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Danada Farms, the Rice Family and the Horses

I. The Danada Farms

A. Wheaton

1. Purchased the property in 1929.
2. A working farm with a total of 1,350 acres, including apple orchards.
3. Originally raised crops such as wheat and corn as well as livestock.
4. They also bred and maintained draft horses, cocker spaniels and pointers.
5. Mr. Rice originally became interested in horse racing as a business man; had partial ownership in several race tracks in Illinois and Florida.
6. Became more involved in 1942 when his wife went to a winner’s celebration with a friend and decided that she wanted to be part of the fun. She mentioned this to Dan and he went to the yearling sales in Lexington and bought her eight yearlings.
7. In 1943 they established Ada L. Rice Racing Stable with the 8 horses.
8. Seven of these original horses went on to win races.
9. The best was a horse named Snow Boots.
10. The farm had an X-ray machine and an emergency operating room.
11. As their interest increased, around 1942 additional stables, our main barn, a 26 stall Kentucky style barn and a regulation half-mile race track with a four position starting gate were added. The gate included a buzzer and bell to familiarize the horses with the commercial racetrack atmosphere.
12. Horses used to be led across Naperville road from the barn to the racetrack. While crossing the road, one horse was killed by a vehicle so they built an underpass.
13. In 1939 the 19-room “mansion”, greenhouse, storage sheds, employee boarding house (Matt’s house), formal gardens and a swimming pool were added. The stable hands lived in what we now use as our volunteer lounge.
14. Parties at the mansion were very “posh”. Christmas gatherings included sleigh rides; they had fireworks at the 4th of July celebration. Many well know guests visited the mansion including Jimmy Durante, Liberace and Don Ameche.

B. Acquisition

1. In fall of 1975, Ada sold all of her thoroughbred interests except two stallions, Delta Judge and Advocator.
2. Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice foundation formed in 1947 to formalize their private giving.
3. Dan passed away in 1975; Ada in 1977.
4. Foundation headed by Arthur A. Nolan, Jr., husband of Patricia, Dan Rice’s niece.
5. Foundation has made significant impact on Chicago culture with gifts to the Art Institute, the Shedd Aquarium, the Institute of Technology, the Wheaton Park District, the Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Historical Society.
6. After much debate about the future of the estate, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County purchased much of the property and turned it into the Danada Forest Preserve.

C. Sister farm in Lexington, KY

1. After establishing the racing stable in 1943, they purchased a portion of the Idle Hour Farm in Lexington in 1947.
2. Almost all the breeding took place in Kentucky where 50 to 60 brood mares were stabled.
3. Some of the mares were bred in Kentucky and then foaled in Illinois.
4. There was some breeding in Illinois. There were ten brood mares at Wheaton along with two stallions named Model Cadet and Admiral Lee.
5. When the horses bred in Kentucky were 2 years old they were moved to Wheaton. There they were broken and trained to be race horses. This usually took between 30 and 40 days. An average of 30 to 35 horses were trained each year so the Danada employees were kept busy.
6. The former Danada farm is now called Mare Haven Farm. It is located a few miles south of the Kentucky Horse Park.

II. The Rice’s

A. Dan Rice

1. Born in Chicago, in 1896, was the son of a Chicago City engineer.
2. Father was the founder of the Illinois Boiler Company.
3. Dan dropped out of DePaul University at 17 and went to work for Logan and Bryant a loop brokerage firm as a messenger.
4. In 1919 he opened his own commodity brokerage company, Daniel F. Rice; merged with Hayden Stone Inc. in 1960.
5. He made his fortune as a grain trader on the Chicago board of Trade; was known as the biggest and most daring speculator in town.
6. He was an avid sportsman enjoying fishing, golf, hunting and skeet shooting.
7. Because of his contacts and influence, he was a patron of many Chicago politicians and other well known public figures.
8. He sold his very profitable brokerage business in the 40’s.
9. In late 1940’s he became a partner with Louis B. Mayer, Bing Crosby, Pat O’Brien and Don Ameche in the Los Angels Dons football team.
10. He became a director of Arlington Park racetrack.
11. He was a serious student of pedigrees, and an outstanding businessman. He supervised the farm procedures and managed the racing stable.

