1876 - 1953

Aristocratic by birth and bearing, William Woodward, Sr. inherited the presidency of Hanover National Bank of New York and ownership of Belair Stud, a Maryland property predating the revolution. Woodward also has a lasting connection to Kentucky, boarding his mares for many years at Clairborne Farm. He also helped Claiborne import the great stallion Sir Gallahad III, sire of Woodward's first Triple Crown winner, Gallant Fox. In turn, Gallant Fox sired Triple Crown winner Omaha.

Woodward was chairman of The Jockey Club for two decades and was instrumental in having American pedigrees accepted by the English Stud Book. His own horses won numerous classics and the Ascot gold Cup in England, and he collected English sporting art, which is now housed in the Baltimore Art Museum.

After his death, the family was stunned by scandal when son William Jr. was killed by his wife in a cause celebre later fictionalized in The Two Mrs. Grenville. William Jr. had inherited the great horse Nashua from his father. A daughter, Edith Bancroft, later owned the champion Damascus.

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