Trot Insider has learned that world champion pacing mare JK First Lady has been retired and will commence her broodmare career in 2022.
Bred for greatness, JK First Lady is a daughter of Western Ideal that resulted from a mating with 2014 Horse of the Year JK Shesalady. JK First Lady was developed by Nancy Takter — the same trainer of her world champion dam — for her owner-breeder 3 Brothers Stables of New York. And like her dam, JK First Lady etched her name in harness racing's record books on multiple occasions.
At two, JK First Lady captured two legs of the Kindergarten Classic leg and a division of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes before winning both the elim and final of the Three Diamonds at The Meadowlands, with the final coming in a track record 1:49.2 effort.
She lowered her mark to 1:49.1 at three in her biggest win of the season, the 2020 USS Indianapolis Memorial at Harrah's Hoosier Park while also winning a division of the Bluegrass at The Red Mile, a PaSS division and a leg of the Pennsylvania All Stars.
While her successes as an older competitor weren't as plentiful, her win in the 2021 Dorothy Haughton Memorial at The Meadowlands was historic — tripping the timer in a track record 1:47.4, making her the fastest four-year-old pacing mare ever. She retires with a 11-9-4 summary from 41 career starts and $891,630 in earnings.
"To send her back to Hanover [Shoe Farms] where she was born and raised; as a world champion, track holder at the Meadowlands for two- and four-year-old female pacers, multiple stakes winner with nearly $900,000 made is a great feeling," trainer Takter told Trot Insider. "She lived up to expectations we had for her from the moment she was born and like her mom was a pleasure to train and I really appreciate being a part of her career."
According to Takter, JK First Lady is set to be bred to Captaintreacherous.