Amory Lawrence Haskell

Amory Lawrence Haskell, son of Jonathan Amory Haskell (1861 - 1923) and Margaret Moore Riker (1864 - 1942), was born on November 23, 1893 in New York, New York. He was a naval aviator in World War I, president of the Montauk Park Race Track, and owner of Woodland Farm near Red Bank, New Jersey. He was Episcopalian.

Family Life

On September 19, 1923 in Tuxedo Park, Orange County, New York, Amory married Annette Tilford (1900 - 1946). With her, he had the following children:

1. Anne Tilford (Haskell) Ellis - b. July 14, 1924 in New York, m. John Corson Ellis, d. February 14, 2006 in Red Bank, New Jersey
2. Margaret Riker (Haskell) Ross - b. September 10, 1925; m. Edmund Burke Ross; d. January 2, 1999 in Basking Ridge, New Jersey
3. Amory Lawrence Haskell, Jr. - b. January 13, 1928 in New York, New York; m. Helen Macdonald Talley; d. March 18, 1970 in Elizabeth, New Jersey
4. Elizabeth "Isabelle" (Haskell) de Tomaso - m. Alejandro de Tomaso
5. Hope (Haskell) Jones - m. Charles Hill Jones, Jr.

Annette died on March 2, 1946 in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida. Amory next married Blanche Ranahan Smith.

Business Life

He graduated from Princeton University in 1916, after which he got his start in business with the New Jersey Zinc Company. During World War I, he served two years with the Naval Aviation Service.

Amory worked at General Motors for many years, working his way up to vice president of exports. He then left to form Triplex Safety Glass Company, where he was president and chairman of the board.

After selling the glass company, Amory turned his attention to horseracing. In the 1940s, Amory successfully lobbied the New Jersey state legislature and governor for a constitutional amendment to allow for pari-mutuel horse-betting. He then organized a group of prominent New Jersey residents to build a modern thoroughbred racetrack in Monmouth County. Appointed the first president and chairman of Monmouth Park Jockey Club in 1945, he guided the organization through its opening in 1946 and continued at the helm for the rest of his life.

Legacy

Amory died on April 12, 1966 in Middletown, Monmouth County, New Jersey, at age 72.

The Haskell Invitational Handicap, run at Monmouth Park with a purse of $1.25 million (USD), is held every August in his honor. The richest invitational event contested in North America, the race presents a very prestigious horseracing trophy called the Haskell Invitational Trophy along with its hefty purse. It is the one of the most important sporting events in New Jersey.

As a tribute to the man honored by the race, Amory's daughters Hope Haskell Jones and Anne Haskell Ellis present the Haskell Invitational Trophy each year.

Resources

• http://www.haskellfamilyhistory.com/database/2/40263.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haskell_Invitational_Trophy
• http://www.trtnj.com/archive/120707/news1.php
• http://books.google.com/books?id=yzaJyiESPqkC&lpg=PA100&ots=EjT3PgT...
• http://books.google.com/books?id=XkI4AQAAMAAJ&lpg=PA732&ots=PSE6M3V...
• http://books.google.com/books?id=wekpAQAAMAAJ&lpg=PA732&ots=-ICZML7...
• http://www.monmouthpark.com/haskell/history.aspx?id=3077