B. Ada Rice

1. Born in 1899, she was a very active woman; a shrewd businesswoman, and a good storyteller.
2. She enjoyed painting and was an outstanding skeet shooter; even better than her husband. She won several medals for her shooting ability including the Illinois Amateur Championship.
3. The Danada racing interest was in her name as was the ownership of all the horses.
4. Her racing colors were cerise (a deep purplish red) and white. The idea was that these colors could be seen all around the track even on the darkest days. Rice pool in Wheaton has these colors on the flags flying on top of spires modeled after the ones at Churchill Downs.
5. Ada had the responsibility of naming the horses. She tried to include a connection with the horse’s sire and dam.
6. Ada said that although she was thrilled to have a Kentucky Derby winner, her favorite memory was winning the Washington Park Handicap. You have to win the race three times in order to get ownership of the trophy. Her two horses, Chief of Chiefs, and Talent Show beat Kelso, the best race horse in the country in 1961.
7. Mrs. Rice could be found some mornings walking through the stable, fur coat trailing in the dirt, keeping watch over her beloved horses. She was quoted as saying her greatest pleasure was, “sitting in the pasture with the horses all around me.”
8. Dan and Ada had an adopted son named Daniel Rice, Jr.

III. The Horses

A. Lucky Debonair

1. The most well known horse that was owned by the Rice’s was their Kentucky Derby winner, Lucky Debonair. He paid $10.60 on a $2 ticket when he won the Kentucky Derby in 1965, with Willie Shoemaker on board.
2. The story goes that Mrs. Rice approached Lucky Debonair the night before the Derby and kissed him on the nose. Then in a gesture of triumph for achieving the ultimate victory after twenty years of horse racing, she draped the blanket of red Derby roses across her shoulders, like a floral stole.
3. Lucky’s first trainer was Lester Wander, the Wheaton farm’s head trainer. As a 2 year old Lucky was transferred to trainer Frank Catrone. He ran one race as a 2 year old and did not finish in the top three. Under Mr. Catrone, as a 3 year old, he had 5 wins (one being the Derby) and 3 second place finishes.
4. Lucky raced for three years. He had 16 starts, 9 firsts, 3 seconds and 4 unplaced. He won a total of $370,962.
5. As a 3 year old, he won the Kentucky Derby, the Santa Anita Derby, and the Blue Grass Stakes.
6. As a historical note, there was a fire in the grandstands at the 1965 Kentucky Derby. Luckily no one was hurt and the fire was extinguished very quickly, but the start of the race was delayed 30 minutes.
7. Lucky Debonair retired to Danada Farm in Lexington in 1966 as a breeding stallion. He was sold in 1975 when Mrs. Rice auctioned off the farm. He died at the age of 25 in Venezuela after a successful career in South America as a sire.

B.The Winners (Triple Crown horses)

1. 1949 –Model Cadet - 7th in the Kentucky Derby, 7th in the Preakness.
2. 1957 – Indian Creek- 6th in the Kentucky Derby.
3. 1965 – Lucky Debonair- 1st in the Kentucky Derby, 7th in the Preakness.
4. 1966 – Advocator- 2nd in the Kentucky Derby, 6th in the Preakness, 3rd in the Belmont Stakes.

C.Other Danada Winners

1. Chief of Chiefs
2. Talent Show
3. Pet Bully
4. Pucker Up (a mare who won the best racing mare in the country in 1957)
5. Cerise Reine
6. Pia Star
7. Delta Judge
8. Twogundan

Note:

The Rice’s were very successful with their thoroughbred racing.From the time the Danada horses won their first stakes race in 1952, there was only one year that Danada Farms did not have at least one stakes winner.

The racing trophies the Rice’s won and a collection of much of the Danada racing memorabilia can be seen at the Dan and Ada Rice Center at Illinois Benedictine University.

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