John and Betty Mabee had Connection to Early Caliente Racing

A guest post by David J. Beltran

The recent passing of Betty Mabee closed an era in Thoroughbred racing in California. Well known for their Golden Eagle Farm, John and Betty Mabee bred a long list of runners that have found a place in the hearts of many California racing fans. Although linked with their farm, they did not come into the game armed with what would eventually turn into one of racing’s formidable nurseries. Like many from their era who got into the racing game, the Mabees had a string of horses at Agua Caliente racetrack in Tijuana, Mexico.

Many Californians made the most of the affordable rates and the horsemen who worked at Caliente, and the one-mile oval was a safe dirt surface. The Mabees had a string trained by either Lawrence “Swede” Jenner or Cliff Clayton. Racing at Caliente afforded not only the Mabee family to be part of the game, but many others as well.

Upon reading of her passing, I quickly remembered having a photo of John and Betty Mabee in the winner’s circle one Sunday afternoon on the last weekend of July 1971. Little did they know that they had just won the last feature race at Caliente, for the track’s Grandstand and Clubhouse would be destroyed in a fire two days later.

It is memories of times like these that remind me the photo and memorabilia collection I have is really not mine… but it belongs to all that enjoy the races.

David J. Beltran and family wish to express our condolences to the Mabee family.

Photo: David Beltran collection.

David J. Beltran was born in Chula Vista and raised in San Diego and Tijuana. He has been attending the races since he was an infant, both at Caliente and the Southern California race tracks. Beltran is the author of the book The Agua Caliente Story (Eclipse Press 2004), a correspondent to Caballo, a racing magazine in Mexico, and a writer for the Argentine racing daily, Turf Diario. He recently published an article in HorsePlayer magazine covering betting on South American imports. Beltran also breeds Thoroughbreds and is a blood-stock agent specializing in Argentinean racing and breeding stock. He lives in Chula Vista with his wife, daughter, and two dogs. His previous posts explored the origins of the Big 'Cap, the Woolf Memorial, and the "5-10" wager at Caliente.

Country Tough Schooling at Santa Anita

Here's one of my favorites, Country Tough, caught gazing right into the camera with his big, warm eye today. Country was schooling in the paddock for tomorrow's fifth race at Santa Anita. He looks tough!

Santa Anita Sunday Morning

Sun up at the racetrack.

Good morning from Santa Anita. Today's nine-race card includes the grade 2 San Luis Obispo Stakes for 4 year olds and up. First post is at 12:30.

Although the weather forecast calls for scattered showers, I am predicting a lovely day at the track with spectacular views of the San Gabriel Mountains as the clouds pass over. Of course, they do call me the "human barometer." And by "they," I mean me.

Remembering Jockey Jack Robinson

Jack Robinson Memorial, Pleasanton, Calif.

When I last visited the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, Calif., I was intrigued by a statue just outside the jockeys' room. It was marked "Jack Robinson, 1926-1973, Memorial Award." Being the curious sort, as soon as I returned home I did a online search on Jockey Jack Robinson. I was somewhat puzzled by the search results. There wasn't much information to be found, and one site actually listed Robinson as a mythical person.

Statemaster.com, which provides a long list of current and past jockeys, had this to say about Robinson: "Jack Robinson is a make-believe or mythical person who is invoked in English language conversation to indicate a very short amount of time.... The normal usage is, '(something is done) faster than you can say Jack Robinson' or otherwise '... before you can say Jack Robinson.'"

With a little more digging, plus some help from my friend Jeanne Wasserman, Satellite Manager at Pleasanton, I discovered a truly remarkable story. Jack Robinson was definitely much more than make believe.

Robinson, who won races at every track in California in his 30-year career, died at the age of 46 during a race at the Solano County Fair in Vallejo on June 20, 1973. By all accounts, he put himself in jeopardy atttempting to assist a young rider in serious trouble. Robinson was thrown during a quarter horse claiming race and trampled to death an instant after reaching out to keep jockey Jorge Cruz from falling from his mount. He died 45 minutes later at Vallejo General Hospital. He left his wife, Betty, a son and five daughters.

Robinson was known as much for being a fearless rider as for his kindness and generosity. News articles written after his death are filled with testimonials to Robinson's care and concern for his fellow horsemen, especially anyone he knew was in need. Even 18 years after his death, racing journalist Darryl Hove wrote in a glowing memorial piece about Robinson, "Jack Robinson was not a saint, but you'd be hard pressed to find a person to tell you otherwise."

A native of Philadelphia, Robinson rode thoroughbreds, quarter horses and appalosas in California and across the nation. He rode 11,079 thoroughbred races for 1,369 wins and earnings of $2,548.444. One of his biggest victories was aboard Jungle Road in the La Jolla Mile at Del Mar. He won his first race at Caliente in 1944, but was best known for riding in Northern California, especially on the fair circuit.

