Liz Whitney Tippett

Mary Elizabeth Whitney Person Lunn Tippett (born Mary Elizabeth Altemus) (June 18, 1906 – October 30, 1988) was a wealthy American socialite and philanthropist who was a champion horsewoman and for more than fifty years, a prominent owner/breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses. Early life Liz was born Mary Elizabeth Altemus in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Elizabeth Dobson Altemus and Lemuel Coffin Altemus, a wealthy entrepreneur who made his success in the textile business. "Liz", as she would become known throughout her life, developed a love of horses and equestrian competitions at an early age. A 1939 TIME magazine article describes her as "a spirited, devil-may-care rider who has been winning blue ribbons on the horseshow circuit for 15 years" and whose "riding technique became the very pattern for aspiring horsewomen." Thoroughbred horse racing Liz Altemus owned and raced Thoroughbred horses before she married. In 1930, her horse Capstone ran fifth in the inaugural running of the Wilson Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. After her marriage to Jock Whitney she remained active in Thoroughbred racing. She set up her own operations and made her Llangollen home a major breeding and training center, constructing a variety of equine fittings, including a famous horseshoe-shaped barn, stud barn and broodmare sheds, tack rooms, paddocks, and a training track on the property. In the 1930s, she owned a string of successful racehorses, winning the 1931 Adirondack Stakes with her filly Brocado and with Stepenfetchit, won the 1932 Latonia Derby and ran third in the Kentucky Derby. With her colt Singing Wood, Liz won the 1933 Belmont Futurity Stakes, the 1934 Withers Stakes and Queens County Handicap. In 1936, Singing Wood won the Toboggan Handicap at Belmont Park in Elmont and when her husband's business interest took the couple to Hollywood, the colt raced there and won the 1936 Santa Margarita Handicap.