Robert B. Lewis
Robert B. "Bob" Lewis (May 12, 1924 – February 17, 2006) was an American businessman who owned a number of champion Thoroughbred racehorses during the 1990s and 2000s.
Life and career
Bob Lewis was born in Minneapolis and grew up in Glendale, California. He served in the United States Army during World War II before studying at the University of Oregon. At Oregon, Lewis was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. After graduating, he worked in Los Angeles as a beer salesman. In 1956, he started his own company, the Foothill Beverage Company, which became one of the biggest Anheuser-Busch distributors in the country.
Active
Thoroughbred horse racing
In 1990, Lewis and his wife, Beverly J. Lewis, bought their first Thoroughbreds. They became dedicated owners, spending millions at yearling sales and hiring first class trainers such as
Other well known horses owned by the Lewises include
The Lewises had six Eclipse Award winning horses. After Silver Charm won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 1997, the couple were voted the Eclipse Award of Merit, the American Thoroughbred horse racing industry's highest honor. Charismatic repeated his stablemate's success in 1999 but broke a leg in the Belmont Stakes. Commendable won the Belmont Stakes in 2000 wearing Lewis' colors. Orientate won the Breeders' Cup Sprint in 2002 while Folklore won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies championship.
Bob Lewis died on February 17, 2006. In 2007, Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, renamed the Santa Catalina Stakes in his honor. On October 20, 2017, his wife Beverly died at the age of 90 after a lengthy illness.
References
- "Bob Lewis, owner of two Kentucky Derbies, dies at 81", San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 February 2006, retrieved 18 February 2006
- "Bob Lewis, owner of two Derby winners, dies", Louisville Courier Journal 17 February 2006, retrieved 18 February 2006
- "Hall of Famer Lewis, owned Silver Charm, dies"[dead link], Washington Post, February 18, 2006
- Robert and Beverly Lewis Trust at the NTRA