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John R. Macomber, Noted Turf Patron, Dies at 79 Breeder, Pioneer of Racing at Suffolk and Throughout Area FRAMINGHAM. Mass.. May 12— John R. Macomber. 79, financier, sportsman and philanthropist, died Wednesday at his estate, Raceland, on Salem End Road in Framingham Center. He had been in failing health for the past year. Macomber was president of Massachusetts General Hospital and chairman of the Finance committee of Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Until relinquishing positions in recent years, he was chairman of the Board of the First Boston Corporation and a director in many other large corporations. A breeder of thoroughbred race horses at Raceland, he was one of the leaders in getting the sport legalized in Massachusetts. He was the founder of the Eastern Horse Club and active in its successor, the Eastern Racing Association, operators of Suffolk Downs. It was Macomber who suggested the name of Suffolk Downs for the East Boston track. Born in Framingham Center. November 1, 1375, Macomber was a bachelor. His i Continued on Poge Forty Seven J ■ , J ■■ , ] , j ] i 3 3 , • I I [ ■ q ■ 0 • fl 0 0 j, J 15 q f, John R. Macomber, Noted Turf Patron, Dies at 79 Breeder, Pioneer of Racing ot Suffolk and Throughout Area Continued from Page One only surviving relative is a brother, Charles. Private funeral services will be [ held at the Newton crematorium chapel Friday afternoon. Macomber sponsored race meetings at his Raceland estate before the advent of pari-mutuels in Massachusetts. Often crowds as high as 15,000 attended the Raceland session. He raised thoroughbreds in Virginia and broke the yearlings on his estate. A 00,000 fire destroyed the house and stables in August of 1930, but Macom- * ber immediately rebuilt both buildings. , I Most famous of the horses which carried his colors was Petee-Wrack, winner of ; 1 the Travels, Metropolitan and Suburban | | among other races. Last February Suffolk 1 Downs announced a new stakes, to be i called the John R. Macomber. honoring the i 1 s s noted breeder. The event will be run over I the turf course on closing day June 4. ; Macomber had previously been honored I 1 by Suffolk Downs when that track adopted I I blue and gold as its colors. Macombers ; j j j silks were blue and gold and Suffolk began i j j using them in tribute to the man who did 1 ■ 1 : so much to bring racing to the state. At 6 his Raceland estate, the blue and gold I ; i color motif dominated, both the main i house and stables decorated in some way r with these hues. Raceland, .incidentally. . was unique in that the stables were built t adjacent to Macombers home, so that the sportsman used to step almost directly f i from his parlor into the barns to inspect t i his horses every morning. : Petee-Wrack. who made a name for him- ■ : self at stud after several brilliant cam- • i paigns in Macombers colors, was purchased 1 : as a yearling for ,500 at Saratoga in 1926. • j j He went on to become one of the most famous race horses of his time, winning 12 I races and earning 8,990 during four campaigns. - ; In his time, he defeated such as Reigh Count and in 1928 was rated among the B best three-year-olds in the country and 1 was held as the leading handicap horse in i the nation during the 1929 season. For a i while, Petee-Wrack stood at Raceland, but t later was moved to Maryland where he e died in 1946 at the age of 23. Perhaps the s best of his offspring was the great race- - mare, Columbiana. Macomber was a member of the National 1 Hunt and Steeplechase Association, the American Thoroughbred Breeders Association, - among others,
