Category Archives: Racing

Breeds, Contributors/Press, Racing

Record Holder Rapid Redux Retires at Old Friends

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GEORGETOWN, KY — MAY 26, 2012 – Rapid Redux, the extraordinary racehorse who holds the modern North American record of 22 consecutive wins, will be permanently pensioned at Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Center in Georgetown, KY.

Michael Blowen, founder and president of Old Friends, made the announcement today that the 6-year-old gelding will arrive at the organization’s Georgetown farm on Wednesday, May 30.

Rapid Redux will be coming from trainer David Wells’s farm near Penn National Racecourse courtesy of Morrissey’s Horse Pullmans of Pawling, New York.

To celebrate the horse’s arrival, a press conference will be held at Old Friends’ Dream Chase Farm on Friday June 1st at 11 am. The farm is located at 1841 Paynes Depot Road in Georgetown, KY.

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Breeds, Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Fundraisers, Racing

New York’s Magnificent Oheka Castle to Host the Inaugural “Belmont Ball”

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Proceeds to Benefit Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Center

GEORGETOWN, KY – MAY 21, 2012 – Just days before the famed Belmont Stakes, the third leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Oheka Castle in Huntington, N.Y. will host the inaugural Belmont Ball. The event is a fundraiser for Old Friends, a Thoroughbred Retirement Center with locations in Georgetown, KY and Greenfield Center, NY.

The gala will take place Wednesday June 6th from 6 pm to 10 pm at the historic Gold Coast mansion located at 135 West Gate Drive in Huntington, NY. Guests will enjoy a small-plate buffet, an open bar, and racing-themed cakes and pastries from Oheka’s Executive Pastry Chef Daniel Andreotte.

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Breeds, Contributors/Press, Fundraisers, Racing

Old Friends 8th Annual Homecoming Event

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GEORGETOWN, KY – APRIL 30, 2012 – Tickets are still available to the Old Friends, 8th Annual Homecoming on Sunday May 6, 2012 beginning at 4 pm.

A fundraising benefit for Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Facility in Georgetown, KY, the festivities will take place at Old Friends’s Dream Chase Farm, located at 1841 Paynes Depot Road in Georgetown, KY.

Tickets are $25; Old Friends members and shareholders are $15. Reservations are suggested and can be made by calling (502) 863-1775.

Guests will enjoy a sumptuous BBQ feast by Furlongs Catering/Staxx Barbecue, live music by Lexington favorite Roger BonDurant, guided farm tours, and live and silent auctions of racing memorabilia, collectible stallion halters, jewelry, fine art, and more.

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Breeds, Contributors/Press, Fundraisers, Racing

Old Friends 8th Annual Homecoming Event

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GEORGETOWN, KY – APRIL 23, 2012 – Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Facility in Georgetown, KY, will hold its annual Homecoming fundraising event, Sunday May 6, 2012 beginning at 4 pm.

The festivities will take place at Old Friends’s Dream Chase Farm, located at 1841 Paynes Depot Road in Georgetown, KY.

Tickets are $25; Old Friends members and shareholders and students with IDs are $15. Reservations are strongly suggested and can be made by calling (502) 863-1775.

Highlights of the event include:

–Sumptuous fare by Furlongs Catering/Staxx Barbecue;
–Live music by Lexington favorite Roger BonDurant;
–Guided farm tours;
–A yard sale of equine items – including framed horse racing photos, horse books, blankets, and saddle pads – will begin at noon and run until 5pm;
–Live and silent auctions of racing memorabilia, collectible stallion halters, jewelry, fine art, and more;
–A visit from the artists of Pottery Rowe of Louisville. They will be on site taking orders for beautiful raku pots. Guests can bring swatches of horse manes or tails for custom orders.
–Parking on site.

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Community/Charity, Contributors/Press, Publications/Media, Racing

900 Kentucky First-Graders to Attend Re-enactment of Seabiscuit – War Admiral Match Race

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 6, 2012) – The Kentucky Horse Park will welcome 900 first-graders to the park April 10 at 10:15 a.m. to watch a re-enactment of the famous 1938 Seabiscuit – War Admiral match race in the Pimlico Special.  Live Thoroughbreds, period costumes, music from the era, antique cars, and real jockeys – including Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron – will add to the experience.

The event will be the highlight of a reading program created by the Kentucky Horse Park Literacy Program. The students have been participating in the program since earlier this year when a live horse from the Kentucky Horse Park delivered Seabiscuit books to area schools.  When the students received their books, they also got to try on real jockey silks and goggles, put their heads through photo boards and pretended to be jockeys on the home stretch.