In December 1974, a year after Robinson's death, a statue of him was unveiled at Bay Meadows Racetrack and the Jack Robinson Memorial Award inaugurated. It was presented annually to an outstanding jockey in Northern California. The initial recipient was Mel Lewis, and in subsequent years the award would be presented to such riders as Merlin Volzke, Bill Mahorney, Russell Baze, Tom Chapman and Ron Warren Jr.

When Bay Meadows closed down, Jeanne Wasserman decided she wanted to give the statue a worthy home. She was able to obtain permission to move it to the Pleasanton Satellite Wagering facility, where it now resides in a lovely garden patio. Thanks to Jeanne for preserving an important part of California racing history and for helping educate race fans about a truly remarkable man.

Zap! of the Week: Lookin at Lookin at Lucky

Here's some great footage from Larry Zap, checking out Lookin at Lucky, champion two year old male for 2009 and the probable favorite in the 2010 Kentucky Derby! Filmed at beautiful Santa Anita earlier this week.

We agree with Sarah, exercise rider for trainer Bob Baffert -- we miss the zap when he's out of town! Glad to have him back and in form. Listen closely and you'll hear yours truly talking in the opening few seconds. Enjoy!

For more information about Larry Zap, see Contributors on the About tab.

Where in the World is Carmen Santa Anita?

Have You Seen This Trophy Horse?

The "Carmen Santa Anita" blog contest came to an abrupt end with the apparent kidnapping of the little trophy horse from an undisclosed location on track sometime over Super Bowl weekend. The above photo shows Carmen as she was last seen awaiting discovery by one of my blog readers hoping to win last week's contest. If you have information about the whereabouts of Carmen, please contact me... ransom demands will be carefully considered.

Seriously, it was a fun contest and two great blog readers won season credentials for the Santa Anita meet -- Michael Mendez and Sally Cruikshank.

Thanks to all for participating, and especially to Santa Anita Park for graciously supporting the contest by providing season credentials for the 2009-10 meet to the winners. And let's see what we can come up with next!

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Snow above Santa Anita

It's been a crazy week as far as weather is concerned here in Southern California. Torrential rains produced mudslides in the local foothills and forced the cancellation of racing on Saturday, Feb. 6. But this morning dawned clear and cold, offering up a spectacular view of the snow-capped San Gabriels.


The weatherman promises a few days of clear weather and a warming trend -- possibly into the high 70's or low 80's by the weekend. That's wonderful news for Santa Anita, where a three-day President's Day weekend will feature an impressive roster of stakes races, including the Strub, Robert B. Lewis and Las Virgenes stakes originally scheduled for last Saturday.

Lookin' Tough: Country Tough Schools at Santa Anita

Country Tough in the Santa Anita paddock with groom Lionel Molina.

I snapped a photo of one of my favorites, Country Tough, as he schooled in the paddock at Santa Anita Wednesday afternoon during the races. Country Tough is entered to run in Thursday's 5th race, a starter allowance at one mile on the turf. He won his last race, a maiden claiming event at one mile on the all-weather track, on Dec. 30 at Santa Anita.

Country Tough is trained by Howard Zucker for Dream Walkin Farms, Inc., a partnership that includes country music star Toby Keith and major league pitcher Brad Penny.

George Woolf Memorial... A Caliente Tradition

A guest post by David J. Beltran

Every winter since 1950, jockeys select one of their peers to receive the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Award at Santa Anita. The list reads like a roll call for the Hall of Fame. Riders like Shoemaker, Arcaro, Longden and Pincay are among those who have been awarded this trophy. While most racing fans are aware of the award at Santa Anita, many don’t realize that Agua Caliente also had its own version of the George Woolf Memorial Award as well.

Daily Racing Form announces the 1965 running of the George Woolf Memorial Handicap.

With Caliente offering the only Sunday racing in the region, track General Manager and President John Alessio suggested that the fans at Caliente would love to see a host of such top riders as Arcaro and Longden come down and ride at Caliente. With the help of Jockey’s Guild Director Bert Thompson, Alessio made all the arrangements to host such a gallery of top jockeys.

Jockeys assembled at Caliente for the Woolf Memorial: (left to right) Eddie Arcaro, Wiiliam Shoemaker, Merlin Volzke, Walter Blum, William Harmatz, Jockey's Guild President Bert Thompson, Pete Moreno, Jimmy Nichols, Gordon Glisson, Johnny Longden, Ray York, Mel Peterson and Rojelio Trejos.

“It was a lot of fun,” said former jockey Donald Pierce in a 2003 interview. “Alessio put it all together, and we would make the trip down to Tijuana, have dinner at the track after the races, watch the greyhounds and then stay overnight and enjoy the drive home."

