Eventually the growing possibility of a ban on betting, along with personal financial setbacks from heavy gambling, saw Eugene Leigh make the decision to relocate to Europe for the 1901 season.
[8] Eugene Leigh would live in France through the first two plus years of World War I returning occasionally to the United States to purchase bloodstock.
[9] He and his family relocated to the United States in early 1917 where he took over as manager of the thirty-two-horse stable of Edward B. McLean, owner of the Washington Post newspaper.
[10] Not long after the end of the War, Eugene Leigh returned to France where he became manager and trainer for the racing stable owned by Pierre Wertheimer.
[12] He was survived by his wife and four daughters including Vera who, because of her ability to speak the French language flawlessly, joined the British SOE spy agency during World War II.