Belmont Stakes winner Touch Gold (Photo © Laura Battles)
There is so much to be thankful for this week. Most importantly, thanks to everyone that banded together to help with the abandoned Borell horses. The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA), the selfless volunteers, and so many others worked very hard to do what’s best for these great athletes. Through Stacey Clark of the TAA, Old Friends has pledged to give two of the horses a place to retire if needed. As this situation progresses we’ll offer more news about that. But thankfully these horses are finally getting the help they need.
Second, very special thanks to Zenyatta, the Breeders’ Cup, Maker’s Mark, and Jerry and Ann Moss for making Old Friends the 2016 beneficiary of their “Champions for Charity” campaign. They’ve created a gorgeous collectible bottle of Maker’s Mark signed by Jerry and Ann, John Shireffs and Mike Smith, and 100% of the proceeds go to Old Friends.
If you’d like to reserve one of these commemorative bottles, visit the website https://www.breederscup.com/champions-for-charity?force-web (sorry, we can’t take your request in the office).
You’ll notice that donors will be collecting their bottles at Arcadia Night: Salute to Zenyatta, which will take place on Wednesday, November 2 at the Gold Line Plaza in Arcadia, CA. The evening will include live music, food trucks, and signature Breeders’ Cup cocktails, among other special amenities.
But for those unable to attend the California event, bottles also may be collected at Breeders’ Cup offices in Lexington, KY on November 16, from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Proxies will be accepted at both locations. Breeders’ Cup will correspond with donors in October to determine their pick-up preferences and other possible options.
This donation will be significant to our retirees. We’ve earmarked it to continue expanding our Georgetown facility so we can take in more deserving retirees.
Speaking of expansion, the new barn is just about done and it’s just beautiful! We’ll be having a “Grand Opening” ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday, July 9 around 11 p.m. At this time we will officially name it the “John Hettinger Memorial Barn.” Anyone is welcome to come and see the new place on that morning.
What’s in a name? This weekend Narrow Escape runs in the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine. Our first retiree was named Narrow Escape. Belmont winner, Creator, is trained by Steve Asmussen and Steve’s brother, Cash, who rode our Creator to Group 1 wins in France. Delay of Game, our longtime friend who recently passed away, is represented by another Delay of Game who’s still running. I root for all three, and I hope you will, too.
Meanwhile, the Saratoga meet is just around the corner and we can’t wait. In conjunction with JoAnn and Mark Pepper and all the great people at Old Friends at Cabin Creek, we’re planning some fun events in New York in the coming weeks. You can visit the Cabin Creek website for more info: www.oldfriendsatcabincreek.com.
We’ll be giving this year’s Frankel Award to Eclipse-Award-winning photographer Barbara Livingston at our annual get-together at Anne’s Washington Inn in Saratoga on August 11. Innkeeper Joe Bokan, one of our dearest and most generous supporters, is also a great, great friend. We could never spend as much time having fun and raising money at the Spa without Joe letting us stay for free.
On August 16, the National Racing Museum and Hall of Fame is celebrating Old Friends Day. Many of the owners, trainers and jockeys whose horses have been retired to Old Friends have agreed to appear. We’ll be updating our list of participants as we get closer to the date but H. James Bond (Behrens, Will’s Way), Richard Schosberg (Affirmed Success), Jack Knowlton (Saratoga Episode) and Tracy and Carol Farmer (Commentator) have agreed to participate.
The horses are doing great, by the way. War Emblem is happy in retirement, Touch Gold is becoming a new favorite, and Silver Charm is loving his fans. We hope you will all be able to come out for a visit this summer and say hello.
Old Friends, Inc. 1841 Paynes Depot Rd., Georgetown, KY 40324
502-863-1775 www.oldfriendsequine.org michael@oldfriendsequine.org
Old Friends at Cabin Creek 483 Sandhill Rd., Greenfield Center, NY 12833
518-698-2377 www.oldfriendsatcabincreek.com cabincreek4@hotmail.com