By T. D. Thornton
As news of the death of Anita Madden circulated through the Thoroughbred community and Lexington social circles, Thursday's passing of the well-known philanthropist and sportswoman whose family bred dual-Classic winner Alysheba is being wistfully hallmarked as the end of a bygone era that fused high-society Bluegrass opulence with compassion and activism.
But beyond the headlines recalling the flamboyantly lavish, celebrity-studded GI Kentucky Derby Eve galas that Madden hosted to help raise money for charitable causes for nearly four decades, the enthusiastic and passionate humanitarian was also a determined civic leader who worked diligently to make her community better.
The Lexington Herald-Leader confirmed with a hospital spokesperson that Madden died at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27 while surrounded by family and friends at the Willows Health Center in Hamburg, Kentucky. No cause of death was listed, but Madden had been in declining health for several years. She was 85.
Longtime broadcast handicapper Caton Bredar recalled Madden with a Twitter posting that read, “One of the more influential women in my life, Anita Madden, has passed away. Strong, unapologetic and most importantly Anita always honored the underdog, the person trying in spite of everything else.”
Arthur B. Hancock III of Stone Farm told the Herald-Leader that “Anita was a great woman. She was great at promoting Kentucky and the horse industry. She was a wonderful, vivacious person who really cared about people. We'll all miss her.”
Born Anita K. Myers Feb. 3, 1933, in Ashland, Kentucky, a Wikipedia article describes her as growing up as a “tomboy” who competed on high school basketball and cheerleading teams. She attended Western Kentucky University for two years before transferring to the University of Kentucky (UK) in 1952. While attending UK she met her eventual husband, Preston West Madden.
The two married in 1955, and strove together to uphold the Thoroughbred breeding success of the Madden family's Hamburg Place Farm, which had been founded in 1898 by Preston's grandfather, the legendary horseman John E. Madden. Hamburg Place produced five GI Kentucky Derby and five GI Preakness S. winners, including the first Triple Crown winner, Sir Barton.
Some seven decades later, Hamburg Place Farm produced Alysheba, and sold him as a $500,000 yearling who went on to win the 1987 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S.
Over the decades, Madden championed charitable causes that benefitted troubled youths, AIDS research, and social justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens. She also served as an honorary chairperson for such organizations as the Blue Grass Farms Chaplaincy and the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.
In 2008, the Lexington Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners honored Madden with the organization's Winner's Circle Award, and in 2012 the Ohio River Valley Women's Business Council named her the first recipient of its Woman of the Year Trailblazer Award.
Upon receiving that award, Madden told the Herald-Leader in 2012 that “I am thrilled to be named as the Trailblazing Award recipient. But actually, all these organizations are doing such marvelous, life-changing work that I was more than willing to help out in any way I could.”
Still, those over-the-top Derby parties appear destined to remain a focal point of Madden's legacy.
In the first few years during the early 1960s, the gatherings were horse industry-centric affairs. But as more and more high-society guests nationwide wanted coveted invites, Madden hit upon the idea of making them open-to-all ticketed balls that raised money for Bluegrass Boys Ranch. The parties often had raucously decadent themes, complete with scantily clad male bartenders and topless women swimming in the pool dressed as mermaids or swinging from trapezes suspended from the ceilings.
In 1990, the New York Times described one gala event as such:
“Kentuckians do not think small when it comes to Derby entertaining. At least 1,800 people are expected at the Maddens' annual party…. Guests are invited to appear in black tie or ”kinky kimonos,” and the decor, featuring Japanese bridges, waterfalls and cascading flowers, may turn as many heads as the celebrities who invariably attend.”
The Maddens' final Derby party was in 1998.
Anita Madden is survived by her husband of 63 years; their son Patrick and his wife, Jennifer; two grandchildren, and a brother, Marc Stuart.
Visitation will be Wednesday, Oct. 3, from 2-6 p.m. at Milward Man o' War Funeral Home on Trent Boulevard in Lexington. The funeral will be private.
Donations in memory of Madden can be made to the Bluegrass Boys Ranch, PO BOX 12128, Lexington, Ky. 40580.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
