Pedigrees
“She ran as if the ground wasn’t good enough for her.” —Trainer Matthew Byrnes of Wanda, fourth dam of Betty Derr
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Betty Derr, Ancestress of Swaps
Swaps, the second Cal-bred to win the Kentucky Derby, is a third-generation descendant of Betty Derr
THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING
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f well-tried aphorisms can be believed—and many actually can—then every pedigree tells a story and the mare’s family is stronger than the individual. Such tried and often true sayings lead us to want to know all we can about a given horse, especially a champion. But what if in the process of researching one champion, we fnd several others? Tis is what happens with Betty Derr, the third dam of the great California-bred
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BY ELLEN PARKER
Swaps. She is beyond a doubt the queen of California classics. From the roots she so deeply planted in the breed come Swaps in particular, but also Iron Liege, Personality, and California Chrome. She was even a half sister to a Kentucky Derby winner, Clyde Van Dusen. Swaps, now long gone, shines brightest among Betty Derr’s relations, and as he appears in more and more pedigrees, he brings added respect to his own bloodline and to the family from whence he descends. Tat family earned its gold and
CALIFORNIA THOROUGHBRED ❙ October 2021 ❙ www.ctba.com
glory in the mid-1950s, but it shows no sign of slowing down with recent contributions such as California Chrome and Charlatan. Betty Derr’s is a history worth reading for the facts, but even more for recognizing her as the ingredient that made her a California classic. THE TAPROOT
When a flly from a farm’s foundation family arrives, that flly already has a pedigree that merits immediate confdence. But she still has to prove herself
