Henry Tompkins “Duffy” Rathbun, a passionate Thoroughbred race horse breeder and owner, died on March 19 from complications following a heart attack. He was 87.

Mr. Rathbun was born in Elmira, N.Y., and graduated from Amherst College (Mass.) in 1944 before serving on a U.S. Navy destroyer escort in World War II. He then attended law school at the University of Virginia but skipped his last classes to go to the races in Charles Town, W.Va., on a blind date, where he met his future wife, Sheilah. He graduated in 1948.

Mr. and Mrs. Rathbun started their breeding and racing operation in 1955, purchasing a 30-acre farm near Middleburg, Va., where they kept a small broodmare band in 1963. They bred and raced many stakes winners, including Worrisome Thing, Miss Otis and Shiny Sheet. Mr. Rathbun also raced an occasional steeplechaser and attended the Saratoga (N.Y.) races every summer.

Mr. Rathbun was a collector of sporting art, a supporter of the National Sporting Library and a founding partner of the Washington law firm of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. He became active in the preservation of Virginia farmland in his later years.

He is survived by his children, Gordon Forester Rathbun of Middleburg, Va., Jennie Henry Rathbun of Arlington, Mass., Mickey Rathbun Benfey of Amherst, Mass., and two grandsons.