 He was the elder child and only son of Joseph E. Widener, from a family heavily involved in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing.In 1925, Joseph Widener had the stables at his Lynnewood Hall estate converted into a home for his son and daughter-in-law.She and her husband both owned Thoroughbred racehorses, and after his death in 1948, she continued to own, breed and race Thoroughbreds with considerable success both in the United States and in France, where Joseph Widener had maintained a second home and operated a racing stable.