Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Lisa Danielle Dies at 25

Morton and Elaine Fink's pensioned royal blue hen mare Lisa Danielle, dam of two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan, was euthanized Feb. 7 at Patchen Wilkes Farm near Lexington because of an irreparable injury she sustained to her left hind leg.

The 25-year-old chestnut daughter of Wolf Power, out of the Secretariat mare Askmysecretary, ruptured a distal sesamoid ligament in her left hind leg. 

"With a younger mare, you could probably fuse the joint, but not in an older mare like her," said Barry Ezrine, farm manager of Patchen Wilkes, where Lisa Danielle has been since the Finks bought her as a yearling in 1995. "There was no way we were going to let her suffer."

Bred in Illinois by Triple C Thorobred, Lisa Danielle was sold for $29,000 through the Keeneland September Yearling Sale by Walmac International as agent. She was acquired by agent Cecil Seaman on behalf of the Finks, who sent the filly to Patchen Wilkes. Morton Fink asked Ezrine to recommend someone to break his new filly. The wheels of racing history were set in motion when Ezrine sent him to Charlie and Amy LoPresti. 

Charlie LoPresti would later become the trainer of Lisa Danielle's most successful runners: Wise Dan (by Wiseman's Ferry) and multiple grade 1-placed, grade 2 winner Successful Dan (by Successful Appeal). Wise Dan won 19 graded stakes, 11 of them at the grade 1 level on dirt and turf, while racing from 3 to 7. He won Horse of the Year, champion grass horse, and champion older horse titles in 2012 and then again in 2013 and retired with $7,552,920 in earnings. Successful Dan also raced from 3-7 (but not at 5) and retired with $998,154 in earnings.

In 2013, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association named Lisa Danielle the Kentucky Broodmare of the Year.

Besides her two superstars, Lisa Danielle produced a black-type stakes winner, a graded-placed winner, and four other winners, none of whom earned less than $100,000. Her progeny, all Fink homebreds, earned $9,450,990 collectively as racehorses.

"Her produce record is remarkable … (even) before Wise Dan," Ezrine said. "She was a great producer, and anyone would have wanted one like her."

Ezrine remembered the mare as independent and a bit obstinate. 

"When it was time to go out, she was always standing by the door and was the last to come in," Ezrine remembered. "She always would rather be outside than in. If you went out in the middle of the day to get her, you were probably not going to get her.

"We've had some great horses on this farm, like Hollywood Wildcat and Brave Raj. But I am proud to have raised a two-time Horse of the Year and a Broodmare of the Year. It is quite an accomplishment for a small farm," he continued. "We are fortunate, and she meant a lot to Mr. Fink."

Lisa Danielle will be buried at Patchen Wilkes Farm in a horse cemetery near the main house, where Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Stakes (G1) winner Brave Raj, Patchen Beauty, and others are buried.