CTBA Hall of Fame inductees announced

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.