Off-Track Thoroughbreds

Emerald Downs to host A Thoroughbred Affair in October

Emerald Downs will host a Thoroughbred show Oct. 5 designed to appeal to a wide audience— the mothers of horse-crazy daughters, animal lovers who’ve thought about owning a horse but have been intimidated by price, and riders of all levels— in an event showcasing the ex-racehorse as a mount for every rider.

A Thoroughbred Affair, which is patterned after last year’s successful Totally Thoroughbred Show at Pimlico, will hold classes on the track, featuring demonstrations in English and Western riding, as well as lead-line classes.

“Most regular horse shows are geared toward other riders. For example, a Hunter/Jumper show is geared toward other Hunter/Jumpers and to their families. This won’t be a regular horse show,” says show manager Karen Worthington. “I don’t want to just be showing to other Thoroughbred exhibitors. I want to bring in the horse-loving general public, spectators, people like the mother of an 8-year-old horse-crazy daughter who will look at our event and say, ‘Oh, we could do that.’ ”

Noting that not all horse hobbies need to be prohibitively expensive, Worthington promises that ex-racehorses at Emerald Downs will show that trail riding and casual pleasure riding are two affordable options.

“I have a woman who will demonstrate dressage riding on her OTTB. She’s a single woman and a schoolteacher who has no intention of competing. She’s not shooting for the Grand Prix,” she says. “She’s a recreational rider.”

Favorites like West Seattle Boy are expected to appear

The event, which is also a fundraiser for horse charity The Prodigious Fund, will feature two rings, simultaneously demonstrating English and Western riding. In one arena, a horse may jump small fences, while in the other ring, another may demonstrate barrel-racing steps, she says.

Participants in the show will also be asked to write down the story of their horse, including details about how they found their ex-racehorse, and details about the animal’s life.

Stories will be affixed to a display wall, where attendees may stop and read the histories.

Thoroughbreds available for adoption will wear a green ribbon in their tails so they will be easily identified, she adds.

In addition, spectators will have the opportunity to interact with well-known Thoroughbred racehorses, including You Me and Emma B, and possibly West Seattle Boy.

Elaine and Rathor take it easy on their new life path

As anyone who has spent time with horses will tell you, when an equine decides he or she doesn’t want to do something anymore, they’ll “let you know.”

Some are subtle with their horse-to-human cues; others are like Rathor, a gorgeous animal who is the very picture of Black Beauty, and is possessed of an equally flashy communications style.

When Rathor decided that his best race days were behind him, which included a win against Derby victor Funny Cide, and training with greats such as Sir Henry Cecil and Bobby Frankel, he made his case as clearly as if he had stormed into the boss’ office and crooned, “Take this job and shove it.”

“On the last day of his racing career, in Pennsylvania,” recalls his Rhode Island based owner Elaine Pelino, “when the starting gate flew open, he just stood there. He refused to move.”

She adds, “Someone could have lit firecrackers under him, not that anybody would do such a thing, but if they did, he still wouldn’t have moved.”

Rathor
Barn name: Rocco
Sire: Machiavellian
Dam: Raisonnable (GB), by Common Grounds (GB)
Foal date: May 13, 2002
Earnings: $331,979
Thinking of him, and how he must have felt that day, Pelino finds commonality between her own hard-fought career in the entertainment business in California, and Rathor’s hard-knocking career grinding out 46 starts until he was nearly 10 years old.

“There was a time when he and I were both working in California. I was doing a lot of commercials and some small roles in film,” she says, noting that she appeared in commercials for Miller beer, Clairol and Canon cameras. “He was racing at California tracks. It occurs to me that we both worked so hard to get where we were at the time, we both went through the ranks, but we both got older.”

A few years ago, just before her 59^th birthday, Pelino returned to her native Rhode Island to work part-time on writing projects, while Rathor shipped east to a Rhode Island barn.

“I decided to get a horse for my birthday, and my friend Laurie Tuozzolo, who owns several off-track Thoroughbreds told me she knew of the most beautiful black horse with a white face,” she says.

She always pictured herself with a Tennessee Walker or a Quarter Horses, but based on her friend’s enthusiastic description, decided to drive to the nearby barn and take a gander at Rathor.

Enjoying a little paddock time in his retirement

After a quick ride, doing light walk and trot work, Pelino hopped off and turned to look closely at the accommodating mount.

He gazed back at her like a young girl’s storybook horse staring out from the pages: he was breathtaking. His dark bay coat, which is nearly black, shines in the sun. And his stark white blaze sets off his fine-boned facial structure. His sturdy, upright frame completes the picture of the perfect dream horse.

Startled by his beauty, intrigued by his history, Pelino began researching his pedigree and discovered he had been trained by the greats, and had had a stellar career before he landed, almost by happenstance, like her, in Rhode Island.

“I went online and couldn’t believe what a great pedigree he had. He deserved respect. He’s an old warrior who deserves a good life,” she says.

As she approaches her 60^th birthday in October, Pelino’s goal is to make Rathor as happy in retirement as she can. She plans to trail ride him, and turn their jaunts into pleasure riding for both. Although he’s in remarkable condition after his long career, she’ll never jump him. He deserves a rest, she says.

“He’s on vacation for the rest of his life,” Pelino says. “He doesn’t have to do anything, anymore, that he doesn’t want to do.”