[4][dead link‍] When he was called into service for World War II, he captained a PT boat in the South Pacific, earning the Silver Star for bravery.

As a stable owner, his first major acquisition was Discovery, one of the great handicap horses of the age who became his foundation sire.

Vanderbilt was elected to The Jockey Club as the youngest member in its history in 1935 and eventually campaigned four national champions: Discovery, Next Move, Bed O' Roses and Native Dancer.

During the late 1930s and early 1940s, he owned and ran Pimlico Racetrack outside Baltimore and arranged the famous match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral in 1938.

During the Second World War, he captained a PT boat in the South Pacific and was awarded the Silver Star for bravery under fire.

He won every start as a three-year-old too, except the Kentucky Derby, which he lost by a head to Cain Hoy Stable's Dark Star.

Many consider the Grey Ghost of Sagamore to have been the first Thoroughbred television star, and TV Guide ranked him as a top icon of the era".

The New York Turf Writers voted him "The Man Who Did The Most for Racing" a record four times, posthumously renaming the award in his honor.

Before their eventual divorce in 1975,[13] they were the parents of:[17] He died November 12, 1999, at his home in Mill Neck, New York after attending the morning racehorse workouts, two months after his 87th birthday.