Now that they have read the book, the first-graders from 15 schools in Fayette, Magoffin, Scott, and Woodford counties will be rewarded with an interactive experience at the park that will be based on the true story of Seabiscuit.  The students will also have the opportunity to enjoy the rest of the Kentucky Horse Park after the show.

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Breeds, Racing

Great Grandson of Secretariat Rescued from Neglect by Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue

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1 Year old gray filly (Derby - Lil Miss Lollipop by Navajo) and 5 month old chestnut colt (Derby - Secret Letters by War Secretary by Secretariat).

Loxahatchee, Florida – One would scarcely recognize the severely matted chestnut colt as a six-month-old Thoroughbred, much less a horse who shares the royal bloodlines of his famous lineage with Secretariat, War Secretary and War Admiral. Hardly the size of a two-month-old, the malnourished youngster and another one-year-old Thoroughbred peacefully chomped on some hay in a comfortable and clean stall at Pure Thoughts Horse Rescue yesterday.

Jennifer Swanson and Brad Gaver, co-founders of the all-breed horse rescue picked up the horses near Okeechobee and Indiantown from a pasture. For the past few weeks, a neighbor had been helping to feed the starving horses until the rescue had room.

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Breeds, Events, Racing, USEF

Save the Date: April 27 – Thoroughbred Racing Meets Thoroughbred Sport Horses

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Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation, The Jockey Club, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Keeneland are bringing the racing industry and the sport horse world together in April. On Friday April 27, the last day of Keeneland’s Spring Race Meet and during the 2012 Rolex Kentucky CCI4* presented by Bridgestone, Keeneland is hosting a reception for stakeholders from both industries.

In 2012, The Jockey Club launched an important initiative called the Thoroughbred Incentive Program (T.I.P.). This program is designed to encourage the retraining of Thoroughbreds into other disciplines upon completion of careers in racing or breeding. T.I.P. offers sponsorship for Thoroughbred-only classes and divisions and high point Thoroughbred awards at open horse shows and competitions, a Thoroughbred of the Year Award and a Young Rider of the Year Award.

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Breeds, Contributors/Press, Racing

Top Sire Fortunate Prospect, 31, Euthanized at Old Friends

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Fortunate Prospect at Old Friends after celebrating his 31st birthday. Photo by Rick Capone.

GEORGETOWN, KY — MARCH 16, 2012 — Fortunate Prospect, a top sprinter and broodmare sire, was euthanized due to complications of old age on March 15 at Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Center in Georgetown, KY. The son of Northern Prospect out of the Lucky Debonair mare Fortunate Bid was 31.

Michael Blowen, President and founder of Old Friends, where the stallion had been pensioned since 2006, made the announcement this morning.

According to Blowen, Old Friends veterinarian Dr. Doug Byars arrived at the farm within minutes of Fortunate Prospect showing signs of distress and advised euthanasia after a thorough examination.

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Auctions, Breeds, Contributors/Press, Racing

“Hats Off to the Horses: The Road to The Derby” – An Online Auction of Kentucky Derby Hats Continues with a Chapeau Inspired by Florida Favorite Fortunate Prospect

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Proceeds to Benefit Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement

GEORGETOWN, KY – JANUARY 31, 2012 – The 3rd Annual “Hats Off to the Horses: The Road to the Derby,” an online auction of exclusive handcrafted Kentucky Derby Hats, continues February 1st with a hat inspired by the great sire Fortunate Prospect.

This is the fourth hat in a series of six magnificent chapeaus to be auctioned by Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Center in Georgetown, KY.  Each hat has been custom crafted by milliner Sally Faith Steinmann of Maggie Mae Designs and 100 percent of the proceeds will benefit Old Friends, the 501(c) (3) non-profit organization that is dedicated to the dignified retirement of former racehorses.

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Contributors/Press, Media/Radio/TV Sources, Publications/Media, Racing

Equine Therapy on the T.V.? by Claire Dorotik

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With America’s endless fascination with horse racing, and his own personal history with the sport, it’s no surprise that David Milch decided to introduce a new HBO series with horses right at the heart. Boasting such fame as Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Kevin Dunn, and even real life former jockey, Gary Stevens, “Luck” promises a thrilling ride.

While many books such as Seabiscuit, Ruffian, Wild Ride, and Secretariat have offered the public a glimpse into the inner workings of the thoroughbred racing industry, never before has a television series revolved around it.

And this time, not just the details of the pick six, trifecta, and boxed bets are revealed, but the intricate relationships that comprise life at the track are given their due time as well, as viewers are introduced to “Ace” played by Dustin Hoffman as the ex-con race horse owner trying to make his way back onto the track.

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