Old Friends Equine facts for kids
Old Friends is a special place in Georgetown, Kentucky, where retired racehorses, especially Thoroughbreds, can live out their lives peacefully. It's a nonprofit group that started small with just two horses. Now, Old Friends owns a big farm called Dreamchase Farm and leases more land. It's unique because it's the only place in the United States that regularly takes in male horses called stallions after they finish racing. Today, over 150 amazing retired Thoroughbreds call Old Friends home.
Contents
How Old Friends Started
Old Friends was founded in 2003 by Michael Blowen. He used to be a movie critic. Michael was inspired to create Old Friends after a famous horse named Ferdinand, who won the 1986 Kentucky Derby, sadly passed away in 2002. Having well-known horses at Old Friends helps raise money. This money then helps care for many other horses who might not be as famous.
Old Friends has grown over the years. In 2009, a satellite farm opened in Greenfield Center, New York. It's called Old Friends at Cabin Creek: The Bobby Frankel Division, named after a famous horse trainer. In 2015, Old Friends also partnered with Kentucky Downs to open another small farm near the Kentucky-Tennessee border. This farm can house up to 10 retired Thoroughbreds.
In January 2015, Old Friends received a special Eclipse Award. This award honors groups that do amazing work for the Thoroughbred horse industry. A year later, in January 2016, a fire destroyed the farm's hospital barn. Luckily, no horses or people were hurt. Thanks to donations and fundraising, plans were made to rebuild a new, safer barn.
At Old Friends, horses spend as much time as possible outside in their pastures. They have shelters they can go into if the weather is bad. Male horses who have been gelded (called geldings) often share a pasture with one or two other geldings. They usually become very close friends. Stallions, however, are more protective of their space, so they live in separate pastures. But they still interact, sometimes by racing each other along their fences! Visitors can even touch and feed most of the retired horses.
Famous Horses Living Here
The main farm in Kentucky is home to many famous horses. Some won big races, while others were less known. Here are a few:
- Affirmed Success (born 1994) – This gelding won several important races like the Forego Handicap and Vosburgh Stakes. He retired to Old Friends in 2007.
- Alphabet Soup (born 1991) – A stallion who won the 1996 Breeders' Cup Classic, a very important race. He came to Old Friends in 2015.
- Amazombie (born 2006) – This gelding won the 2011 Breeders' Cup Sprint and an Eclipse Award for being the best sprinter.
- Commentator (born 2001) – A gelding who won the Whitney Handicap twice.
- Eldaafer (born 2005) – This gelding won the 2010 Breeders' Cup Marathon. He retired to Old Friends in 2014 with his goat friends, Yahoo and Google!
- Game On Dude (born 2007) – This gelding won the Santa Anita Handicap three times, which is a record! He earned over $6 million in his career. He retired in 2014.
- I'm Charismatic (born 2001) – The son of a famous Kentucky Derby winner, he raced many times before retiring to Old Friends in 2012.
- Little Mike (born 2007) – This gelding won the Breeders' Cup Turf.
- Little Silver Charm – A miniature horse and the official "spokeshorse" for Old Friends. He's one of the few non-Thoroughbreds at the farm.
- Rail Trip (born 2005) – This gelding won the Hollywood Gold Cup and earned over $1.5 million. He joined Old Friends in 2014.
- Rapid Redux (born 2006) – This gelding set a modern record by winning 22 races in a row! He joined Old Friends in 2012.
- Silver Charm (born 1994) – A famous stallion who won the 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He retired to Old Friends in 2014 after living in Japan.
- Special Ring (born 1997) – This gelding won the Eddie Read Handicap twice. He joined Old Friends in 2005.
- Sun King (born 2002) – A stallion who won several graded stakes races. He joined Old Friends in 2017.
- Touch Gold (born 1994) – This stallion won the 1997 Belmont Stakes. He retired to Old Friends in 2015.
- Winning Dubai (born 2009) – A horse from Puerto Rico who retired to Old Friends after Hurricane Maria. He raced over 90 times and won 22 of them.
- Big Brown – Winner of the 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
- Bird Town – She won the Kentucky Oaks and Acorn Stakes in 2003.
- Stone Legacy – She was the runner-up in the 2009 Kentucky Oaks.
Horses in New York
- This Hard Land – A horse named after a song by Bruce Springsteen.
- King Congie (born 2008) – This gelding won stakes races and even competed in the 2011 Preakness Stakes. He was rescued and then donated to Old Friends in 2016.
Horses at Kentucky Downs
- Ball Four (born 2001) – This gelding won the Kentucky Cup Classic and set two track records.
- Good Lord (born 2007) – A gelding who won 9 stakes races and earned over $800,000.
- Sgt. Bert (born 2001) – This gelding won the Woodford Stakes twice and set a track record.
- Thornfield (born 1994) – He won the Canadian International and was named Canadian Horse of the Year in 1999.
