Ta Wee was born in 1966 and became the Champion Sprinter of 1969 and 1970! Like Violet, she was born in Florida. And her sweet name, Ta Wee means "Beautiful Girl" in Sioux.Her career record was 21: 15, 2, 1. And this accomplishment is staggering, given that she was expected to carry weights that never before had been assigned to a filly! When she was 3 years old, she won the Fall Highweight Handicap, carrying an unprecedented 130 pounds -- a first for a filly. Then the next year, she won the same race -- this time carrying 140 pounds!! She won the Interboro Handicap carrying 142 pounds!! And that was 29 pounds MORE than the second place horse, Hasty Hitter. She beat the boys, she beat the girls, and she was relentlessly expected to carry heavy weights! Lucky for her, it was in her genes. She and her half-brother, Dr. Fager, could carry giant huge weights and still sail ahead of everyone! For her efforts, she was voted #80 of the Top 100 Race Horses of the 20th century, and inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1994.
She was a hard-working girl, and when she retired from racing, she had 6 children. Five of those children were track winners, and 4 were stakes winners. She even had a foal by Secretariat who was named Tweak!. She passed relatively young in 1980.
Of course, this champion, weight-carrying, formidable girl is related to both my sweet ponies! Some of their shared relatives include Bubbling Over, Discovery, Percentage, Better Self, Bimelech, and Bull Dog!
You can see video of her winning the 1970 Interboro Handicap while carrying 142 pounds at the following links!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWafPy3XBeM
or
http://www.championsgallery.com/ta_wee.htm
or
http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=149