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Updated: 03/30/02
Today Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother died peacefully in her sleep at age 101. She had been involved in racing since the 1950's and remained passionate about racing although her stable had been scaled back as she got older. She was actively involved with her breeding operation and her racing manager once said: "She's breeding to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in nine years' time, and I never get the feeling that she's thinking: 'I won't be there to see that'."
When she turned 100 in August of 2000, she had 10 horses in training, 6 broodmares, and 15 young horses who were as yet unraced. None of her horses were ever sold but were given on permanent loan to good homes when they retired from racing. Not only did she watch out for her horses' well-being but she was also a patron of the Injured Jockeys' Fund.
She had runners on both the flat and the jumps with 449 wins as an owner, the last being First Love at Sandown on March 8, 2002. One of her most infamous horses was steeplechaser Devon Loch. Ridden by Champion Jockey Dick Francis (now a famous mystery writer) the luckless pair were only 40 yards from the winning post in the 1956 Grand National when Devon Loch slipped and collapsed flat on his stomach!
She still made about 10 trips to the races annually when her health allowed, including Royal Ascot where she was driven up the length of the homestretch in a horse-drawn carriage before the races. In 2000, she won a large bet for a lucky race fan when she presented the trophy for the Whitbread Gold Cup. In 1992 he had wagered she would still be presenting the Cup at age 100 and the bookies paid it off at 250-1. Her devotion to the sport was rewarded in 1980 when the two-mile National Hunt Champion Chase during the Cheltenham Festival, one of the most popular races in England, was renamed The Queen Mother Champion Chase.
Farewell to a grand lady who will be missed by many for more than just being royalty.
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