Grand Bailout had ‘angels’ looking out for him
On hooves so overgrown they jutted over the tops of his heavy, steel shoes, Grand Bailout moved his tired body into an awkward, choppy trot. Dejected in every way, his long coat dull, his body ribbed with malnutrition, the year spent away from the limelight of Penn National racetrack and its cheering fans, had not been kind. “The first thing I thought when I saw him was that he had had a very bad winter,” says Marlene Murray, a longtime horseman whose heart breaks when she thinks about how close this little racehorse came to slaughter. His name alone, Grand […]
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Pay Attention makes a mint, lands softly
Author’s note: This story was originally published in July 2010. Amanda Smith started to pay attention to the plight of ill-fated racehorses shortly after Barbaro broke down at the 2006 Preakness Stakes. That’s when Pennsylvania pharmacist and pleasure rider started to ponder the ineffably sad ending that can come when their racing days are over. Her curiosity led her to websites by exercise rider and anti-slaughter advocate Alex Brown, and soon she started following careers of horses who were once big earners before they dropped in class to run for relative peanuts in claiming races. She started to monitor Alex Brown’s Top Bunk […]
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Clubhouse Q&A: Balancing babies and horses
Kimberly “KC” Compton DiCostanzo, a New York-based eventer and doting owner of ex-racehorse Zeus, recently welcomed her first child, Lyra, into her growing family, that now includes, husband Matt, several horses, and a gaggle of lesson riders. In this week’s Clubhouse Q&A, DiCostanzo answers questions about how she juggles the demands of motherhood with the daily feeding and cleaning chores necessary to keep her barnyard family happy. Q: What has been the most surprising part about adapting to motherhood while running a horse farm? I’m surprised how much you can do with a baby attached to you! In all seriousness, […]
