Donald MacBeth was a Canadian jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

 in Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 horse racing

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

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Born in Red Deer, Alberta

Red Deer, Alberta

Red Deer is a city in Central Alberta, Canada. It is located near the midpoint of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor and is surrounded by Red Deer County. It is Alberta's third-most-populous city – after Calgary and Edmonton. The city is located in aspen parkland, a region of rolling hills...

, Macbeth rode horses at Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 racetracks before going to race in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Among horses of note, he rode Deputy Minister

Deputy Minister (horse)

Deputy Minister was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred horse racing Champion. At age two, he won eight out of his nine starts and was voted the 1981 Sovereign and Eclipse Award winner as North American Champion 2-Yr-Old, and was also voted Canada's Sovereign Award for Horse of the Year...

, winner of the 1981 Sovereign

Sovereign Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Male Horse

The Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Coltis a Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing honor. Created in 1975 by the Jockey Club of Canada, it is part of the Sovereign Awards program and is awarded annually to the top 2-Year-Old male Thoroughbred horse competing in Canada.Past winners: -References:*...

 and Eclipse awards for Outstanding Two-Year-Old Male Horse in Canada and the United States. In Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, MacBeth rode Half Iced to victory in the 1982 Japan Cup

Japan Cup

The is the most prestigious horse race run in Japan. It is contested at the end of November at Tokyo Racecourse in Fuchu, Tokyo at a distance of 2400 meters over the grass. With a purse of ¥476 million , the Japan Cup is one of the richest races in the world.The Japan Cup is an invitational event...

 and Chief's Crown

Chief's Crown

Chief's Crown was an American-bred Thoroughbred race horse who won the 1984 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Two-Year-Old Male Horse. He later became a successful sire.-Background:...

 to an impressive win in the 1984 Breeders' Cup Juvenile

Breeders' Cup Juvenile

The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships....

, the 1985 Blue Grass Stakes

Blue Grass Stakes

The Toyota Blue Grass Stakes, currently sponsored by the Toyota Motor Corporation, is an American Grade 1 horse race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds held annually in mid April at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky....

, and the 1985 Marlboro Cup. He also won the prestigious Washington, D.C. International in 1985 aboard Vanlandingham

Vanlandingham

Vanlandingham was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred and raced by the Loblolly Stable, owned by Arkansas businessman John Ed Anthony.Vanlandingham was conditioned for racing by future U.S...

 for trainer Shug McGaughey.

Don MacBeth was the leading jockey at Monmouth Park for three years running between 1978 and 1980. He won 2,764 races before cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 ended his racing career. For his significant contribution to the sport of horse racing, Don MacBeth received the Avelino Gomez Memorial Award

Avelino Gomez Memorial Award

The Avelino Gomez Memorial Award is a Canadian thoroughbred horse racing honor given annually to a jockey who is Canadian-born, Canadian-raised, or a regular in the country for more than five years, who has made significant contributions to the sport...

 and the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award

George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award

The George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award has been presented by Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, annually since 1950 to the thoroughbred horse racing jockey in North America who demonstrates high standards of personal and professional conduct, on and off the racetrack.The award was created...

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A resident of Reddick, Florida

Reddick, Florida

Reddick is a town in Marion County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 571. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 618...

 at the time of his passing in 1987, the following year Don MacBeth was inducted posthumously into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame

The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....

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MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund

After doing a show at a racetrack near Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

, devoted fan and sometime racehorse owner, comedic

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 actor

Actor

An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...

 Tim Conway

Tim Conway

Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway is an American comedian and actor, primarily known for his roles in sitcoms, films and television. Conway is best known for his role as the inept second-in-command officer, Ensign Charles Parker, to Lt...

 had wanted to donate his fee to help former jockeys experiencing hard times but learned that no such fund existed. In cooperation with Don MacBeth's widow, Conway became a Co-Founder, Vice President, and member of the Board of Directors

Board of directors

A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

of the Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund to assist injured and disabled riders. As of March 2007, the Fund has assisted more than 1,800 riders.