This statue of American Pharoah, painted by PEB, was auctioned to benefit the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.
The Foods of Anne Burrell, a fundraising gala for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation in Saratoga Springs Sunday night, raised over $200,000 for the charity which places retired racehorses in second careers and in pioneering programs at correctional facilities in nine states.
The evening’s highlight–-other than the outstanding food prepared by Burrell, a chef made famous by the Food Network–-was an auction of stallion seasons and unique experiences.
The auction was topped by a winning bid of $37,000 by Bob Masterson for a 2016 no-guarantee season (with right of breedback in 2017) to Lookin at Lucky, the leading second-crop sire, donated by Coolmore.
Chester Broman brought home a season to Bodemeister (under the same terms) for $36,000, donated by WinStar. The sire’s first yearlings sell this year. Bill Shively took home a pair of seasons; a season to top second-crop sire Majesticperfection (donated by Airdrie) sold for $22,000, while a Point of Entry (donated by Adena Springs) fetched $25,000.
The TRF party in full swing.
A season to Tale of Ekati, donated by Chuck Fipke, sold for $15,000 to Mike Levy.
The Peb-painted fiberglass horse, inspired by American Pharoah, was not only the hit of the sales week at the Fasig-Tipton pavilion, with untold visitors lining up for photos, but topped the auction of unique experiences, bringing a bid of $15,000 from Paul Bulmahn. The statue was donated by Fasig-Tipton. Another Pharoah item, the Triple Crown champ’s halter, went for $14,500 to Paul Manganaro. It was donated by Bob Baffert, and sold with a Skip Dickstein photo set.
Said the TRF’s Director, External Affairs, Diana Pikulski, “We are so grateful to our sponsors, season and experience donors and to the folks who bid with their hearts last night. The success and longevity of the TRF is based on loyal supporters like those who participated last night and who welcomed the horses’ new found friend–-Anne Burrell. We are also indebted to the team from Fasig-Tipton, who not only donated an item and attended the function, but put on a great show with their auction.”
To learn more about the TRF, visit www.trfinc.org.
Reprinted with permission by the Thoroughbred Daily News.
Great to see the industry supporting the retirees!