Luna Belle Carries Breeder’s Legacy to Black-Eyed Susan

Of all the pictures on Deborah Greene's phone, there's one that holds the most special of meanings. Taken in the spring of 2019 it shows her father, then 92, gently holding the lead while standing over one of his newest foals, a 3-week-old bay filly. The foal's mare stands protectively behind them.

The photo represents both the past and the present. Her father, Fred A. Greene Jr., a retired home builder and land developer who successfully bred and owned horses for decades, died 14 months later at 94. The filly, named Luna Belle , would grow up to become a standout in Maryland.

"She was the last foal that my dad got to see while he was alive," said Greene, who co-bred Luna Belle with her father and his long-time trainer, Laurel Park-based Hamilton Smith. Greene and Smith race her as co-owners. "I think of him every race, and he's with me. I know how happy he would be, and I know how happy he is for me and Ham."

On the heels of five consecutive wins, all in stakes, Luna Belle will face her biggest challenge yet when she steps into graded company for the first time in the George E. Mitchell Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (G2) May 20 at Pimlico Race Course. The 1 1/8-mile test is the biggest race for 3-year-old fillies in Maryland.

"I'm a nervous wreck," Greene said. "It's not that I'm not a big dreamer, but I never dreamed of having a racehorse to run in a graded stakes. I never thought about it. I was always happy having a decent horse that could break even. I heard my dad say once, many years ago, it's exciting when your horse crosses the finish line first whether it's a claiming race, an allowance race, or a stakes race. It's the same feeling."

This one, naturally, would feel a bit more special. Aside from the Black-Eyed Susan's prestige, a win would be another testament to her father's legacy as a horseman.

"It makes it a whole lot more special, especially for Deborah," Smith said. "She gets emotional every time the horse runs, and rightfully so. She and her dad were a good pair. They loved and cared for each other, and she's as happy as she can be to have this filly.

"She's truly her father's daughter. She acts just like him," he added. "When it comes to making decisions, both of them left it up to me. I never ran a horse or did anything of that nature without going through them first. I always asked for their opinions, and they would tell me 'You do what's best.' She's so much like her dad, it's unbelievable."

Luna Belle has given Greene and Smith plenty to get excited about. She won once in her first five starts, finishing fourth by a length in the Maryland Million Lassie Stakes and second in the Smart Halo Stakes before her victory in the Maryland Juvenile Fillies Championship Stakes, all of which led her to be named Maryland's champion 2-year-old filly.

The Great Notion   filly is undefeated in four starts as a 3-year-old, winning the Jan. 29 Xtra Heat Stakes, Feb. 19 Wide Country Stakes, March 19 Beyond the Wire Stakes, and April 16 Weber City Miss Stakes, all at Laurel, the latter earning her an automatic berth in the Black-Eyed Susan.

"I think when Luna Belle won the Xtra Heat was the first race that we won where I didn't just break down crying missing him, but I know he was happy. Just an emotional cry," Greene said. "Sometimes, I still do, (but) my memories of my dad are so happy that most of the time, I smile. It's just so great to have so many pleasant memories, and a lot of them are tied up in the horses."

Fred Greene's best horse was the mare Debbie Sue, named for and owned with his daughter and trained by Smith. She won the Maryland Million Ladies Stakes in 2006, won the Brookmeade Stakes in 2008 and 2006, and was second in the 2008 Maryland Million Ladies. She was retired with more than $400,000 in earnings.

Greene also owned a horse named Iron Streak, who won his first two career starts, including the 1977 Primer Stakes at old Bowie Race Track and was being pointed to the mid-June Youthful Stakes at Belmont Park before an injury ended his career. Affirmed would go on to win the Youthful, with Alydar fifth.

"There was a headline in the Daily Racing Form (that read), 'Iron Streak Favored Over Affirmed and Alydar,'" Deborah Greene said. "So you never know what that could have been."

Fred Greene also owned six-figure earners and homebreds Heavenly Moon and The Poser (who is out of Heavenly Moon), as well as 2011 Maryland Million Nursery Stakes runner-up Coach Fridge  and I'm in Heaven, whose undefeated streak at 2 included winning the 1997 Toddler Stakes at Laurel Park. I'm in Heaven is the dam of Heavenly Moon , who is also the dam of Luna Belle.

"(Luna Belle) is his legacy," Deborah Greene said.

Luna Belle's come-from-behind style and success have made her a fan favorite, so much so that it has surprised the connections.

"Everybody is so excited. She's just developed like a fan club almost," Greene said. "Ham said he got out of his truck on Main Street in Laurel one day and he heard this horn honk. Scared him to death. He kept looking around and it was somebody driving a semi down Main Street. (They) put down the window and started hollering, 'Luna Belle!'

"His other owners, they go out and look at their horses and then they want to go see Luna Belle."

For all the success and recognition, Greene is most satisfied knowing that her father had—and maybe still has—a hand in it all.

"It was such a great bond I had with my dad in his later years that I am forever grateful for. He had (some) good final years," she said. "Every foal he had, even when he decided to breed Heavenly Moon, he always said he wasn't going to live long enough to see any of them run. But he saw quite a few of them."