Helen Julia Hay Whitney (March 11, 1875 – September 24, 1944) was an American poet, writer, racehorse owner and breeder, socialite, and philanthropist. She was a member by marriage of the prominent Whitney family of New York.
Early life
Hay was born in 1875 (although some sources say 1876), the daughter of John Milton Hay (1838–1905), who served as United States Secretary of State and the United States Ambassador to Great Britain, and Clara Louise Stone (1849–1914). Her maternal grandfather was Cleveland multimillionaire railroad and banking mogul Amasa Stone (1818–1883).
Poet
Helen Hay was a poet and an author of books for children. A number of her poems were published in Harper's Magazine. One of her poems, Love of the Rose, was used in Leon Ardin's opera, Antony and Cleopatra (Act 2, no. 15). Herbs And Apples (1910) is a collection of poems that she published using what she had given for The Metropolitan Magazine and Collier's Weekly. "Songs and Sonnets," "Gypsy Verses" are also some of her works produced in such a manner. Several of her works have been republished in the 21st century.
Horse racing
After her husband's death in 1927, she continued to manage Greentree, and Greentree Stable, and it continued to be a major force in Thoroughbred flat and steeplechase horse racing. Her horses won the American Grand National steeplechase in 1926, 1927, 1928, and 1937. In flat racing, her horses Twenty Grand and Shut Out won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes in 1931 and 1942, respectively.
Twenty Grand, named American Horse of the Year in 1931, inspired a cigarette brand put out by Axton-Fisher Tobacco Co., which led to a 1936 trademark infringement case it won. The trademark battled over by was the name "Twenty Grand"/"20 Grand" and a depiction of a horse's head.
