Friends of Danada

12/11/2023

Have you ever wondered how Danada acquired its name? Find out a bit more on that subject here on the Friends of Danada blog, Words from Danada!

Who is Danada? As one drives around in Wheaton, specifically in the area between Butterfield and Warrenville Road as well as Routes 53 and 59, a person might notice that the name Danada keeps popping up in the area. We see it on the shopping centers located on Butterfield Road, apartment

07/28/2023

Friends of Danada is pleased to announce that we recently hired two Archive Assistants! Allison Gammons and Julianne Billings, welcome aboard! One of their tasks will be to write up blog posts if anything catches their eye and will be posted on the Friends of Danada official website.

Julianne Billings has written a very interesting blog post in regards to Dan Rice choosing jockeys who will ride his horses.

Come check it out here at this link!

By Julianne Billings When large sums of money and personal pride are at stake, tensions can run high, and although things ran relatively smoothly on the Danada Estates, Rice and his employees did not always see eye to eye. In general, Dan Rice kept relatively friendly correspondence with his busi

07/10/2023

Here is another addition to the Then and Now section of the FOD Focus Series. Today we focus on the barn that Dan and Ada constructed to house their racehorses, a building which still stands and is in use today.

The barn on the estate is pretty much the same as it was when it was first constructed in the mid 1940's. It is a 26-stall Kentucky style barn. When it was constructed, it boasted a full time veterinarian and an x-ray machine! It is very apparent that the Rices took very good care of their racehorses and only wanted the best care for them.

Today, the barn still houses horses, but they are not for racing. These horses are used for horseback riding lessons. It is the home of the Danada Equestrian Center, and is owned and operated by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County. It is also home to the cats Bernie and Clyde, who were featured in a previous FOD Focus post in June of last year.

06/23/2023

Here at FOD we have a plethora of photographs pertaining to Dan and Ada Rice. One of our more amusing photos is this one of Ada being “kissed” by one of her horses. The horse in this photograph is believed to have been one of Ada’s personal favorites named SnowBoots. This photo offers a rare and informal glimpse into the life of the Rices and their bonds with the horses they raised.

05/15/2023

We are pleased to announce this year's recipient of the Friends of Danada Agricultural Scholarship!

Friends of Danada has awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Ms. Kaylee E. Choi for 2023. A $1,000 scholarship is offered annually to a graduating senior from an area high school that offers agricultural education and environmental sciences. The student must be planning to further their education at a college to major in plant sciences, animal sciences, agricultural business, or environmental sciences. This year, we have an excellent young winner who displays a true passion for the environment, as well as education and leadership.

Kaylee Choi is graduating in May from Glenbard East High School and is planning to major in Environmental Sciences and Engineering at Purdue University. She was recommended by her teachers and advisers – David Krodel, and Gilda Ross. Her academic record, her work experience and ethic, and her scholarship application all demonstrate that she is well-deserving of this award, and Friends of Danada wishes her continued success and happiness with her education and chosen career path.

Friends of Danada is a volunteer support group that was established in 1986 to assist and support in the administration, operations, and programs of the estate of Dan and Ada Rice, for the use and enjoyment of the public. The Danada estate properties were purchased in 1980 as a portion of the Forest Preserve of DuPage County, including the former Rice mansion and estate, the equine stables, and the model farm located on Naperville Road between Naperville and Wheaton. The former Rice home and adjacent atrium are a very busy and beautiful site for many social gatherings, including weddings, receptions, and events. The stables and equine center provide training, education, and land for equine activities.

The Model Farm, operated by agricultural volunteers, provides hands-on learning opportunities for youth and adults about the importance of agriculture, the environment, and products we use in our daily lives. The many trails and pathways through the properties provide outstanding views and experiences for the public year-round.

For further information, please contact Friends of Danada, 3S501 Naperville Road, Wheaton, Illinois 60187, or www.danadahouse.com, or 630-668-5392.

04/30/2023

With the Kentucky Derby happening this Saturday, it felt appropriate to make a post honoring Danada’s own Derby Winner, Lucky Debonair. In this post, we feature a listing of the horses that ran the 1965 Kentucky Derby. Lucky Debonair was given the number 8 for the race. Listed with him is Ada Rice as his owner, Frank Cartrone as his trainer and Willie Shoemaker as his jockey. The listing also describes the details of Willie Shoemaker’s uniform in that the colors were “white, cerise “ALR'' in diamond, cerise yoke and sleeves, white and cerise cap.”

04/23/2023

Dan and Ada Rice spent a great deal of time and money ensuring the horses they bred would become winners. Just across the street from their Wheaton mansion, just west of Naperville Road, they had constructed a half mile oval racetrack that was also fitted with a starting gate. This gate had a buzzer and bell to help the horses get used to the sounds of racing.

When the property was first acquired by the Forest Preserve, the starting gates were not in very good shape as shown in this older black and white photo. Thankfully the gates were moved and restored to look how they would have looked back when they were more in use. And while the gates are not on their exact original location, they still stand tall and proud right near the racetrack where many horses trained, such as Danada’s own 1965 Kentucky Derby winner Lucky Debonair.

03/23/2023

Hello everyone! Just a reminder that Friends of Danada are offering two $1,000 scholarships for graduating high school students! They are the Friends of Danada Agricultural Scholarship and the Don Nash History Scholarship.

The due date for applicants who are interested is approaching very soon. The due date to turn in applications is 4pm on Friday April 14th, 2023.

Announcements on those who won the scholarships will then be made by Sunday May 15th, 2023.

If you know any graduating high school seniors who currently attend high schools in Wheaton, Naperville, or Glen Ellyn, and might be interested in these, please let them know about this amazing opportunity!

Here is a link to the FOD website page which discusses these scholarships in further detail:

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03/19/2023

On this day in 1965, 58 years ago, Dan Rice Jr. wrote this letter to his mother Ada in which he mentioned an article written in the Los Angeles Times by Jim Murray. Murray was a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and he focused on horse racing. In regards to the Kentucky Derby, Murray was known to have said, “The Derby isn’t just a horse race, any more than Elizabeth Taylor is just a woman, the Taj Mahal a building or Mt.Everest a hill. The Derby is America’s race. Everything else is Bridgeport.” Getting a positive article written by him was very valuable in the horse racing business. Dan Jr. also mentions Frank Catrone in his letter, he was the man who trained Lucky Debonair who won the Kentucky Derby on May 1st 1965.

03/05/2023

Some of our best memories during school are participating in clubs with our friends. Among FOD’s collection are the yearbook photos taken of Dan Rice Jr. during his school years. This one shows Dan Jr., standing third from the left in the back row, with the Camera Club while attending college at the University of California at Los Angeles.

02/19/2023

Dan and Ada Rice were fairly social people. They often invited celebrities to come stay at their Wheaton estate, had a changing room for guests to use while having fun at their pool, and other entertainment pieces. One piece that the house featured was a beautiful bar in a cozy corner of the basement level of their house, accessed via an elegant, winding staircase. Here is a photograph taken of the bar when the Rices lived there as well as a photograph taken of the bar with a pair of volunteers during the FOD’s first open house in the 1970’s.