Marcel Boussac
Encyclopedia
Marcel Boussac was a French
entrepreneur best known for his ownership of the Maison Dior
and one of the most successful thoroughbred
race horse breeding farms in Europe
an history.
Born in Châteauroux
, Indre
, France
, Boussac made a fortune in textile
manufacturing. In 1919 he acquired the Château de Mivoisin, a 36 square kilometre property located 1½ hours south of Paris in Dammarie-sur-Loing
, Loiret
.
In 1946, he financed Christian Dior's
new Paris
fashion house that became one of the most famous clothing and perfume marques in history. In 1951 Boussac expanded into the newspaper business with the acquisition of L'Aurore
.
An avid horseman, Marcel Boussac acquired the Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard
horse breeding farm in Neuvy-au-Houlme
in Lower Normandy and the Haras de Jardy
in Marnes-la-Coquette
. As part of his breeding operation, Boussac bought and sold horses from across Europe plus from the United States
. He acquired the U.S. Triple Crown
winner Whirlaway
and sold the mare La Troienne to Edward R. Bradley's
Idle Hour Stock Farm
in Lexington, Kentucky
who became one of the most influential mares to be imported into the U.S. in the 20th century.
Boussac's horses dominated French racing from the 1930s through to the 1960s making his stable the leading money winner fourteen times and the leading breeder on seventeen occasions. In addition to being a six-time winner of France's most important race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
, Boussac's horses also won the prestigious Epsom Derby
, Epsom Oaks
, 2,000 Guineas, St. Leger Stakes
, Ascot Gold Cup
and others in the United Kingdom
.
With the Fall of France in the Second World War, Boussac paid a British Royal Air Force officer on secret business to fly him from Paris to the UK. This caused the officer Sidney Cotton
to be removed from his position. During the German occupation of France in World War II
, the Nazis seized some of the best racehorses in the country. They shipped more than six hundred of them out of the country, some to Hungary
but most back to Germany
for racing or for breeding at the German National Stud. Among them was the champion Pharis
, owned by Marcel Boussac.
He was married for many years to the Belgian
opera
star Fanny Heldy
. They are buried together in the Cimetière de Montmartre in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris.
On his passing in 1980, Boussac's estate was liquidated and L'Aurore sold to Robert Hersant
who merged it with his Le Figaro
newspaper. The Aga Khan IV
purchased the bulk of the Boussac farm's breeding stock. The property itself would eventually be acquired by Stavros Niarchos
.
In his honor, the Prix Marcel Boussac
, a Group One
Stakes Race, is run annually at the Longchamp Racecourse.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
entrepreneur best known for his ownership of the Maison Dior
Christian Dior SA
Christian Dior S.A. is a French company which owns the high-fashion clothing producer and retailer Christian Dior Couture, as well as holding 42% of LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton, the world's largest luxury goods firm. Both Dior and LVMH are controlled and chaired by businessman Bernard...
and one of the most successful thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
race horse breeding farms in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an history.
Born in Châteauroux
Châteauroux
Châteauroux is the capital of the Indre department in central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called Castelroussines or Castelroussins....
, Indre
Indre
Indre is a department in the center of France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are called Indriens.-History:Indre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Boussac made a fortune in textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
manufacturing. In 1919 he acquired the Château de Mivoisin, a 36 square kilometre property located 1½ hours south of Paris in Dammarie-sur-Loing
Dammarie-sur-Loing
Dammarie-sur-Loing is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France....
, Loiret
Loiret
Loiret is a department in north-central FranceThe department is named after the river Loiret, a tributary of the Loire. The Loiret is located wholly within the department.- History :...
.
In 1946, he financed Christian Dior's
Christian Dior SA
Christian Dior S.A. is a French company which owns the high-fashion clothing producer and retailer Christian Dior Couture, as well as holding 42% of LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton, the world's largest luxury goods firm. Both Dior and LVMH are controlled and chaired by businessman Bernard...
new Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
fashion house that became one of the most famous clothing and perfume marques in history. In 1951 Boussac expanded into the newspaper business with the acquisition of L'Aurore
L'Aurore (1944 newspaper)
L'Aurore was a French newspaper first sold on 11 September 1944, soon after the Liberation of Paris. Its name refers to the previous, unrelated publication, L'Aurore . Publication ended in 1985....
.
An avid horseman, Marcel Boussac acquired the Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard
Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard
Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard was a Thoroughbred horse breeding farm in Neuvy-au-Houlme in the Orne department in Lower Normandy purchased by Marcel Boussac in 1919. Widely respected, Marcel Boussac was called "the greatest of French breeders" by John P. Sparkman, an editor with Thoroughbred Times....
horse breeding farm in Neuvy-au-Houlme
Neuvy-au-Houlme
Neuvy-Au-Houlme is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.Neuvy-Au-Houlme is home to the historic Thoroughbred horse breeding farm, Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard and the standardbred farm, Haras du Ribardon.-References:*...
in Lower Normandy and the Haras de Jardy
Haras de Jardy
Haras de Jardy was a Thoroughbred horse breeding operation established in 1890 in Marnes-la-Coquette France by the prominent French statesman and horseman Edmond Blanc...
in Marnes-la-Coquette
Marnes-la-Coquette
Marnes-la-Coquette is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. Located from the center of Paris, the town is situated between the Parc de Saint-Cloud and the Forest of Fausses-Reposes...
