The late owner/breeder John Mabee and his wife Betty, their outstanding
homebred BEST PAL (*Habitony), the late breeder and legislator Ken Maddy and
multiple Grade 1 winner FREE HOUSE (Smokester) have been elected to the
California Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association (CTBA) Hall of Fame. The honorees
will be inducted at the annual meeting and awards banquet on February 5.
The Mabees garnered three Eclipse Awards and ranked as the leading breeders
in California for 18 consecutive years. Since their establishment of Golden
Eagle Farm in 1972, the couple bred more than 200 stakes winners. In addition to
fellow inductee Best Pal, the Mabees bred and campaigned General Challenge, an
earner of more than $2.8 million who won the Santa Anita Derby (G1) and Pacific
Classic S. (G1) in 1999 and the Santa Anita H. (G1) in 2000; as well as Grade 1
winners Excellent Meeting, Dramatic Gold, Notable Career, Fantastic Look, Annual
Reunion, River Special, Likeable Style and Jeanne Jones. Notable Mabee-breds who
raced for other owners include Japanese Group 1 hero Meiner Love, Grade 1
victors Early Pioneer and Designed for Luck and Grade 2-winning sire Doneraile
Court.
John Mabee served as president and chairman of the board of the Del Mar
Thoroughbred Club and was a founding member of the board of directors of the
Breeders’ Cup. After his death at the age of 80 in 2002, Del Mar paid tribute to
him by renaming the Ramona H. (G1), a nine-furlong turf event, the John C. Mabee
H. (G1). Betty and her son, Larry, have carried on the operation of Golden Eagle
Farm.
Six-time Grade 1 hero and classic-placed Best Pal was the jewel in the Mabees’
crown. At the time of his retirement in 1996, the bay gelding had amassed more
than $5.6 million in earnings, a California-bred record that stood until the
advent of Tiznow. A three-time Cal-bred Horse of the Year, Best Pal won 17
stakes and placed in another 15 while compiling a mark of 47-18-11-4.
Best Pal burst into prominence as a juvenile in 1990, capturing the Hollywood
Futurity (G1), Norfolk S. (G1), Del Mar Futurity (G2) and Balboa S. (G3), a race
that would later be renamed in his honor. During his sophomore season, he won
the Swaps S. (G2) and the inaugural Pacific Classic S., setting a new track
record of 1:59 4/5 for 10 furlongs at Del Mar, and also finished second in the
Kentucky Derby (G1). Among Best Pal’s most noteworthy triumphs as an older horse
were the 1992 Santa Anita H. (G1), Charles H. Strub S. (G1) and Oaklawn H. (G1) as
well as the 1993 Hollywood Gold Cup H. (G1). At the ripe old age of seven in
1995, he landed the San Antonio H. (G2) and just missed in the 1995 Big ‘Cap.
The popular bay spent his retirement serving as a stable pony at Golden Eagle
Farm, where he died of a heart attack in 1998. His memorial service attracted
more than 300 fans.
Ken Maddy represented the Central Valley in the California state legislature
for nearly 30 years, first as an assemblyman and later as a senator. He authored
45 bills that directly benefited the racing industry in the Golden State,
ranging from satellite wagering to license fee relief and setting the stage for
full card simulcasting. In addition, Maddy supported efforts to revise the
incentive awards program.
Hailing from a racing-oriented family and growing up near Hollywood Park,
Maddy in his youth worked on the backstretch for trainer Warren Stute. Late in
his life, in partnership with Harris Farms, Maddy bred Grade 2 queen Moscow
Burning, who recently retired as the all-time leading money-earner among
Cal-bred females with a bankroll in excess of $1.4 million. Maddy died at the
age of 65 in 2000, the year Moscow Burning was foaled.
In 1999, Oak Tree at Santa Anita renamed the Autumn Days H. (G3), an about 6
1/2-furlong downhill turf contest, the Senator Ken Maddy H. (G3) in his honor.
Multiple Grade 1 winner and triple classic-placed Free House was bred by John
Toffan and CTBA Director Trudy McCaffery. Twice honored as Cal-bred Horse of the
Year, the striking gray earned $3,178,971 from his 22-9-5-3 record.
Successful in the Norfolk S. (G2) as a two-year-old, Free House ranked among
the elite of his generation at three and often sparred with dual classic winner
Silver Charm. After defeating that archrival in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) and
San Felipe S. (G2), he turned in terrific placed efforts behind Silver Charm in
each of the Triple Crown events, reporting home third in the Kentucky Derby,
just missing in a photo-finish in the Preakness S. (G1) and winding up an
honorable third in the Belmont S. (G1). Free House remained a first rate
performer as an older horse, adding tallies in the 1998 Pacific Classic and 1999
Santa Anita H., the latter at the expense of Silver Charm.
Free House retired to stud in his home state in 2000, but he died in a freak
accident in 2004 at the young age of 10.
The CTBA Hall of Fame was initiated in 1987 with an inaugural class of 36
horses and people affiliated with the Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry.
After a 19-year hiatus, the Hall was revived earlier this year, and the original
36 inductees were saluted at the 2006 CTBA annual meeting and awards banquet.