History of Montpelier Races

In 1901, William duPont purchased the Montpelier estate, located four miles west of the Town of Orange, in Virginia’s Piedmont Region. It was the lifelong home of James Madison, the fourth President of the United States. Mr. duPont’s daughter, Marion duPont Scott, an accomplished horsewoman, resided at Montpelier until her death in 1983, at which time the duPont family transferred the property to theNational Trust For Historic Preservation.

Mrs. Scott and her brother, William duPont, Jr., were responsible for creating many of steeplechase and flat racing’s best known venues, including Delaware Park in Delaware, the Fair Hill Natural Resources Area, home to the National Steeplechase Association Headquarters and its race course in Maryland, the Camden Race Course, South Carolina, home of the Carolina Cup and the Colonial Cup Races and in 1929, she inaugurated the Montpelier Races. As an owner, Mrs. Scott bred a series of winners from excellent Thoroughbred bloodlines. In 1932, her horse Trouble Maker won the Maryland Hunt Cup, regarded as America’s most challenging timber race, and in 1938, her horse Battleship, a son of Man O War, became the first American bred horse to win the British Grand National Steeplechase. Other winners campaigned under her French blue, old rose and silver colors were Mongo, Accra and Annapolis, another son of Man O War.

Regarded by many as America’s First Lady of Racing, Marion duPont Scott generously supported the equine industry throughout her life. She donated funds to construct Virginia’s leading equine medical center in Leesburg, which is named in her honor. Her legacy continues with the running of the Montpelier Races, a premier event on the national Steeplechase Association’s circuit, which is always held on the first Saturday in November.