Zippy Chippy Comes to Old Friends Georgetown

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GEORGETOWN, KY — JULY 17, 2012 – Zippy Chippy is in the house!

Zippy Chippy, racing’s biggest loser, will be spending the summer at Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement center in Georgetown, KY. He is on loan from the organization’s satellite facility in Greenfield Center, N.Y.: Old Friends at Cabin Creek: The Bobby Frankel Division.

Zippy arrived in Georgetown (along with his best buddy, Red Down South) courtesy of Salle Vans on Friday July 13 and will be staying through August.  The now 21-year-old gelding is best known for losing 100 consecutive races.

The horses are part of an Old Friends exchange that sent two-time Whitney Handicap winner Commentator to New York and brought Zippy to Kentucky.

Commentator, who as once awarded the key to the city in Saratoga, will be at Cabin Creek through the spa meet visiting with all of his fans.

“This must be the worst trade since the Red Sox sent Babe Ruth to the Yankees,” laughed Old Friends founder and president Michael Blowen. “Actually, Zippy, whose motto is ‘winners don’t always finish first,’ has a huge fan base here in Kentucky, and we’re all looking forward to having him with us in Georgetown.

Owned and trained by Felix Monserrate, Zippy Chippy made headlines in the 1990s for his failure to make it to the winner’s circle in over 80 starts. In 2000, People magazine included him on its list of the year’s “Most Interesting Personalities.” Zippy’s continued losing streak and his ornery nature resulted in his being banned from most racetracks by the late ’90s, but he continued to run at the Three County Fair in Northampton, MA.

It was there on April 10, 2004 that Zippy made his 100th start. Finishing dead last, it was to be his final trip around the oval.  The gelding retired to Cabin Creek in 2010.

Campaigned for six spectacular seasons by owners Tracy and Carol Farmer and Hall of Fame trainer Nick Zito, Commentator ended his career in 2009 having won 14 of 24 starts and a bankroll of well over $2 million. In addition to double victories in the GR1 Whitney, he captured the GR2 Richter Scale and the $500,000 Massachusetts Handicap, which he won by 14 lengths.  He was retired to Old Friends in Georgetown in October of 2009.

Both Old Friends at Cabin Creek and Old Friends in Georgetown are open to visitors daily by appointment.  Contact the farms for information or to schedule tours to meet both of these equine stars.

Old Friends at Cabin Creek
483 Sandhill Road
Greenfield Center, NY 12833
(518) 698-2377

Old Friends
1841 Paynes Depot Road
Georgetown, KY 40324
(502) 863-1775

About Old Friends

Old Friends is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that cares for more than 110 retired racehorses. Its Dream Chase Farm, located in Georgetown, KY, is open to tourists daily by appointment. Old Friends also has a satellite facility in Greenfield Center, New York, Old Friends at Cabin Creek: The Bobby Frankel Division, which is also open to visitors. For more information on tours or to make a donation, contact the main farm at (502) 863-1775 or see their website at www.oldfriendsequine.org.

MEDIA CONTACT Cynthia Grisolia, (347) 423-7322, cagrisolia@yahoo.com, or Michael Blowen, (502) 863-1775, michael@oldfriendsequine.org

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