Lucky Debonair remains the most celebrated Thoroughbred in Danada Farm history. Bred by Dan and Ada Rice of Wheaton, Illinois, he was foaled at the Rices’ Danada Farm operation near Lexington, Kentucky, on land that had once been part of the famed Idle Hour Stock Farm. A bay colt by Vertex out of Fresh as Fresh, Lucky carried a distinguished pedigree through his dam, a daughter of 1943 U.S. Triple Crown champion Count Fleet.
Trained by Frank Catrone and raced under the Ada L. Rice Racing Stable banner, Luck developed from an overlooked young horse into one of the defining stars of the 1965 racing season.
Early Racing Career
As a two-year-old in 1964, Debonair made only one start, finishing out of the money at Atlantic City Race Course. The following year, he was sent west to California, where Hall of Fame jockey Bill Shoemaker took the reins and helped guide the colt into national prominence.
At Santa Anita Park, the historic horse finished second in the San Felipe Stakes and then captured the San Vicente Handicap. His breakthrough came in the Santa Anita Derby, the West Coast’s premier race for three-year-olds. Entered as a supplementary nomination, Lucky Debonair won by four lengths under Shoemaker and set a stakes record of 1:47.00.
He followed that performance with another major victory in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, establishing himself as one of the leading contenders for the Kentucky Derby.
1965 Kentucky Derby Victory
On Derby Day in 1965, Lucky Debonair gave Danada Farm its greatest racing triumph. With Bill Shoemaker aboard, he defeated a strong field of three-year-olds at Churchill Downs, including favorite Bold Lad, runner-up Dapper Dan, future Hall of Fame inductee Tom Rolfe, and Hail To All.
The victory gave Shoemaker his third Kentucky Derby win and placed Dan and Ada Rice, Ada L. Rice Racing Stable, and Danada Farm permanently in the history of America’s most famous horse race.
Lucky Debonair continued on to the Preakness Stakes, but a bruised ankle nearly kept him from starting and contributed to a seventh-place finish. He did not run in the Belmont Stakes. Below is THE video of Lucky taking the crown at the derby!
Return at Four
Lucky Debonair returned to racing in 1966 and proved that his Derby success was no accident. As a four-year-old, he won three of five starts, including the prestigious Santa Anita Handicap, where he defeated the accomplished California star Native Diver.
Stud Career and Legacy
After his racing career, Lucky Debonair was retired to stud at the Rices’ Kentucky farm. In 1976, after Ada Rice disbanded her racing stable, he was sent to Venezuela. As a sire, he produced fifteen stakes winners, including Irish Derby winner Malacate.
He died in 1987 at the age of twenty-five. His legacy, however, remains closely tied to Danada. On May 4, 2002, the City of Wheaton honored him with a memorial plaque and rock at the Danada Equestrian Center, recognizing the homebred champion who carried the Danada name to victory in the Kentucky Derby.
Today, Lucky stands as the signature horse of Danada Farm’s racing legacy, a champion bred by Dan and Ada Rice, guided by Bill Shoemaker, and remembered as the horse who brought the roses home to Wheaton.`
