Jeanne Mirabito, advocate for retired Thoroughbreds, dies at 60
Jeanne Mirabito, the founder and president of Our Mims Retirement Haven for retired broodmares, died Aug. 5 after a battle with cancer. The native of Hilton, N.Y., and current resident of Paris, Ky., had turned 60 last week.
Mirabito's advocacy for retired Thoroughbreds came about because of a favorite racehorse of her youth, Calumet homebred Our Mims. The filly, a half-sister to Alydar, earned the Eclipse Award 3-year-old filly championship in 1977 -- a year before Mirabito graduated from high school -- with victories including the Coaching Club American Oaks, Alabama, and Delaware Handicap, and a runner-up effort in the Kentucky Oaks. Our Mims was sold in 1991 at the Keeneland January sale. Six years later, Mirabito, who had relocated to Kentucky and was working at the Bourbon Times newspaper in Paris, found the pensioned mare living on a local farm. Mirabito acquired the mare and cared for her old friend until her death at age 29 in 2003. She was buried in Calumet's equine cemetery.
In memory of the mare, Mirabito was inspired to create Our Mims Retirement Haven, with a focus on taking in and caring for pensioned broodmares. The Haven, which is open to the public, received 501(c)3 nonprofit status on March 8, 2007, which was Our Mims' foaling date. Over the years, the farm has cared for mares such as Grade 1 winner Sugar and Spice, a half sister to Our Mims and Alydar; Grade 1 winner Lotka; Taba, the dam of 1986 champion older male Turkoman; and Iza Valentine, the dam of Kentucky Oaks winner Fran's Valentine. According to its website, the farm currently calls 11 horses home -- including gelded 1997 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Elmhurst, whose dam, Mimbet, was out of Our Mims.
"Even though our hearts are broken, we go on," Mirabito's associates posted on the official Our Mims social media accounts the evening of Aug. 5. "We will keep her dream alive by taking care of her charges and the place her love, blood, sweat and tears built."
A celebration of life will be planned at a later date.