by Frank Angst

Mary McLeod Shoemaker, who served six terms on the Arizona Thoroughbred Breeders Association board, died on August 19 in Tucson. She was 85.

Shoemaker campaigned Strategically, a three-time stakes winner at Turf Paradise in 2005. She also raced horses in Southern California.

Shoemaker lived most of her life at Rilitto Farm. Her racing silks, which feature a red Maltese cross, trace back to her great grandfather, pioneering shipping executive Sir Roderick Cameron. Cameron imported the English-bred Thoroughbred *Leamington, sire of the first Kentucky Derby winner Aristides.

Shoemaker served for many years on the Pima County Horse Racing Commission that oversees racing at Rillito Park in Tucson.

Donations in Shoemaker’s memory can be made to the Equine Encore Foundation in Tucson.

Frank Angst is a Thoroughbred Times senior writer