NEWS
Wolfson, owner of Affirmed, dead at 95
Posted: Monday, December 31, 2007 3:31 PM
Louis Wolfson, who raced Triple Crown winner Affirmed and three other champions, died on Sunday in Bal Harbour, Florida. He was 95.
An industrialist and financier, Wolfson bred and raced as Harbor View Farm with his wife, Patrice, the daughter of Racing Hall of Fame trainer Hirsch Jacobs.
Harbor View was the nation’s leading breeder from 1970 to ’72 and the nation’s leading owner by wins in 1971-’73 and ’79 and by earnings from 1978-’80, which included the bulk of Affirmed’s career.
Trained by Laz Barrera, Affirmed outfought Alydar in all three American classics to become the 11th and most recent horse to sweep the Triple Crown.
Affirmed collected 11 other Grade 1 victories and was honored as Horse of the Year in 1978 and ’79, champion two-year-old male in ’77, champion three-year-old male in ’78, and champion older male in ’79.
Harbor View also bred and raced Affirmed’s sire, Exclusive Native, a multiple stakes winner who garnered leading sire status in Affirmed’s Horse of the Year seasons.
Exclusive Native also sired Harbor View’s homebred Outstandingly, the champion two-year-old filly of 1984 on the strengths of her victory in the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).
Harbor View also campaigned 1963 champion two-year-old male Raise a Native, who went on to an influential career as a stallion; ’65 Horse of the Year Roman Brother; 1978 co-champion two-year-old filly It’s in the Air; and 1992 and ’93 champion turf female Flawlessly.
Wolfson was the father of Marty Wolfson, who trained 2006 champion turf male Miesque’s Approval. Two other sons, Steve and Gary Wolfson, bred It’s in the Air as Happy Valley Farm.
Passionate about racing, Wolfson wrote a 274-critique of the sport in the early 1980s that he titled “The Future Looks Bleak for the Thoroughbred Racing and Breeding Industry...Can It Survive?” Wolfson personally sent the book to racing leaders, state racing commissioners, and Turf writers. His main emphasis was advocating a national body to unite racetracks, horsemen, and state officials.
