Rex Cooper Ellsworth (November 15, 1907 – August 24, 1997) was a major owner in Thoroughbred racing and twice the leading breeder in the United States whose story was featured with a cover of the February 25, 1963 edition of Sports Illustrated magazine.
[1] Rex Ellsworth was a young man of twenty-seven when in 1933 he entered the Thoroughbred breeding and racing business with lifelong friend and trainer, Mesh Tenney.
Swaps did stand his first season at Ellsworth's farm in Chino, but Galbreath reportedly visited and was taken aback by the functional yet Spartan and decidedly non-Kentucky-like facilities.
"[3] In 1956 another homebred son of Khaled who was raced as Terrang provided Ellsworth with his second straight Santa Anita Derby win.
[7] "In the mid-60s, in one of his many ventures, he brought around 400 Rocky Mountain Elk from the Yellowstone area to his ranch, reportedly with the intent of increasing the herd and eventually charging visitors to hunt them.
Ellsworth had them housed in a 640-acre enclosure, but the numbers had dwindled to approximately 200 in 1967 when a storm blew down a massive oak tree and damaged the tall fence surrounding them.