. As part of his breeding operation, Boussac bought and sold horses from across Europe plus from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He acquired the U.S. Triple Crown
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
winner Whirlaway
Whirlaway
Whirlaway was an American champion thoroughbred racehorse.The chestnut horse was sired by English Derby winner Blenheim II, out of the broodmare Dustwhirl. Whirlaway was bred at Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky....
and sold the mare La Troienne to Edward R. Bradley's
Edward R. Bradley
Colonel Edward Riley Bradley was an American steel mill laborer, gold miner, businessman and philanthropist. As well as a race track proprietor, he was the preeminent owner and breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses in the Southern United States during the first three decades of the 20th Century...
Idle Hour Stock Farm
Idle Hour Stock Farm
Idle Hour Stock Farm was a 400 acre thoroughbred horse breeding and training farm near Lexington, Kentucky, United States established in 1906 by Colonel Edward R...
in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
who became one of the most influential mares to be imported into the U.S. in the 20th century.
Boussac's horses dominated French racing from the 1930s through to the 1960s making his stable the leading money winner fourteen times and the leading breeder on seventeen occasions. In addition to being a six-time winner of France's most important race, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...
, Boussac's horses also won the prestigious Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
, Epsom Oaks
Epsom Oaks
The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 10 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early June....
, 2,000 Guineas, St. Leger Stakes
St. Leger Stakes
The St. Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 132 yards , and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.Established in 1776, the St. Leger...
, Ascot Gold Cup
Ascot Gold Cup
The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in June....
and others in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
With the Fall of France in the Second World War, Boussac paid a British Royal Air Force officer on secret business to fly him from Paris to the UK. This caused the officer Sidney Cotton
Sidney Cotton
Frederick Sidney Cotton OBE was an Australian inventor, photographer and aviation and photography pioneer, responsible for developing and promoting an early colour film process, and largely responsible for the development of photographic reconnaissance before and during the Second World War...
to be removed from his position. During the German occupation of France in World War II
German occupation of France in World War II
The Military Administration in France was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II. It remained in existence from May 1940 to December 1944. As a result of the defeat of France and its Allies in the Battle of France, the French cabinet sought a cessation...
, the Nazis seized some of the best racehorses in the country. They shipped more than six hundred of them out of the country, some to Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
but most back to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
for racing or for breeding at the German National Stud. Among them was the champion Pharis
Pharis
Pharis was a French Thoroughbred racehorse who is "considered one of the greatest French-bred runners of the century," according to Thoroughbred Heritage...
, owned by Marcel Boussac.
He was married for many years to the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
star Fanny Heldy
Fanny Heldy
Fanny Heldy was a lyric soprano opera singer.Born Marguerite Virginie Emma Clémentine Deceuninck in Ath , Hainaut, Belgium. she graduated from the Liége Conservatoire. Heldy made her professional debut as a substitute in the premiere of Ivan the Terrible, by Raoul Gunsbourg...
. They are buried together in the Cimetière de Montmartre in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris.
On his passing in 1980, Boussac's estate was liquidated and L'Aurore sold to Robert Hersant
Robert Hersant
Robert Hersant was a French newspaper magnate with right-wing political views.- Biography :Hersant was born in Vertou, Loire-Atlantique....
who merged it with his Le Figaro
Le Figaro
Le Figaro is a French daily newspaper founded in 1826 and published in Paris. It is one of three French newspapers of record, with Le Monde and Libération, and is the oldest newspaper in France. It is also the second-largest national newspaper in France after Le Parisien and before Le Monde, but...
newspaper. The Aga Khan IV
Aga Khan IV
Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, NPk, NI, KBE, CC, GCC, GCIH, GCM is the 49th and current Imam of the Shia Imami Nizari Ismaili Muslims. He has held this position under the title of Aga Khan since July 11, 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan...
purchased the bulk of the Boussac farm's breeding stock. The property itself would eventually be acquired by Stavros Niarchos
Stavros Niarchos
Stavros Spyros Niarchos was a Greek shipping tycoon, sometimes known as "The Golden Greek." In 1952, Stavros Niarchos built the first supertankers capable of transporting large quantities of oil, and subsequently earned millions of dollars as global demand for his ships increased.- Early life :He...
.
In his honor, the Prix Marcel Boussac
Prix Marcel Boussac
The Prix Marcel Boussac is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 1,600 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year in early October....
, a Group One
Group One
Group One or Group 1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. Group One races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply. Races may be also restricted to age groups or a...
Stakes Race, is run annually at the Longchamp Racecourse.