by Victoria Howard

Donna Duer was born and raised in the Bluegrass State of Kentucky, but refers to herself as a nomad for she presently splits her time between Kentucky, Florida and Delaware.

Totally “bred in harness racing purple,” her father is renowned farm manager/breeder Carter Duer, and her mother Helen, functioned as the sales director at the Tattersalls Sale Company for many years.

If you’re involved in harness racing you either personally know or have heard of Carter Duer, for he is one of the most renowned men in our sport. At one time he was the manager of Castleton Farms and Kentuckiana Farms before he and his wife Helen established Peninsula Farm.

Donna said, “As a young child, I remember helping my mother with the pedigrees for the sales catalog. She was tasked with proofreading the catalog before it went to print, and I guess mom thought if I helped it would be a good way to teach me how to read.

“Growing up at Castleton, I was exposed to many great horsemen who were also my father’s close friends, such as George Sholty, Steve Brown [Walnut Hall] and Glen Garnsey. I would beg ‘Big D,’ (a nickname for my father), to let me stay home from school so I could go have lunch with him and his friends at the famous Coach House. I loved hearing them tell their stories about horses, racing, and track gossip. Of course, the lunch couldn’t last too long for my father had to have me back at the bus stop on time so my mother wouldn’t know I skipped school.”

Throughout the years Donna wore many different hats. Working on their family farm was a joint effort as Donna helped with stallion collection, preparing the yearlings for the sales, foaling, and office work. She admits working with horses didn’t come to her as easy as it did to her sister Teresa who presently manages Peninsula; or her brother John, a former horse trainer who is now a pharmaceutical representative, but also helps with the family business.

Although Donna always loved the horses it took some time before she was confident enough in her abilities to work with the equines, but when she did, she was off and running, and Donna has added another title to her lengthy list – race horse owner.

“Outside of my time at Peninsula, I own several racehorses, along with my partners Mitchell Frair and Roman Lopez,” Donna said. “Owning the horses enables me to be involved with their everyday care. I’m really proud of Forty G’s, our 3-year-old Muscle Hill colt; Catch A Thief a 3-year-old International Moni (1:55.3), and Spicy Salsa, a 2-year-old Southwind Frank filly, and we recently purchased a colt at the Fasig-Tiptin sale to add to the stable.”

Donna has had many memorable moments in the business.

“Hands down [the most exciting] was when Captain Corey won The Hambletonian.”

It was one thing for Donna to raise, breed, and foal yearlings, but emotions can be quite different when you take them to the sale and let them go.

“It’s so much fun and exciting to breed, raise, and watch our ‘kids’ grow up, hopefully to become a champion one day. Of course, there are highs and lows. I can’t name how many horses we have produced over the years and the older I get, the harder it is to let them go. It is our livelihood, so I have to make peace with letting them go.

“I spent many years braiding ribbon into the manes of countless yearlings, until we retired the green and gray ribbon for browbands. As far as pressure, the sales never affected me like it did my father.”

With all the many horses she’s dealt with over the years, Donna has a few that stand out.

“My fastest is Forty G’s,” she said. “He has won five out of his last six starts and had one second. His best time was 1:55.1 and I’m really excited to bring him back next year.

“As far as my favorite, it’s hard to pick one. Miss Talon who was the first horse I ever owned, was so easy to love. She had a small stature and sweet nature and made it easy to come to work. And then there’s Fiery Chip, my first stakes winning horse who won the American National. They all hold a special place in my heart.

“And of course, Luv U All, the dam of Captain Corey, who is very special to me. She is so sweet and has a great disposition. After the car accident dad and I were in, we took Luv U All, along with two other fillies to Virginia to train on the family farm. Those horses really helped dad rehabilitate.

“Luv U All was ‘the whole package.’ One reason she is so significant is because of the time my father and I spent together while he trained her.”

Peninsula Farm has been one of the leading breeding nurseries for decades, and although they don’t do the volume they once did, 2024 was still a good year.

“This year we sold 33 yearlings at Lexington and 18 yearlings at Harrisburg,” Donna said. “The sale at Harrisburg this year was a little more difficult because my father didn’t attend due to his needing surgery. Thank God he is doing much better now.

“The sales were successful as we sold a yearling in Harrisburg called The Old Man for $450,000, and at the Lexington sale we sold a big brown colt named M J D — a son of Captain Corey — for $270,000. M J D is also very special to us for M J D are the initials of my great-grandfather, Maurice James Duer, who had his horse Tyson Hanover in the 1947 Hambletonian. His dam was You Want Me. Although I didn’t have a relationship with her like the others, I took care of, we got closer when she became a broodmare. She is my sister’s favorite horse and has proven to be a very good producing mare.”

There are definitely those that Donna would like to thank for helping to guide her through the business that she loves.

“I am so grateful to both my mother and dad ‘Big D’ for starting the farm and creating the legacy we can all be so proud of,” Donna said. “Even though I’m somewhat of a vagabond traveling between racetracks these days, Peninsula has always been my home and I look forward to seeing it flourish.

“I also want to thank my partner Mitchell Frair for including me in the racing stable. He is a great guy who loves and supports our sport. And finally Roman Lopez (Romeo) for his infinite patience with me as I learn this side of the business.”

Note: Recently a film crew visited Peninsula Farm to provide background for what Kentucky horse racing is all about and its future. A big shout goes out to the Duer family and the Peninsula team and continued luck to Donna and her racing stable.