Whitney Family Trophy Collection

 

On display in the McBean Gallery from December 4 to December 28, 2025

This is one of the most significant collections of American thoroughbred racing trophies, generously bequeathed to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame by the Museum’s former chairman, John Hendrickson. The collection is comprised of more than 400 trophies won by horses owned by William Collins Whitney, Harry Payne Whitney, Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, and Marylou Whitney and includes numerous trophies won by Hall of Fame inductees Equipoise, Regret, Silver Spoon, Top Flight, and Whisk Broom II. 

Ten Triple Crown races are represented in the collection, including the oldest item, the 1899 Belmont Stakes trophy won by Jean Bereaud in track-record time at Morris Park for William Collins Whitney, the patriarch of the Whitney racing dynasty. The gift also features the Kentucky Derby trophies won by Regret (1915), the first of three fillies to win the Run for the Roses, and Whiskery (1927). The Harry Payne Whitney-owned Broomspun (1921), Bostonian (1927), and Victorian (1928) each won the Preakness during the 1920s and are uniquely featured on a singular trophy. 

Other notable trophies include Travers Stakes trophies won by Fisherman (1954), Tompion (1960), Chompion (1968), and Birdstone (2004); and the Metropolitan, Brooklyn, and Suburban handicap trophies won by Whisk Broom II in 1913, when he became the first horse to sweep the New York Handicap Triple Crown. 

Please enjoy a first look at this historic acquisition.