Jerry Lambert winning the 1968 running. Rider on the second-place horse is Laffit Pincay, Jr.

First run in 1947, a year after the untimely death of The Iceman, the inaugural running of the George Woolf Memorial Handicap was won by Johnny Longden. Set at 1 1/16-miles, Woolf Memorial featured many of the regular jockeys from the current Santa Anita meeting plus one or two top riders at Caliente. And the draw for mounts was held in the Arcadia jockeys room.

The race featured a full field plucked from the handicap ranks at Caliente. Most riders would amble about the Caliente Clubhouse, while others preferred to ride rather than wait for the feature race. While the purse was nothing compared to what was offered north of the border, it was bolstered by the gifts that came along with the winner’s circle trophy -- a saddle and whip with a plaque featuring the previous winners of the race.

Alex Maese in the Jockey's Room at Caliente.

Some of the game’s greatest riders ventured down to Tijuana to ride at Caliente. Jockeys like Arcaro, Longden, Shoemaker, Westrope, and Volzke were among the many that made the trip back to their old stomping grounds at Caliente to honor George “The Iceman” Woolf.

Photos: David Beltran collection.

David J. Beltran was born in Chula Vista and raised in San Diego and Tijuana. He has been attending the races since he was an infant, both at Caliente and the Southern California race tracks. Beltran is the author of the book The Agua Caliente Story (Eclipse Press 2004), a correspondent to Caballo, a racing magazine in Mexico, and a writer for the Argentine racing daily, Turf Diario. He recently published an article in HorsePlayer magazine covering betting on South American imports. Beltran also breeds Thoroughbreds and is a blood-stock agent specializing in Argentinean racing and breeding stock. He lives in Chula Vista with his wife, daughter, and two dogs. His previous posts explored the origins of the Big 'Cap and the "5-10" wager at Caliente.

Blog Contest Continues: Where on the Track is Carmen Santa Anita?

Here's another look at Carmen Santa Anita, a six-inch tall, rather cheesy looking trophy horse. Once again, Carmen is somewhere at Santa Anita Racetrack just waiting to be spotted by one of my blog readers. The first person to find Carmen and contact me will win an admission pass for the rest of the current Winter-Spring meet, compliments of Santa Anita, the Great Race Place!

Carmen will be waiting for some lucky fan starting Friday, where the place to be is Santa Anita Park. That's because every Friday is Free Friday! Patrons will receive FREE General Admission on Fridays, as well as FREE Box Seats, while supplies last. Santa Anita will also have $1 specials on Hot Dogs, Beer, Soda, Popcorn and Coffee. It's the best time to come to Santa Anita and start your weekend off right at the Great Race Place.

To obtain your FREE Box Seats take the main escalator up to the third floor. Make a right and follow the pathway to the box seat sale desk.

Carmen is placed in plain sight somewhere in the general admission area. Study the above photograph for the clues you need to find the little statue. If you find her, simply contact me in person at the TOC office at Santa Anita (near the racing office), or by email at mwforney@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Enjoy the hunt!

Santa Anita employees and their family members are ineligible to win this contest.

Worth a Photo: Worth a Punt Schooling

Worth a Punt was happy to pause for a photo today in the Santa Anita paddock, showing off his lovely head -- and a sporty new clip job! He was schooling during the races in preparation for a start in Thursday's 4th race, a starter allowance at 1-1/16 miles on the all-weather track.

A 3-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Mutakddin, Worth a Punt was an impressive winner of his last race, a maiden claiming event at 1-1/16 miles over Santa Anita's all-weather track on Jan. 2. Worth a Punt is trained by Howard Zucker for owner Rachel Pagones and will be ridden by jockey Alex Solis.

Mystery Horse Spotted Near Stable Office

Well of course I had to take a photo of this lovely gray Thoroughbred standing in front of the stable office at Santa Anita this morning. I'm certain that the life size plastic horse caused more than a few people to do a double take!

With a little digging, I uncovered its story. It is one of several plastic horse statues owned by Santa Anita Racetrack and used by the marketing, publicity and group sales departments for special parties and events. This particular horse was taking a short rest in transit back to the warehouse after being used on Sunshine Millions Day by ESPN in one of their film segments.

Zap! of the Week: Beautiful Alfarabi

Here's some very nice footage of Alfarabi, a lovely grey three-year-old colt by Yes It's True. Watch him being saddled by trainer Eoin Harty for a win at Santa Anita. Plus, watch bonus footage of Alfarabi selling at the Ocala Breeders' Sale in March of 2009. All nicely narrated by Larry Zap.

For more information about Larry Zap, see Contributors on the About tab.