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Prominent owner Mace Siegel dies

Oct. 27, 2011 - Mace Siegel, one half of Thoroughbred owners Jay Em Ess Stables with his daughter, Samantha, died on Wednesday.

Samantha Siegel reported the news on her personal Twitter account. Daily Racing Form reported that Mace Siegel recently returned to his Beverly Hills home after a month-long hospitalization.

“Heartbroken, my dad, my rock is gone. He died at home at peace today,” Siegel posted on Twitter on Wednesday evening.

Mace Siegel, 86, has been linked with horse racing for more than five decades. He met his future wife, big-band singer Jan, on a blind date at Aqueduct in 1962. Mace and Jan then purchased their first horse in 1964 in Maryland. Jan passed away in 2002.

Mace Siegel was a founding member of the Thoroughbred Owners of California and also served as the group’s vice president.

Among Siegel’s top horses are 2004 champion two-year-old male Declan’s Moon and Grade 1 winners Urbane, I Ain’t Bluffing, Stormy But Valid, Miss Iron Smoke, Hedonist, I Believe in You, and Rail Trip. Jay Em Ess currently has about 50 horses in training in California, Kentucky, and New York.

He has also been a part of several philanthropic initiatives. This year, Mace Siegel pledged more than $1.5-million to endow the Jan and Mace Siegel Professorship in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope Cancer Center. He also donated to the California Retirement Management Account (CARMA), which helps care for retired racehorses.

In 2008, Mace and Samantha Siegel were honored by the Edwin J. Gregson Foundation for their charitable endeavors.

Mace Siegel was the founder of Macerich Co. in Santa Monica, California, which developed, owned, and managed regional shopping malls. He retired from the company in 2008 and served as chairman emeritus.

Read more: Thoroughbred Times