Mairzy Doates

Mairzy Doates (foaled 1 April, 1976 in Kentucky^[1]) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and four time graded stakes winner.^[a][3] She was owned by New York City art dealer Arno D. Schefler who bought her as a weanling from breeder Preston W. Madden. Schefler named her for the novelty song "Mairzy Doats" made popular in a 1943 recording by bandleader Al Trace.^[6][7]

Trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Horatio Luro, in 1981, Mairzy Doates competed successfully at racetracks in Florida, California and New York.^[8] By July of the year, she was considered a leading contender for turf-racing fillies in North America.^[9] In November, she went to Tokyo, Japan where she beat an international field to win the inaugural Japan Cup.^[10]

In 1978, Schefler bought the two-year-old Mairzy Doates from Madden, and was the one to name her. She was briefly trained by Angel Penna and then Mickey Preger in the year, but by winter Schefler had handed Mairzy Doates to Horatio Luro, a famous horse-trainer who Schefler had become acquainted with in the early 1970s. Training in Miami, because of the weakness in her ankles, Mairzy Doates had to be monitored closely.^[11]

Mairzy Doates was an all-time wonderful mare. There may have been better fillies in history, but the great thing about her was her enormous courage. She would give you everything she ever had. It is one thing to get a filly, any horse, to give you that courage every once once in a while. But Mairzy Doates gave it all of the time.

Following her victory in Japan, Mairzy Doates' retirement was announced by the end of January 1982.^[13] At the time of her retirement, she was the 16th highest money earner in the world for female horses, as well as the highest earning mare globally for 1981. She was transferred to Hurstland Farm in Midway, Kentucky, to stand as a breeding mare, and was quickly paired with the popular French sire Lyphard. Schefler had hoped for a filly to name her 'Dozy Doates'.^[12] However, Mairzy Doates' first foal was instead a colt called Mairzy Dancer.^[14]

Mairzy Doates was not considered a successful broodmare.^[3] Most of her children did not race, and those which did rarely won.^[15] However, Mairzy Doates' final foal, a filly called Nachtigall born in 1998,^[15], sired Etoile Nocturne,^[16] a graded winner through the 2009 Grade 3 Hamburg Trophy ran in Hamburg.^[17]

Since Mairzy Doates’ retirement, four races at different racecourses have been named in her honor.