William T. Young
Encyclopedia
William T. Young was an American
businessman and major owner of thoroughbred
racehorses
.
William T. Young attended the University of Kentucky
where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon
fraternity. Young graduated with high distinction in 1939 with a Bachelor of Science
in mechanical engineering. After a short employment with Bailey Meter in Cleveland, Ohio, he served as a captain in the United States Army
from 1941-1945.
. He developed the business into one of the leading producers of peanut butter in the United States. After he sold the company to Procter & Gamble
in 1955, it was renamed Jif
peanut butter. William Young continued to manage the peanut butter manufacturing operation for Procter & Gamble until 1957, at which time he founded W. T. Young Storage, Inc.
William Young joined the Board of Directors of Royal Crown Cola and served as its Chairman from 1966-1984. He was also a director the Kentucky-American Water Company, and the First Security National Bank and Trust Company of Lexington. At one time, William Young was the single largest shareholder of Humana
health insurance company. Through the 1960s and early 70's, he served on the Board of Directors of Kentucky Fried Chicken
with CEO John Y. Brown, Jr.
When Brown was elected governor of Kentucky in December 1979, he chose Young as chairman of the executive cabinet. Young also served as chairman of the Kentucky Economic Development Corporation, a private organization aimed at boosting economic development in the state.
, the most important horse of his career. Storm Cat went on to become one of the world's highest priced sire
s and almost entirely responsible for William Young being voted the 1994 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder
.
Teamed with trainer D. Wayne Lukas
, in 1994 Overbrook won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies
with Flanders and was a partner in Timber Country
who won that year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile
. Overbrook also bred Tabasco Cat
on a foal share partnership agreement with Reynolds Metals
Chairman, David P. Reynolds
. Tabasco Cat won the 1994 Preakness
and Belmont Stakes
.
Overbrook won the 1996 Kentucky Derby
with the home-bred colt Grindstone
and captured his second Breeders' Cup Juvenile that fall with Boston Harbor
. In 1999 he won the 1999 Breeders' Cup Classic
with Cat Thief
.
Active in the horse racing industry, William Young served as a director of the Breeders' Cup Limited
. His daughter Lucy married renowned French
horse trainer
, Francois Boutin
and remains active in the industry.
On June 9, 2009, William Young, Jr., who assumed control of the Overbrook operation upon the death of his father, announced that his family would be selling the majority of their bloodstock. During the next few months Overbrook sold off its resident stallions then in September sold 48 yearlings for $6,644,000 and in November sold 148 horses for $31,760,000 including Honest Pursuit, a daughter of Storm Cat who sold for $3.1 million to Wertheimer et Frere
.
, Junior Achievement
, Spindletop Research, the Red Cross, and the Cancer Drive. He was a University of Kentucky trustee and donated $5 million of his own money while helping raise additional funds to build a new library at the University of Kentucky that would be named the William T. Young Library
in his honor. He further created a book endowment and campaigned for donations to fund it. At the time of his death the endowment was the largest of its kind in the United States. William Young was inducted into the College of Engineering Hall of Distinction in 1992. Appointed to the Board of Trustees of Transylvania University
in 1967, he served as its Chairman for twenty-three years from 1977 to 2000 and was a most important figure in the university's expansion and betterment.
In 1985 William Young joined the Board of historic Shakertown
near Lexington and was appointed its Chairman in 1990. In that role, he was instrumental in raising funds for important renovations needed to increase visitor revenues and as well he set up a program to insure the village's financial stability.
Overall, William Young donated more than $60 million to various causes.
His wife, the former Lucy Hilton Maddox, died in 2002 and he died in 2004. He was survived by a son, William T. Young, Jr., and daughter, Lucy Young Hamilton.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman and major owner 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
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...
.
William T. Young attended the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
where he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...
fraternity. Young graduated with high distinction in 1939 with a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in mechanical engineering. After a short employment with Bailey Meter in Cleveland, Ohio, he served as a captain in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
from 1941-1945.
Business career
After the War he was living in Philadelphia but in 1946 returned to his native Lexington where he founded W. T. Young Foods, Inc. that made "Big Top" brand peanut butterPeanut butter
Peanut butter is a food paste made primarily from ground dry roasted peanuts, popular in North America, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and parts of Asia, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia. It is mainly used as a sandwich spread, sometimes in combination as in the peanut butter and jelly...
. He developed the business into one of the leading producers of peanut butter in the United States. After he sold the company to Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
in 1955, it was renamed Jif
Jif (peanut butter)
Jif is a brand of peanut butter made by The J.M. Smucker Co., which purchased the brand from Procter & Gamble in 2001. The original Creamy Jif peanut butter debuted in 1958. In 1974, Extra Crunchy Jif was introduced, followed by Simply Jif in 1991, a peanut butter variant with low-sodium and less...
peanut butter. William Young continued to manage the peanut butter manufacturing operation for Procter & Gamble until 1957, at which time he founded W. T. Young Storage, Inc.
William Young joined the Board of Directors of Royal Crown Cola and served as its Chairman from 1966-1984. He was also a director the Kentucky-American Water Company, and the First Security National Bank and Trust Company of Lexington. At one time, William Young was the single largest shareholder of Humana
Humana
Humana Inc. , founded in 1961 in Louisville, Kentucky, is a Fortune 100 company that markets and administers health insurance. With a customer base of over 11.5 million in the United States, the company is the largest Fortune 100 company headquartered in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and has a...
health insurance company. Through the 1960s and early 70's, he served on the Board of Directors of Kentucky Fried Chicken
KFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
with CEO John Y. Brown, Jr.
John Y. Brown, Jr.
This article is about one of four John Young Browns, from Kentucky, that have served political office. For others see: John Young Brown ...
