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

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

-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 (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

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, t ...

sired by Horatius. 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 Corrected grade for Santa Anita sprintover a distance of 6 Furlongs ( mile), the race has been held annually si ...

as the second choice in the morning line and finished second to Ogden Phipps'

Dancing Spree Dancing Spree (May 7, 1985 – February 6, 2011) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and the winner of the 1990 Carter Handicap. Career Dancing Spree's first race was on April 20, 1988, where he won at Keeneland Racecourse. His next win came ...

. 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 influential ...

Saratoga Race Course Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track located on Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. Opened in 1863, it is often considered to be the oldest major sporting venue of any kind in the country, but is actua ...

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

Prioress Stakes The Prioress Stakes is an American Grade II 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 after wh ...

. 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 that is made by a few small selected American ...

for the

American Champion Sprint Horse The American Champion Sprint Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. Created in 1947, in 1971 it became part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually to the top horse in sprint races (usually those run at a distance ...

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 country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Black Tie Affair Black Tie Affair (April 1, 1986 – July 1, 2010) was a thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by American businessman Stephen D. Peskoff, he was out of the mare Hat Tab Girl and sired by Miswaki, who also sired Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Urban Sea ...

from

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 ...

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 Maryland Million Distaff Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in October since 1986 primarily at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland or at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. To be eligible for the Maryland Million Di ...

, 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 The Chicago Stakes is a Grade III American Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, four years old and older over a distance of seven furlongs on the dirt track scheduled annually in June at run annually at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ken ...

at Arlington Park and contested in the grade one

Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes The De Francis Memorial Dash is a Listed American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Open to horses aged three and older, it is competed on dirt over a distance of six furlongs. It is currently r ...

, 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 fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked. Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder l ...

, 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 National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame stallion Ack Ack (horse), Ack Ack out of the Hoist The Flag mare Hay ...

. 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 Lady's Secret (April 8, 1982 – March 4, 2003) was an American Eclipse Award winning Thoroughbred racemare that was listed in the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century. Lady's Secret was bred by Robert H. Spreen at Lucas Farm in Oklah ...

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 unt ...

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 then ...

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

.2007 Maryland Jockey Club Media Guide, page 37 on March 3, 2007. A second stakes race, the Safely Kept Stakes at

Arlington Park Arlington International Racecourse (formerly Arlington Park, the name was Arlington Park Jockey Club from as soon as 1948 up to 1955) was a horse race track in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois. Horse racing in the Chicago regi ...

, 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