Betty Mabee dead at 88

Betty L. Mabee, who with her late husband, John, helped build one of

California's great Thoroughbred breeding empires and played a key role in the

blossoming of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, died Monday 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

inaugural running of Del Mar's most prestigious race, the $1-million Pacific

Classic, in 1991.

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.