W.W. Hancock, 90, horse racing matriarch

PARIS, Ky. -- Waddell Walker Hancock, an owner of Claiborne Farm in Bourbon County and matriarch of the successful racing family, died Friday at her home on the farm near Paris, a Claiborne spokeswoman said. She was 90.

Mrs. Hancock was the widow of A.B. ''Bull" Hancock Jr., whose father established Claiborne Farm in 1910.

During her association with the farm, Claiborne won multiple Eclipse Award titles as outstanding breeder and owner and stood 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat as a stallion.

Among the people she entertained there were Queen Elizabeth II and actress Helen Hayes.

''I've told her so many times that she has had as much to do with Claiborne's success as my father did," her son, Arthur B. Hancock III, told Keeneland magazine last fall. He said his mother would feed Claiborne guests ''the most delicious meals, have wonderful parties for them, and send them away feeling like kings. They went back home raving about Claiborne Farm."

Mrs. Hancock was a native of Lebanon, Tenn., and attended Ward-Belmont School and Vanderbilt University.

Arthur Hancock, the owner of nearby Stone Farm, became the first Hancock ever to win the Kentucky Derby, taking the 1982 race with Gato Del Sol. Two years later, her son, Seth, won the Derby with Claiborne Farm's Swale. In 1989, Arthur Hancock's horse Sunday Silence won the Derby.

''Waddell was one of the most respected and revered ladies of the turf, known for her sparkling sense of humor and a reputation as one of the most gracious of hostesses," said Keeneland trustee James E. ''Ted" Bassett III.

She leaves two sons, two daughters, and eight grandchildren.