing for winning the 1966 Santa Anita Derby and as a sire. Scheduled to run in the Kentucky Derby, Boldnesian's racing career was cut short by an operation after bone chips were discovered following his win in the Santa Anita Derby...

 and Princessnesian

Princessnesian

Princessnesian was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who, through 2010, is the last female to have won the prestigious Hollywood Gold Cup. Bred and raced by William Haggin Perry, in 1968 the four-year-old mare became only the third female to win the Gold Cup, joining Happy Issue and Two Lea...

. Perry's first Champion

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...

 was Lamb Chop

Lamb Chop (horse)

Lamb Chop was an American Thoroughbred Champion racehorse. Bred by Bull Hancock's renowned Claiborne Farm, she was sired by the great Bold Ruler, an eight-time Leading sire in North America and grandson of Nearco. Her dam, Sheepsfoot, was a daughter of the 1943 U.S...

 in 1963, followed by U.S. Racing 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 Gamely

Gamely (horse)

Gamely was a Thoroughbred race horse bred and born at Claiborne Farm outside Paris, Kentucky. Gamely's dam was the stakes-winning mare Gambetta, and her sire was the great sire Bold Ruler. Gambetta's dam, Rough Shod II, also produced the splendid filly Moccasin, the fine colt Ridan, and Lt....

 in 1967, and Revidere

Revidere

Revidere was an American Thoroughbred filly racehorse that was voted the 1976 Eclipse Award as the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly....

 in 1976.

In 1993, William Haggin Perry died at Waterford Farm at age eighty-five. He was inducted posthumously in the Virginia Thoroughbred Association Hall of Fame in 1994.