Review Category : In Memorium

Olivia Cannata Passes at 97

Olivia Cannata Passes at 97

Nov 19, 2018 Posted by In In Memorium

CHATSWORTH, Calif. (Nov. 19, 2018) — Olivia Cannata, who with husband Carl bred California millionaire champion Gourmet Girl and owned Lakeview Thoroughbred Farms, died on Oct. 31. She was 97. Carl Cannata, former president of California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, died in 2011 at age 90. Married in 1945, together they moved from Connecticut to Virginia and to Washington state before settling in the San Fernando Valley, where Olivia taught Shakespearean studies and pursued her passion for animals, particularly horses. They purchased their first Thoroughbred in 1974 and opened Lakeview Thoroughbred Farm in 1979 in Riverside County. Olivia Cannata is survived by her sister, Marion; her children, Stephen and Kristi; her grandchildren, Karina, Rachel and Kayla; and her great-grandchildren, Nicholas, Camille, Kenza and Lyla.     ...

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General Challenge Passes at 18

General Challenge Passes at 18

RAMONA, Calif. (Feb. 4, 2014) — General Challenge, two-time California champion and seventh on the all-time Cal-bred money earning list, passed away Tuesday at Golden Eagle Farm at age 18. “Its with a heavy heart that we announce the great GENERAL CHALLENGE has been euthanized,” read a post on Golden Eagle Farm’s Facebook page. “He was not doing well the last few days and today his condition deteriorated rapidly. The great ones always tell us when its their time and he told us today. Everyone at the farm was with him when he passed. He is being buried next to Best Pal at Golden Eagle Farm.” The farm included a link to this Bloodhorse.com video on General Challenge’s career. ...

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Paul Bernhard Jr. Passes at 82

Paul Bernhard Jr. Passes at 82

ARCADIA, Calif. (Dec. 30, 2013) — Paul Bernhard Jr. longtime member of the CTBA and horse owner, died on Dec. 12, 2013 from complications from various infections at the age of 82.  Paul raced under the name P & M Stables. Bernhard was an active participant each year in the CTBA/Cal Cup celebration and he was associated with Red Star Fertilizer Company for 60 years, serving as President and General Manager for 43 years, a position he held at the time of his death. He is survived by his wife Mary and two stepsons, Kirk and Keith Pierce. ...

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Margaret Robbins Passes at 91

By DRF.com RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif. (Dec. 6, 2013) — Margaret “Maggie” Robbins, the matriarch of one of California’s most noted racing families, died in her Rancho Santa Fe home with her husband, Dr. Jack Robbins, at her side after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was 91. Born Margaret Miller in Philadelphia, Pa., Maggie Robbins was a student at the University of Pennsylvania when she met an ambitious young man from California who was attending the veterinary school of medicine. Jack Robbins was working in the kitchen of the young Miss Miller’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house at the time. “She was president of the sorority and I was waiting tables,” Dr. Robbins has said in one of many tellings. “She wasn’t paying any attention to me. So I spilled some soup in her lap.” They were married in 1944 and settled in California, where Jack Robbins, now possessed of a veterinary degree, became one of the Thoroughbred circuit’s first full-time racetrack practitioners. As their family grew to... ...

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Doris Johnson Passes at 93

Doris Johnson Passes at 93

SOLANA BEACH, Calif. (Nov. 14, 2013) – Breeder and owner Doris Johnson, member of the  California Thoroughbred Breeders Association since 1964, passed away last week after a brief illness. Johnson worked for Bay Meadows for 49 years, the last 20 as manager of the Turf Club, and fought to keep the track open until its closing in 2008. As an owner, she raced stakes winner Honey’s Wallet. In 1998, she joined a partnership that claimed Theresa’s Tizzy for $16,000. Theresa’s Tizzy went on to become a graded stakes winner of $660,271 that the partnership sold in 2001 for $500,000 to Taylor Made Farm in Kentucky. Johnson was married for 50 years to K.L. “Tex” Johnson, who trained at Bay Meadows for Cecilia DeMille-Harper and Charlie Russell, among others. Tex Johnson died in 1991. After the closing of Bay Meadows, Johnson relocated to the Solana Beach area. A memorial service will be held Dec. 4 in the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club Directors Room from 3-6 p.m. ...

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Larry Barrera Passes at 54

By DRF MONROVIA, Calif. (Nov. 5, 2013) — A graveside burial service will be held for Larry Barrera, son of the late Hall of Fame trainer Lazaro Barrera and an accomplished trainer in his own right, at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Live Oak Memorial Park in Monrovia, Calif. Barrera died at home in Carlsbad, Calif., on Oct. 27. It was his 54th birthday. http://www.drf.com/news/larry-barrera-former-trainer-dies-54 ...

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