A little history: This “Lady” did not disappoint

It was one of the most anticipated harness racing partnerships on record—the first foal from two Breeders Crown winners—who arrived in this world on April 15, 1998, at Carter Duer’s Peninsula Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky.

“She was a very special filly,” Carter recalled. “We all were really anticipating her birth, and she didn’t disappoint us.”

Christened Lady MacBeach, the bay filly was the daughter of world champions Jenna’s Beach Boy p, 4, 1:47.3 ($1,972,172) and the aptly-named She’s A Great Lady p, 4, 1:50.4 ($973,382)—both of whom were conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Joe Holloway.

Jenna’s Beach Boy had, just four years earlier, become the only horse in harness history to hold world records over a half, five-eighths, and mile ovals for a brief period, all at the same time. His triumphs included Breeders Crown championships at ages two, three, and four, as well as a win in the U.S. Pacing Championship and the fastest mile ever paced at the time, of 1:47.3.

She’s A Great Lady had taking first prize in the Scarlet O’Hara, Cinderella, Mistletoe Shalee, Fan Hanover, Nadia Lobell, and the Breeders Crown Mare Pace. In fact, both “Jenna” and “Lady” won their respective Breeders Crowns on the same night—Friday, Aug. 9, 1996, at The Meadowlands.  Jenna’s Beach Boy took his $300,000 Crown in a blistering 1:48.4 in a front-stepping effort for driver William Fahy, while She’s A Great Lady captured her $300,000 Crown in 1:50.4, using a come-from-behind effort for driver John Campbell.

Lady MacBeach thus truly was a product of equine royalty, and was bred by Linda and Lee DeVisser of Holland, Michigan—who also owned “Jenna” and “Lady.” The DeVissers had been breeders and owners of harness horses for decades and were named the 1995 Owners of the Year. As well, Maureen Dolan, who was She’s A Great Lady’s caretaker, was also paired with Lady MacBeach for her racing career.

Lady MacBeach began her foray into racing via a trio of winning Big M qualifiers in June 2000, for Campbell, pacing in 2:01, 2:00.2, and 1:57 before her pari-mutuel debut in the $65,000 Debutante Stakes, which saw her score a neck triumph over Hawaiian Jenna and Bunny Lake in 1:55.2.  She next got nipped a neck, finishing second in 1:55 to BJ’s Squall in a $10,000 Countess Adios elim, but returned with a vengeance the following week to best her rivals in the $85,000 Final in 1:53.3 for Campbell.

“She’s very similar to her mother,” Campbell told this same reporter in 2000. “She’s gaited more like Jenna (her sire), but her racing style is more similar to She’s A Great Lady. She likes to be coming at horses and races best from off the pace.”

The gutsy freshman filly was then second in both her $15,000 elim and $433,800 Sweetheart Final for Campbell, clocked in 1:55.2 and 1:53.4, but then rebounded in mid-August to capture her $25,000 elimination for the stake named in honor of her dam—the She’s A Great Lady Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack. Lady MacBeach gave an impressive showing of herself, circling the field to win by two lengths in 1:54.1 with Campbell sitting chilly in the sulky. In the $700,000 Final one week later, however, she had to settle for a fifth-place finish utilizing those same tactics, behind the winning 14-1 longshot Dex The Balls.

“She didn’t have her usual late kick and didn’t seem to be at the top of her game in that start,” Campbell noted at the time.

After a three-week respite, Lady MacBeach was back at it again, qualifying at Garden State Park for driver Jay Randall in a modest 1:58. She finished fifth in the $105,000 International Stallion Stakes (ISS) on Sept. 27 for new pilot Luc Ouellette, then scurried to a 1:52.1 triumph over Bunny Lake in another $94,600 ISS contest one week later.  On Oct. 13 Dave Palone steered Lady MacBeach to victory at The Meadows in an overnight prep for her Breeders Crown prep, winning in 1:54.3 on that Pennsylvania five-eighths mile oval.

After being on the front end in her $37,668 BC Elim on Oct. 20, she got beat at the wire by the fast-closing Gothic Lady in 1:54.4 but rebounded a week later to capture the $715,080 Breeders Crown 2-year-Old Filly Pace in 1:55.3 with Ouellette at the lines. That victory marked only the second time in the history of the Breeders Crown that the winner was a progeny of two Crown winners. The other was Artiscape (Artsplace-Delinquent Account). It also gave Holloway his one Crown winner in this division. As a result of her efforts, Lady MacBeach was crowned the Dan Patch 2-Year-Old Pacing Filly of 2000.

After earning $659,707 from six wins and four seconds in 12 starts as a freshman, Lady MacBeach appeared poised for a solid sophomore campaign, but unfortunately, she did not have the same fizz that made her such a strong contender the previous season.

Reunited with Campbell, she qualified in 1:54 at The Meadowlands on June 23, 2001, which would prove to be her 3-year-old record. She did put in several stellar efforts—the first when she took the $57,112 Tralee at Yonkers, pacing to a 1;57.1 clocking for driver Jeff Gregory and besting her rivals by nearly five lengths; and the second when she captured the $43,811 Adioo Volo at The Meadows in 1:55.2 for Dave Palone.

Both efforts came on the front end, a twist from her previous season’s racing style.  That season she garnered another $142,589 from two wins, four seconds, and two thirds in 16 starts. She then made just two starts at 4, in early January 2002, and the decision was made to send her to the breeding shed.

She retired with $802,296 in career earnings.

“They could never figure out why she didn’t race as well at 3 as she had been as a 2-year-old,” Carter offered. “We took her down to Rood and Riddle and they discovered that she had an abnormally large tumor in her—it weighed something like 60 pounds, and it was inoperable.”

Lady MacBeach was bred to Western Hanover in March and April, producing the brown colt Western Mac on March 22, 2003.  This youngster—who sold for $305,000 at the 2004 Harrisburg Sale—was later gelded but went on to earn $251,733 with a 5-year-old record of 1:50, racing through his 10-year-old season.

“Western Mac was foaled via embryo transfer,” Carter confirmed. “He was just a beautiful looking horse and a striking foal.”

Lady MacBeach was coupled with Real Desire the following year, but failed to produce a foal, and Western Mac remains her only progeny.

“Lady MacBeach was a lovely mare, but eventually she became uncomfortable because of that tumor, and we had to put her down,” Carter said. “She’s buried on our farm.”

by Kimberly Rinker, for Harnesslink