Old Friends

The 2022 Secretariat's Legacy calendar, which features the Triple Crown winner's legendary daughter Weekend Surprise and her descendants, is now available at SecretariatsLegacy.com for $25. Proceeds from the sale of the calendars goes to Bright Futures Farm, an equine rescue and sanctuary accredited by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance; Old Friends, another TAA-accredited organization; and Victory Alliance Ranch, an equine rescue and sanctuary supporting veterans and special needs children. The calendar series was launched in 2018 and has raised more than $22,000 for charities. "Racing fans, especially Secretariat fans, have loved...

MGSW Rocketry (Hard Spun) retired from racing in August and, after spending a month at Centennial Farms in Virginia, became the newest resident of Old Friends Friday. The 7-year-old 'TDN Rising Star' retired after five seasons on the track with six wins from 29 starts and lifetime earnings of $811,577. "Who doesn't love Rocketry?" said Old Friends founder and President Michael Blowen. "We're very fortunate that Centennial Farms trusts us to care for their great marathoner. Thanks to Don Little, Jr. and Jimmy Jerkens for allowing us to showcase him...

Grade I winners Next Shares (Archarcharch--Two Dot Slew, by Evansville Slew) and Bordonaro (Memo {Chi}--Miss Excitement, by Rajab) are the latest retirees to take up residence at Old Friends, the Thoroughbred retirement home near Georgetown, Ky. Next Shares, winner of the GI Shadwell Turf Mile S. in 2018 among his trio of graded scores, last raced in July at Del Mar for trainer Richard Baltas, who was also part of his large ownership group. The 8-year-old gelding retires with a record of 41-7-5-5 and earnings of $1,891,971. Bordonaro, now 20,...

Grade I winner Zulu Alpha (Street Cry {Ire}--Zori, by A.P. Indy) has been scratched out of Saturday's GII Calumet Turf Cup and Kentucky Downs and will be retired from racing. The 8-year-old will take up residence at Old Friends. "I'm going to scratch Zulu," Hui told the KY Downs notes team. "He's going to be retired to Old Friends. There's not a whole lot that's physically wrong with him. After consultation with Mike this weekend, he just believes he will not be competitive at this level." Claimed by Hui and...

Old Friends Retirement Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky, is set to host its 16th annual Homecoming event Sunday, May 2, from noon to 3 p.m. Dubbed 'Homecoming Lite,' the event will be restricted to 125 pre-paid guests owing to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Tickets are $25 for the general public and will not be available for purchase on site. Members of Old Friends are free and children under the age of 10 are not permitted. While the traditional silent and live auctions will be missing from this year's event, the art...

Old Friends has launched its "Memory Lane--Brick by Brick" fundraising campaign, where supporters of the non-profit organization can claim a spot in Old Friends's Nikki Bacharach Memorial Garden with a custom paver honoring a loved one, a legendary horse, a lost pet, a business, or other. Fans can contribute to Memory Lane by choosing one of two-sized bricks customized with colors, graphics, and text to create an elegant and permanent legacy for $125 or $225. Bricks will be laid to form a path in the Old Friends Memorial Garden/Champion's Cemetery,...

Bellamy Road (Concerto--Hurry Home Hillary, by Deputed Testamony), a daylight winner of the 2005 GI Wood Memorial S. and favorite in that year's GI Kentucky Derby, has been pensioned to Old Friends, the Thoroughbred Retirement Facility based in Kentucky. Owned by the late George Steinbrenner's Kinsman Stable and trained by Nick Zito, the Florida-bred posted four wins from seven starts and earnings of $811,400. Bellamy Road stood at Dutchess Views Farm in New York since 2016. The 19-year-old previously stood at Kentucky's WinStar Farm and Hurricane Hall. His nine graded...

Breeders' Cup Classic winner and top sire Awesome Again (Deputy Minister--Primal Force, by Blushing Groom {Fr}) died suddenly Tuesday at Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement farm in Georgetown, Kentucky. He was 26. (Click here for video feature 'The House That Awesome Again Built')  The exact cause of death is unknown. A full necropsy is pending and a full veterinary report will follow. The Canadian-bred had an exemplary resume as both a racehorse and a stallion. He broke his maiden at Hollywood Park in just his second start as a 3-year-old in...

Coady Photography will donate 25% of all sales in December of its 2021 calendar honoring 2020 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Authentic (Into Mischief) to Old Friends Equine. The calendar is currently on sale for $30 and can be purchased at www.coadyphotography.com. "Coady Photography couldn't think of a better cause to support than Thoroughbred retirement and Old Friends," Kurtis Coady said. "We are excited to help. The 9"x12" wall calendar features Coady pictures, some never before seen, from both the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby at Churchill...

Tom's Ready (More Than Ready), a three-time graded-stakes winner around one turn, has been added to the roster at Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Center in Georgetown, Kentucky. The 7-year-old, trained by Dallas Stewart for Gayle and Tom Benson's GMB Racing, was runner-up in the GIII Lecomte S. and GII Louisiana Derby in 2015, but cut back to one turn to win the GII Woody Stephens S. over seven furlongs and the GIII Ack Ack S. going a mile that season. Winner of the GIII Bold Ruler H. in 2016, the...

Continuing a series celebrating Secretariat's legacy through his remaining offspring, a 2021 calendar featuring the last living sons and daughters of the legendary 1973 Triple Crown winner is now available. It's the fourth annual fund-raising calendar in what has become a tradition of generating revenue for equine charities, a group that now includes Bright Futures Farm, Old Friends, and Victory Alliance Ranch. "It is humbling to see how the racing industry, and Secretariat fans in particular, have embraced this calendar series," said writer/photographer Patricia McQueen, whose creative project is part...

American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile)'s trusty sidekick during his racing days, a pony named Smokey, will be offered at public auction Saturday, Dec. 5, in Fort Worth, TX. The buckskin Quarter Horse gained fame as he accompanied the Triple Crown winner to engagements around the country in 2015. Smokey was often photographed with Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert or his assistant, Jimmy Barnes, in the saddle. Standing at just 14.3 hands, the now 11-year-old gelding will be sold by Twombly Performance Horses, a renowned ranch horse operation in the...