Mairzy Doates
Mairzy Doates was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. She was owned by New York City art dealer Arno D. Schefler who bought her as a weanling from breeder Preston W. Madden. Schefler named her for the novelty song "Mairzy Doats" made popular in a 1943 recording by bandleader Al Trace.
Trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Horatio Luro, in 1981, Mairzy Doates competed successfully at racetracks in Florida, California and New York. By July of the year, she was considered a leading contender for turf-racing fillies in North America. In November, she went to Tokyo, Japan where she beat an international field to win the inaugural Japan Cup.
Following her victory in Japan, Mairzy Doates was retired from racing to stand at Hurstland Farm in Midway, Kentucky, as a breeding mare. At the time of her retirement, she was the 16th highest money earner in the world for female horses, as well as the highest earning mare globally for 1981.
In 2008, Calder Race Course announced the first running of the Mairzy Doates Handicap race, a miles turf contest for female horses 3 years old and upward.