Remembering Past Residents
Many horses have lived at Old Friends and have since passed away. They are always remembered. Here are some of them:
- Awad – Won the 1993 Secretariat Stakes and 1995 Arlington Million. He passed away in 2011.
- A. P. Slew – He was a great-great grandson of a Hall of Fame mare. He passed away in 2014 due to health issues.
- Appygolucky – Known as the "King of the Claimers" at Beulah Park. He passed away in 2009.
- Black Tie Affair – Won the 1991 Breeders' Cup Classic and was named Horse of the Year. He passed away in 2010 after battling cancer.
- Bonnie's Poker – She was the mother of the famous Kentucky Derby winner, Silver Charm. She passed away at age 28 in 2010.
- Bonapaw – A millionaire horse who won the 2002 Vosburgh Stakes. He passed away in 2017 due to a neurological disease.
- Bull Inthe Heather – Son of Ferdinand, he won the 1993 Florida Derby. He passed away in 2014.
- Catlaunch (born 2001) – This gelding raced over 100 times and earned over $1 million. He passed away in May 2018 due to a chronic neurological disease.
- Charismatic – The winner of the 1999 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. He passed away at age 21 in 2017 shortly after arriving at Old Friends from Japan.
- Creator (born 1986) – One of the first stallions Old Friends brought back from overseas for retirement. He passed away in 2015.
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- Diamond Stripes – Won several graded stakes races. He passed away at age 10 due to cancer.
- Fortunate Prospect – A sire of many winners. He passed away at age 32 in 2012.
- Genuine Reward (born 1993) – One of only two foals from the Kentucky Derby-winning mare Genuine Risk. He never raced but was a sire for polo ponies before coming to Old Friends in 2015. He passed away in 2018.
- Gulch (born 1984) – A champion sprinter and father of Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch. He passed away at age 32 in 2016.
- Halo America – A mare who won multiple graded stakes. She passed away at age 26 due to declining health.
- Hidden Lake (born 1993) – A champion mare in 1997. She retired to Old Friends in 2009 and passed away in 2016.
- Kiri's Clown (born 1989) – Won the 1995 Sword Dancer Invitational. He passed away in 2014.
- Key Contender (born 1988) – Won the 1995 Suburban Handicap. He passed away in 2012.
- Ogygian (born 1983) – Won several important races in the 1980s. He passed away at age 32 in 2015, being the oldest resident at Old Friends at the time.
- Popcorn Deelites (born 1998) – This gelding was an animal actor who played the main horse in the 2003 movie Seabiscuit. He joined Old Friends in 2005 and passed away in 2022.
- Precisionist – Won the 1985 Breeders' Cup Sprint and was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He passed away in 2006.
- Prized – Won the 1989 Breeders' Cup Turf. He passed away in 2014 at age 28.
- Sarava (born 1999) – Won the 2002 Belmont Stakes in a big upset. He retired from breeding in 2012.
- Sunshine Forever – A champion turf horse in 1988. He passed away in 2014.
- Ruhlmann – Won the 1990 Santa Anita Handicap. He passed away in 2008.
- The Wicked North – Won three Grade 1 races and was a champion in 1994. He passed away in 2011.
- Thunder Rumble – The first New York-bred horse in 125 years to win the Travers Stakes. He passed away in 2015.
- Will's Way – Winner of the 1996 Travers Stakes.
- Tinners Way – Won the Pacific Classic twice and was the last son of the famous horse Secretariat. He passed away at age 27 after battling a neurological disease.
- Tour of the Cat (born 1998) – This gelding won over $1.1 million. He retired to Old Friends in 2009 and passed away in 2018.
- Wallenda – Winner of the 1993 Super Derby. He passed away in 2016 after a lifelong battle with hoof pain.
- War Emblem (born 1999) – Winner of the 2002 Kentucky Derby and Preakness. He passed away in March 2020 at age 21.
- Williamstown – A former mile record holder at Belmont. He passed away in 2015 due to health complications.
- Winston (born 1993) – A miniature horse who was a companion at the Kentucky Derby Museum. He retired to Old Friends and passed away in 2018.
- Zippy Chippy – Known as "racing's most lovable loser" for having the most losses in modern American racing.
Some horses have even been re-buried at Old Friends when their original graves were in danger. This shows how much Old Friends cares about these amazing animals, even after they are gone.
Old Friends Stakes Race
In 2015, Kentucky Downs racetrack started a special race called the Old Friends Stakes. This race is held in September on "Old Friends Day," which celebrates the farm and the care of retired Thoroughbreds. The winner of this race gets a share of the prize money and is also guaranteed a spot at Old Friends when they retire from racing!
The first Old Friends Stakes in 2015 was won by a horse named Kalamos. In 2016, Flatlined won the race. The 2017 race was won by Sir Dudley Digges, who had famously won the Queen's Plate in 2016.
See also
- List of racehorses
