Mark Brown Grier was born September 18, 1952 in Albequerque, New Mexico. His father Boise, was a nuclear engineer from the United States Naval Academy and a University of Virginia graduate, retiring at Lieutenant Commander. His mother, Helen Falconer, was a part-time secretary. Mark grew up in Aiken, South Carolina, home to Dogwood Stable. When Mark became a lifeguard in high school, his boss took them to the racetrack. After that day, he wanted to be a horse veterinarian, but instead, he went to the University of Eastern Illinois and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics in 1974. In 1976, he graduated from the William E. Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. He started to work as a banker at Lincoln First Bank in Rochester, and then moved to Chase Manhattan Bank. There, he met his wife, Kathy. Mark currently resides with his family in Mendham Township, New Jersey and works as the Vice Chairman of Prudential Financial, Inc. While he was there, he had enough money that he could own horses. His first investments were made with Dogwood Stable, and he owned million-dollar-winning horse, Smokn' Frolic, Drum Major, Punster, Stormy's Cat, and Vicarage. He also owned horses with Starwood Stable such as, Pink Champagne and Cats at Bat. He currently owns is own horses with great trainers such as Mark A. Hennig, and Kathleen A. Demasi, and he also owns some horses with Lee Lewis and Pewter Stable. If you ever see Mark B. Grier as the owner in any racing program, you know to watch out for a future winner.