Free Thoroughbred is a star at famous farm
Randee Beckman, a proprietor of the famous show-horse breeding farm Otteridge Farm answered the phone one weekend night with a hint of a question in her voice. Who could be calling? Her mother Eileen Beckman, the famous equestrian and founder of the breeding facility, was on their property, and her daughter Katie Gardner, a musical theater graduate, was in a performance of Guys and Dolls. The caller, a friend, it turns out, got straight to the point: “Do you want a free Thoroughbred?” Beckman replied, “What kind of a free Thoroughbred?” The response was good enough for Beckman. The next […]
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Laura Hillenbrand pledges help to Old Friends
Laura Hillenbrand, author of the No. 1 New York Times bestsellers “Seabiscuit: An American Legend” and “Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption,” this week pledged her support to Old Friends, a bucolic racehorse retirement facility which was recently touched by the sorrow of losing a prized retired stallion. On the heels of an announcement by Old Friends President Michael Blowen that 26-year-old retiree Marquetry was euthanized this week, a handsome chestnut stallion who earned $3 million on the track, Hillenbrand pledged to match up to $5,000 in donations to Old Friends to honor the […]
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News Briefs: Two great racehorses pass on
Marquetry dies at Old Friends Marquetry, a flashy chestnut who earned nearly $3 million on the track, was euthanized at Old Friends Feb. 1 after suffering a fatal accident in his stall, says Michael Blowen, president and founder of the Thoroughbred retirement facility in Georgetown, Ky. The prized stallion, who was one of Blowen’s favorites, and was often featured in photographs alongside the charity’s president, was 26. In a sad announcement, Bowen notes, “We have retired many great horses, but none will ever take his place.” The silver lining was that his injury was discovered early, and the quick and careful […]
