Signed jockey goggles offered at Preakness
The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) and the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) have come together to offer signed jockey goggles as a part of a joint fund-raising effort. The goggles, signed by top-class jockeys, will be available as a souvenir in exchange for a donation to be shared between the two organizations. The TAA and PDJF will be offering the goggles on site at Pimlico Race Course on Black-Eyed Susan Day (May 20) and Preakness Stakes Day (May 21). The goggles have been signed by jockeys such as Victor Espinoza, last year’s Triple Crown-winning jockey, and Hall of Fame jockeys […]
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Horses under rainbow show inmate a new path
A former inmate who had lost almost everything when she was sentenced to four years in a Florida jail found “some peace” in her life and a path to a new career after embracing the surprise opportunity to participate in a prisoner/racehorse program. After taking a leap of faith that her prison’s Thoroughbred program could somehow help right her ship that had sailed so off course in life, Kelly Esposito, 51, of Ocala, Fla., graduated the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s Second Chances horsemanship program and landed on solid ground. In January, after she was released from jail, Esposito began work at the […]
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An OTTB finds his ‘calling’ helping people in need
The once excitable Thoroughbred gently lowered his head to accept the embrace of a legally blind man, who reached up from his wheelchair to share in the strength that stood before him. As if understanding how the man yearned to be close, the ex-racehorse reached over and sniffed the rubber and metal contraption. “And then instantly a softness came into his eye,” says Ashley Armijo, who had never seen her feisty Thoroughbred Hadifly react so gently to anyone. Witnessing the tender moment on the grounds of the New Mexico Center for Therapeutic Riding two years ago, Armijo realized her novice-level Eventing prospect […]
