Safely Kept (April 7, 1986 – April 22, 2014) was a

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

-bred

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

filly A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States ...

sired by

Horatius Horatius may refer to: People Roman era * several ancient Roman men of the '' gens Horatia'', including: ** Quintus Horatius Flaccus, the poet known in English as Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Sueto ...

. Safely Kept began her career in 1988 and won 24 of her 31 starts over the next three years. Most of her runs were against colts and geldings as at the time there were few sprint races restricted to females. She finished "in-the-money" in 30 of 31 starts. Safely Kept was euthanized the morning of April 22, 2014 for due to the infirmities of old age. She was 28 years old.

Two and Three year-old seasons

As a two-year-old, she won four of five races including two stakes races in the Playpen Stakes and the Smart Angle Stakes. At age three, she separated herself from every other sprinter in North America by recording eight wins in nine races. That year (1989), she entered the

Breeders' Cup Sprint The Breeders' Cup Sprint is an American Weight for Age Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for horses three years old and older. Run on dirt over a distance of 6 Furlongs ( mile), the race has been held annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in t ...

as the second choice in the morning line and finished second to Ogden Phipps' Dancing Spree. Among her eight stakes wins in 1989 were the grade one

Test Stakes The Test Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies and run each summer at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. It is contested at a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt and is an influentia ...

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, Saratoga Springs, New York (state), New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting v ...

and two wins in grade two races, the Genuine Risk Handicap and the

Prioress Stakes The Prioress Stakes is an American Grade III Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the eight-week meet at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Inaugurated in 1948 at Jamaica Racetrack, it was raced there through 1959 afte ...

. Those performances as well as her 9-8-1-0 record that year earned her the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division. The trophy is made by a few small selected A ...

for the

American Champion Sprint Horse The American Champion Sprint Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a ...

Four-year-old season

At age four, she won all seven of her starts, which all came in stakes races. The final race of her four-year-old season was a victory over a star-studded international field of 14 sprinters in the grade one

. That win over super stars

Dayjur Dayjur (6 February 1987 – 25 September 2013) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist sprinter, he ran eleven times between June 1989 and October 1990 and won seven races. In 1990 he dominated European sprint ...

from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and Black Tie Affair from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

as well as reversing the previous year's form as she defeated Dancing Spree by nine and a half lengths.

Five-year-old season

At age, five Safely Kept won five of seven races and finished third in the other two. She ran in the same stakes races at the same tracks that she had in the two previous years. She three-peated in the grade two Genuine Risk Handicap, three-peated in the Maryland Million Distaff Handicap, three-peated in the grade three Garden Stakes Handicap (no longer run), and repeated in the grade three Meadowlands Handicap. Safely Kept also won the Chicago Handicap at Arlington Park and contested in the grade one Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes, where she finished third to

Housebuster Housebuster (foaled March 7, 1987, in Kentucky – May 15, 2005) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was sired by graded stakes race winner Mt. Livermore and was out of the Great Above mare Big Dreams. Bred by Blanche P. Levy ...

Career Earnings

Safely Kept's career bankroll of $2,194,206 ranks her as the greatest earner among any filly or mare bred in the state of Maryland. She is one of only five multi-millionaire Thoroughbred foaled in the state after

Cigar A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and Fermentation, fermented tobacco leaves made to be Tobacco smoking, smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct comp ...

, Awad, Concern, and

Broad Brush Broad Brush (April 16, 1983 – May 15, 2009) was an American thoroughbred racehorse foaled in Maryland. He was by the Hall of Fame stallion Ack Ack out of the Hoist The Flag mare Hay Patcher. Bred and owned by Robert E. Meyerhoff and train ...

. At the time of her retirement, Safely Kept had earned more than any other female horse in the world bred outside the state of Kentucky except for Lady's Secret and still ranks fourth on that list.

Honors

Laurel Park Racecourse Laurel Park, formerly Laurel Race Course, is an American thoroughbred racetrack located just outside Laurel, Maryland which opened in 1911. The track is miles in circumference. Its name was changed to "Laurel Race Course" for several decades un ...

renamed a

Graded stakes race A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level (I, II, III or listed) is th ...

in her honor. Safely Kept won the 1989 running of the Columbia Stakes, and in 1990 the race was renamed and given graded stakes status for the first time. The stakes upgrade has been credited to the level of competition that has run in the race, but in large part the upgrade is due to the fact that Safely Kept went on to win the Breeders' Cup Sprint. The Safely Kept Stakes is run annually on the same card as the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes.2007 Maryland Jockey Club Media Guide, page 37 on March 3, 2007. A second stakes race, the Safely Kept Stakes at

Arlington Park Arlington Park (formerly known as Arlington International Racecourse) is a former horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Once called the ''Arlington Park Jockey Club'', it was located adjacent to the Illinois Rou ...

, was named after her in honor of her 7 3/4 length victory in the Chicago Handicap in 1991. In May 2011, she was elected to the US Racing Hall of Fame.

References

{{reflist 1986 racehorse births 2014 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 4-m Racehorses bred in Maryland Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees Breeders' Cup Sprint winners