Affirmed Owner Patrice Wolfson Passes Away At 87

[Wandering Eyes]

Patrice Jacobs Wolfson, who, along with her husband Louis, owned 1978 Triple Crown winner Affirmed, and several other star horses, passed away Tuesday at her home in Bal Harbour, Florida. The Wolfsons operated Harbor View Farm.

The news was confirmed in a posting on the website of Riverside Memorial Chapels.

Steve Wolfson, Patrice's stepson, told the Blood-Horse that she had been in declining health the past few years.

“Patrice and Penny Tweedy were the first ladies of Thoroughbred racing of their time,” he said. “It was a different time. It was a time of civility and dressing nicely at the races. They epitomized that. She and my father made a special couple. She meant the world to him and brought him a lot of happiness.”

Born in Miami, Wolfson came from a prominent racing family and was the only daughter of Hall of Fame trainer Hirsch Jacobs. She owned horses on her own, including 1960 2-year-old male champion Hail to Reason, before marrying Wolfson in 1972. Louis Wolfson died in 2007.

Affirmed (inside) battles Alydar in the 1978 Belmont | Robert Riger/Getty Images

There were other top horses, like Affirmed's Hall of Fame daughter Flawlessly, but to Wolfson, Affirmed stood well above the rest. After three scintillating duels with arch rival Alydar, he emerged after an unforgettable GI Belmont Stakes as the sport's 11th Triple Crown winner.

“There are times I still think about that race every day,” Wolfson told the Associated Press in 2011. “It is an indelible memory. It seems like a bygone era with wonderful memories and wonderful history. It's hard to believe it was 33 years ago.”

Steve Cauthen, Affirmed's regular rider during the Triple Crown campaign, had fond memories of Wolfson, as well.

“She was a great horsewoman,” he told the Blood-Horse. “She loved Affirmed like a son; she was so in love with the horse. She was a wonderful lady, and from one of the royal families of racing. We were on the magic carpet ride together. I was just glad they let me stay on the carpet as long as they did.”

Harbor View also campaigned champion Outstandingly, the 1984 Eclipse Award-winning 3-year-old filly, and It's in the Air. She won the GI Alabama Stakes on her way to also being named champion 3-year-old filly.

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