Del Mar News
Tuesday, March 16th
Del Mar's Betty L. Mabee, 88, Passes
Betty L. Mabee, who with her late husband, John, helped build one of the west's great Thoroughbred breeding empires and played a key role in the blossoming of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and Del Mar racetrack, died Monday (2/15/10) at about 7 p.m. at her home in nearby Rancho Santa Fe. She was 88.
Mrs. Mabee passed "peacefully and quietly," according to her son, Larry, who noted that his mother had finally succumbed to an extended illness.
A warm, personable woman with an easy smile, Mrs. Mabee made a point of carving out time in her busy life to be deeply involved in numerous charitable organizations and programs during more than half a century in the San Diego area. She had a special love for projects involved with children in need and was a founding member of Voices for Children and the Angels of Aseltine Auxiliary.
Mrs. Mabee, a native of Unionville, Missouri, grew up in Iowa and married John, her high school sweetheart, to start a partnership that was to last for 60 years and see them reach great heights in the world of business, as well as fame and fortune in the Thoroughbred industry.
The Mabees moved from the heartland to San Diego during World War II and opened a mom-and-pop grocery store that evolved into the 30-store Big Bear Supermarket chain. Subsequently, the Mabees started and ran Golden Eagle Insurance Company, California's third-largest workers' compensation carrier with more than 1,300 employees. But the couple discovered their true love in 1957 when they bought two horses for $6,000 at the Del Mar Yearling Sale.
That small investment led to the founding of Golden Eagle Farm in Ramona, California, which grew from 197 to 568 acres at its height in the early 2000s. The farm began with a handful of horses that expanded to more than 400 racing and breeding stock -- supplemented by an additional 150 head that were quartered in Kentucky -- during a highly successful run that saw the Mabees become not only the leading breeders in California, but national champions and Eclipse Award winners in 1991, 1997 and 1998.
Among the Mabees many equine successes, the best of all -- and Mrs. Mabee's personal favorite -- was Best Pal, a rugged California champion they bred and foaled at their farm who went on to win more than $5.6 million, including the 1991 inaugural running of Del Mar's most prestigious race, the $1-million Pacific Classic.
Following the death of her husband in 2002, Mrs. Mabee agreed to join the board of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club as a director, a role she served in until 2008, when she took on the title of Director Emeritus.
Besides her son, Mrs. Mabee is survived by three grandchildren.
Service arrangements have not been made final.
TDN Explores Synthetic Surfaces
In "Ground Control -- The REAL Truth About Synthetic Surfaces," Thoroughbred Daily New Magazine takes an in-depth look at the subject in their Winter 2010 magazine.
The article by Bill Finley includes interviews with trainers, owners, track executives, veterinarians, handicappers and other with a wide range of view and provides a slew of technical and statistical information.
Available online by free subscription at http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/members/index.cfm, the pdf file can also be downloaded here.
UC Davis Vet School Reports on Synthetic Surfaces
The question asked was: Can Racetrack Surface Reduce the Risk of Musculoskeletal Injury in Thoroughbred Racehorses?
This study was supported in part by the Center for Equine
Health with funds provided by the State of California parimutuel fund and contributions by private donors. It
was also supported by grants from the Grayson-Jockey Club
Research Foundation and the Southern California Equine
Foundation.
A pdf summary of the special report can be downloaded here.
Bill Oppenheim on U.S. Racing's Surface Debate
Junior on the Gate
Racing fans who watched the start of this year's Breeders' Cup Classic couldn't help but notice the unfortunate commotion involving the 3-year-old colt Quality Road and his subsequent scratch from the race.
What many may have failed to realize was that the unhappy and angry racehorse -- then blindfolded in an attempt to "fool" him into his starting stall -- nearly escaped his handlers when he burst through the front of the gate and came close to running off toward a potentially disastrous fate -- for himself, the race and all of racing. That terrible possibility was averted by the quick reaction and strong hands of a long-time assistant starter named Alton (Junior) Hungerford, who grabbed hold of the horse's reins in his vice-like grip and, while squeezing tight with one hand, used the other in concert with head starter Jay Slender to remove the colt's blindfold and calm the terrified animal.
"Junior" and the starting gate incident are going to be featured in Daily Racing Form this Saturday in a piece by their chief writer Jay Privman. A dozen years ago, though, the same gateman was the focus of a Del Mar feature written -- with just a bit of help -- by one of its University of Arizona RTIP interns, Bill Knauf, who has gone on in the business and now is assistant vice president and assistant general manager at Monmouth Park.
That feature about "Junior" and the tough job he and his mates share working on the starting gate still rings true today. We thought you might enjoy reading it. Click here to read the story.
DM Horses Cause Splash at '09 Breeders' Cup
Horses who had raced during the 2009 summer season at Del Mar did well -- and then some -- during the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships November 6 and 7 at the Oak Tree-at-Santa Anita meeting.
Del Mar raced female horses won the two major events on the Friday and Saturday programs with Pam and Martin Wygod's Life Is Sweet capturing the $2-million Ladies' Classic the first day and Mr.-Mrs. Jerry Moss' Zenyatta scoring a thundering victory over 11 male rivals Saturday in the star-studded $5-million Classic.
Zenyatta's race -- her 14th victory in 14 starts -- is being hailed by many as one of the most memorable in Thoroughbred racing history and has projected her into strong consideration for Horse of the Year honors. During the summer she won Del Mar's Clement L. Hirsch Stakes -- the second year in a row she had done that. Life Is Sweet ran in the same Hirsch this year, finishing fourth to stablemate Zenyatta.
Other Del Mar-raced winners on the Breeders' Cup cards were California Flag in the $1-million Turf Sprint and Dancing in Silks in the $2-million Sprint. California Flag had captured the Green Flash Handicap at the seaside oval this summer en route to his Santa Anita tally, while Dancing in Silks won both an allowance race and the Pirates Bounty Stakes during the Del Mar stand.
Six other Del Mar 2009 runners finished either second or third in their Breeders' Cup races. They were Blind Luck (3rd in the Juvenile Fillies); Free Flying Soul (3rd in the Filly & Mare Sprint); Gotta Have Her (2nd in the Turf Sprint); Crown of Thorns (2nd in the Sprint); Cost of Freedom (3rd in the Sprint), and Lookin At Lucky (2nd in the Juvenile).
Additionally, 25 more horses who had competed at Del Mar this summer ran in the 14 Breeders' Cup races. All told, there were 35 Del Mar runners among the 147 Breeders' Cup starters for the 26th edition of the championship event. That number represents 24% of the Breeders' Cup fields.
Today's Card
