Old Friends Farm is celebrating its 15th year of rescuing retired Thoroughbreds. Operating at 3 locations and home to hundreds of horses, the Georgetown, KY farm is full of famous champions and a broad spectrum of former Thoroughbred racehorses. On a beautiful Kentucky Fall day I paid the farm another visit.
It was a lovely day for walking the pastures. A small group of us made our way through part of the farm to visit and feed 21 friendly Thoroughbreds. Our tour guide was weighted down with a large variety of carrots, whole, chopped, pealed, shredded, the horses are very particular. One of my very favorite things about Old Friends is the contact the fans are permitted. Most farm tours don’t allow for any touching or feeding but at Old Friends, the majority of the horses have learned to enjoy and expect the attention and the carrots. Nicanor, was not much a star at racing or breeding but he has really learned to shine in retirement. His full brother was the late 2006 Kentucky Derby winner, Barbaro. Nicanor serves as a fantastic ambassador for the farm and all of his brothers fans.
Known to racing fans as the biggest longshot to ever win the Belmont Stakes, Sarava won at 70-1 odds! He is still winning, in his retirement visitors flock to see this unexpected champ. He gets plenty of carrots from the fans and his former owners come to treat him too,
Most stallions need their own paddock but Amazombie isn’t your average Thoroughbred. He is a kind horse and he shares his area of the farm with Rapid Redux. Amazombie accumulated nearly $2 million dollars in earnings and won several graded stakes including the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Sprint.
Record making Rapid Redux won 22 consecutive races before retiring to Old Friends. He was awarded both the Vox Populi Award and an Eclipse Award. He is definitely a racing star.
Another Breeders’ Cup winner, Little Mike, was a turf champ. He won the BC Turf in 2012. He won several other graded stakes as well and now he makes it his business to win hearts.
Game On Dude had a very successful racing career, won many graded stakes, often more than once and amassed over $6 million dollars in earnings. He enjoys the attention he receives in his retirement.
Z Dager started off with a lot of promise on the 2012 Road to the Kentucky Derby but then he dropped in class. After hitting the board in over half of his career starts he was retired. Retirement has been very good to him and the treats got him a bit fat. The vets at Old Friends do an excellent job and on my visit, this boy was on a diet. I hope he slims down quickly and the next time I can feed him carrots.
Old Friends Farm is home to birds and barn cats too. Additionally, they also have a goat and a donkey. Yes, some horses prefer a buddy. Alphabet Soup keeps his donkey, Gorgeous George, with him at all times. Alphabet Soup is a multiple graded stakes winner including the 1996 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Afternoon Deelites had a brief but nice racing career. He won 7 of his 12 career starts and many of those wins were graded stakes. He accumulated over $1 million dollars in earnings and then went on to a brief career at stud producing some nice progeny including Popcorn Deelites.
In 2003 the movie Seabiscuit was made. Popcorn Deelites delighted movie goers as he was the staring horse in the gate and match race scenes. There were a total of 6 horses acting as Seabiscuit. Popcorn Deelites didn’t have to act too much, he had the experience of 58 races and even a winning streak to draw on for the roll.
River Squall just retired to Old Friends this year. He is 24 years-old and the sire of 95 progeny. He won 6 of his 20 career starts when he was racing, 2 of those were graded stakes.
Green Mask was retired to Old Friends earlier this year. Just when he was looking his best he suffered a leg fracture ending his racing career. He is a millionaire in earnings and a multiple graded stakes winner.
War Emblem is one that does not get fed carrots or petted by fans. He has settled down a lot since his arrival at Old Friends but he is maintained at a safe distance. War Emblem won the 2002 KY Derby and Preakness stakes. He won several graded stakes and then went to stud in Japan. He did not care for breeding and thus he has few, though talented, progeny. He retired to Old Friends in late 2015.
Silver Charm and Little Silver Charm photos are the featured and top pictures in this story. Silver Charm also won the first 2 legs of the Triple Crown. He achieved that in 1997. He won the Dubai World Cup too. Silver Charm is an Eclipse Award and Hall of Fame horse. He was another Thoroughbred who spent his breeding career in Japan and returned to KY at the end of that career.
Special Ring will perform for treats! He shares his paddock with star, Popcorn Deelites. Special Ring began his racing career in France. He is a turf horse and he was unstoppable for several years at Del Mar, CA.
The 1997 Belmont Stakes winner was Touch Gold. Winning multiple graded stakes and over a million dollars in earnings he also had success in the breeding shed before he came to Old Friends. He still enjoys running in his paddock.
Silver Ray is the perfect example of why more needs to be done to protect our racehorses. After winning in graded stakes he dropped in class and retired from racing with a 6 win in 26 start record. He was a good breeder and sired horses for other equine sports too. Unfortunately, he slipped through the cracks and was doomed for slaughter when he was noticed by a rescue organization. It was a close call for Silver Ray whose owners helped to save and retire him. Sadly, not all Thoroughbreds receive the retirement they deserve.
Ide was racing strong on the 1996 KY Derby Trail. He won multiple graded stakes and 7 races in a row before he was forced to stop racing. He took that wining spirit with him to the breeding shed where he was a great stallion producing stakes winners.
Geri won graded stakes in America and Canada. He then went on to breed at 2 KY based farms as well as Japan and Italy. Geri was quite the shipper but it is nice he has retired to his own paddock.
Sun King did not always win but he often finished across the board. He raced in many graded stakes and won a few too. He was still racing well at age 5. He was troubled by fertility issues at the 2 farms he stood stud at and so he was retired.
I always enjoy my visits to Old Friends. It is one of my favorite charities and my top recommended attraction to visitors. I think it’s so wonderful that this farm gives these stallions a retirement where the fans can visit and learn. There is always something new to see at Old Friends Farm.
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Omg special ring that pic is adorable lol