When Brown was elected governor of Kentucky in December 1979, he chose Young as chairman of the executive cabinet. Young also served as chairman of the Kentucky Economic Development Corporation, a private organization aimed at boosting economic development in the state.
Overbrook Farm
In 1972 William Young established Overbrook Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. In 1983 he bred Storm CatStorm Cat
Storm 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....
, the most important horse of his career. Storm Cat went on to become one of the world's highest priced 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 and almost entirely responsible for William Young being voted the 1994 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor for breeders. Created in 1971, it is part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually.Its Canadian counterpart is the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Breeder....
.
Teamed with trainer D. Wayne Lukas
D. Wayne Lukas
Darrell Wayne Lukas is a former educator who became one of the most successful horse trainers in American Thoroughbred horse racing history and a U.S...
, in 1994 Overbrook won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies
Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies
The 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...
with Flanders and was a partner in Timber Country
Timber Country
Timber Country is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first horse to ever win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile then go on to win one of the U.S. Triple Crown races for three-year-olds....
who won that year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile
Breeders' Cup Juvenile
The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships....
. Overbrook also bred Tabasco Cat
Tabasco Cat
Tabasco Cat was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was best known for his performances in 1994 when he won the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, the second and third legs of the Triple Crown Series.-Background:...
on a foal share partnership agreement with Reynolds Metals
Reynolds Metals
Reynolds Group Holdings is an American packaging company with its roots in the Reynolds Metals Company, was the second largest aluminum company in the United States, and the third largest in the world...
Chairman, David P. Reynolds
David P. Reynolds
David P. Reynolds was Chairman emeritus of Reynolds Metals Co. and an owner/breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses. He is the son of Richard S. Reynolds, Sr...
. Tabasco Cat won the 1994 Preakness
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...
and 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...
.
Overbrook won the 1996 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...
with the home-bred colt Grindstone
Grindstone (horse)
Grindstone is a thoroughbred racehorse who won the Kentucky Derby in 1996. He became jockey Jerry Bailey's 2nd Kentucky Derby winner and the second in a row for trainer D. Wayne Lukas....
and captured his second Breeders' Cup Juvenile that fall with Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor (horse)
Boston Harbor is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by William T. Young's Overbrook Farm near Lexington, Boston Harbor was a son of Capote who won the 1996 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and was voted that year's U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt.Trained by D...
. In 1999 he won the 1999 Breeders' Cup Classic
Breeders' Cup Classic
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 year olds and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships...
with Cat Thief
Cat Thief
Cat Thief is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Regally bred, he is the son of Storm Cat, an outstanding Champion sire and the grandson of both the 20th Century's most important sire, Northern Dancer and whose damsire was the legendary U.S. Triple Crown champion, Secretariat. Cat Thief's dam was...
.
Active in the horse racing industry, William Young served as a director of the Breeders' Cup Limited
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...
. His daughter Lucy married renowned French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
horse 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...
, Francois Boutin
François Boutin
François Boutin was a French Thoroughbred horse trainer. The son of a farmer, he was born in the village of Beaunay in the northerly Seine Maritime département. He began riding horses at a young age and competed in show jumping and cross-country equestrianism...
and remains active in the industry.
On June 9, 2009, William Young, Jr., who assumed control of the Overbrook operation upon the death of his father, announced that his family would be selling the majority of their bloodstock. During the next few months Overbrook sold off its resident stallions then in September sold 48 yearlings for $6,644,000 and in November sold 148 horses for $31,760,000 including Honest Pursuit, a daughter of Storm Cat who sold for $3.1 million to Wertheimer et Frere
Wertheimer et Frère
Wertheimer et Frère is a Thoroughbred horse racing and breeding business partnership between brothers Alain and Gerard Wertheimer of France.The Wertheimer brothers are the owners of the House of Chanel in Paris...
.
Philanthropy
Young was a community leader in such organizations as the YMCAYMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement or JA or JA Worldwide is a non-profit youth organization that was founded in 1919 by Horace A. Moses, Theodore Vail, and senator Winthrop M. Crane. JA focuses on educating kids in K-12 about the free enterprise system...
, Spindletop Research, the Red Cross, and the Cancer Drive. He was a University of Kentucky trustee and donated $5 million of his own money while helping raise additional funds to build a new library at the University of Kentucky that would be named the William T. Young Library
William T. Young Library
The William T. Young Library, located on the campus of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, is named for William T. Young, a prominent local businessman, horse breeder, philanthropist and alumnus of the university, who began fund raising efforts with a donation of $5 million...
in his honor. He further created a book endowment and campaigned for donations to fund it. At the time of his death the endowment was the largest of its kind in the United States. William Young was inducted into the College of Engineering Hall of Distinction in 1992. Appointed to the Board of Trustees of Transylvania University
Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Lexington, Kentucky, United States, affiliated with the Christian Church . The school was founded in 1780. It offers 38 majors, and pre-professional degrees in engineering and accounting...
in 1967, he served as its Chairman for twenty-three years from 1977 to 2000 and was a most important figure in the university's expansion and betterment.
In 1985 William Young joined the Board of historic Shakertown
Pleasant Hill, Kentucky
Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, USA, is the site of a Shaker religious community that was active from 1805 to 1910. Following a preservationist effort that began in 1961, the site, now a National Historic Landmark, has become a popular tourist destination...
near Lexington and was appointed its Chairman in 1990. In that role, he was instrumental in raising funds for important renovations needed to increase visitor revenues and as well he set up a program to insure the village's financial stability.
Overall, William Young donated more than $60 million to various causes.
His wife, the former Lucy Hilton Maddox, died in 2002 and he died in 2004. He was survived by a son, William T. Young, Jr., and daughter, Lucy Young Hamilton.