Before Dawn (1979–2006) was an American

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

bred and raced by Lucille Markey's

Calumet Farm Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of the Bluegras ...

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

Racing career

Trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, John Veitch, in 1981 she was voted the

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both t ...

. During her two-year-old campaign, Before Dawn won five of her six starts against other fillies and finished second to her male counterpart in the Champagne Stakes. At age three in 1982, she won her first four starts before finishing third and second in her first Grade I competitions of the year.

Broodmare

Retired to

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

duty, Before Dawn was sent to breeders in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1990. She died in 2006 having produced three stakes-placed runners from eleven foals to race.BloodHorse.com - March 7, 2006
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References

{{reflist 1979 racehorse births 2006 racehorse deaths Thoroughbred family 23-b Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Eclipse Award winners