Off Track Thoroughbreds

Apache Prayer, who some say bears a passing resemblance to California Chrome, will be among the horses for sale at the Suffolk Showcase this Sunday, Sept. 7.

Dozens of fine Thoroughbreds will be paraded before prospective buyers at the 9th annual Suffolk Showcase by CANTER New England this coming Sunday, Sept. 7.

The annual sale is being held a month early due to a shortened race meet at the East Boston racetrack, says CANTER board member Dawn Carey Kirlin, organizer of this year’s show.

“Some people have told me that they’ll come by in October. And I have to remind people that the meet is closing early this year, and that’s why the Showcase is early,” says Kirlin, who notes that this year’s bounty of beauties is definitely worth the rearranging of schedules.

Kirlin notes, “I’ve done several track visits and we have an amazing array of horses available, from 3-year-olds to 11-year-olds. I think there’s a huge misconception out there that when a horse winds up at Suffolk Downs, that they’re at the bottom of the barrel. That’s not the case! These are really nice horses that were either too slow to race at other tracks, or have run out of conditions to keep going at other tracks, or are just ready to move on and the trainers and owners want what is their best interests.”

Everyotherdayhero is said to possess a great presence, and loads of potential as a sport horse.

Suffolk T-breds are selling quickly, and at a good price, she says, noting that early shoppers, including a group of New Hampshire Eventers, have already been to the track to pick their next sport horse. Noting that a constant stream of horses is selling at a good clip via the CANTER New England Trainer Listings, there’s a lot of eye- candy to see Sunday.

Standouts include Everyotherdayhero, a New York bred with 24 starts, and a bold, flashy demeanor.

“He’s big, tall, with long legs and a big blaze. He’s just striking,” she says.

Another knockout is Apache Prayer, a flashy chestnut with 39 starts and more than $100,000 in earnings. “I first met him in May, when everybody was going crazy for California Chrome. And Apache is also a big, flashy chestnut with a lot of chrome,” she says. “Someone said at the time, ‘Hey look, we’ve got our own California Chrome!’ His trainer just loves him and wants to find a good home for him. They’ve had him since he was a 2-year-old.”

Rich Hero is another great catch! The Kentucky bred has earned more than $200,000 in his lifetime.

Another standout is Rich Hero, a 15.3 hand chestnut gelding. Rich Hero is a Kentucky bred with 63 starts and more than $200,000 in earnings.

Kirlin, who has run her hands down the legs of most Showcase horses, says she has seen great Hunter/Jumper prospects as well as prospective Eventers.

And she is encouraged by the growing interest in T-bred sport horses taking place in the horse world.

“I think the Thoroughbreds are becoming more popular in the Hunter world again. I think part of the reason is the Thoroughbred Incentive Program (TIP) by the Jockey Club” which sponsors T-bred only shows “and I also think it’s a fad.

“People think it’s cool to have a Thoroughbred again, which is great news for these horses.”

The Showcase takes place Sept. 7 on the backside of Suffolk Downs, from 9 a.m. to noon. Please visit the CANTER New England website for more details. ♥

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Lights On Broadway, the top-earning racehorse who inspired Dallas and Donna Keen to found Remember Me Rescue, succumbed to colic this past weekend.

Lights On Broadway, the 2001 Texas Racehorse of the Year, a racehorse so special he inspired Donna Keen to found Remember Me Rescue, died over the Labor Day weekend after a severe and sudden bout of colic.

In an announcement via Facebook Keen says, “I feel like I lost by best friend today.”

The son of Majestic Light, who years ago came perilously close to the slaughterhouse after knocking out a formidable race record, and earning more than $500,000, was taken in by Donna and Dallas Keen several years ago, and made a poster horse for their new rescue in Burleson, Texas.

Their long and happy friendship however, ended suddenly. After the farm manager, while conducting his morning chores, discovered Lights was suffering from colic, the veterinarian was called. When he arrived, Lights was very toxic, with reflux coming out of his nose, and in extreme pain, Keen says.

Lights On Broadway
Sire: Majestic Light
Dam: Script Gal
Foal date: May 29, 1997
Earnings: $572,445, 83 starts“He (determined) his stomach had ruptured,” says Keen, adding, “Even in extreme pain, Lights was polite and a gentleman to the end.”

He was administered heavy sedation and humanely euthanized at the farm, and his remans will be buried beneath a huge pecan tree, alongside Dallas’ beloved pony horse, Blue.

“The evening we buried Blue, this beam of sunlight shined through the clouds and trees and illuminated the huge pecan tree, only that tree, turning it almost orange,” Keen says. “It was like God comforting us, telling us Blue was with him. I can almost bet we’ll see it again when we bury Lights.”

Lights on Broadway had a tumultuous life.

When he was up, he was winning against the best of them. As a 4-year-old in 2001, he won the Assault Stakes at Lone Star Park, the Chick Lang Jr. Memorial Handicap at Retama Park, and the Star of Texas Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park. With those three black-type scores and many other impressive performances, Lights was crowned 2001 Texas Horse of the Year, according to the Blood Horse.

Lights was a favorite at Remember Me Rescue. Here is receives a visit from Lilly Armstrong.

He dropped in class and was running in low claimers by 2004, according to Mary Cage’s column in the Blood Horse, eventually selling to a horse broker and headed to a Canadian slaughterhouse.

“When the trailer driver made a stop at a café, he met Gregg Sanders, an Oklahoma-based Quarter Horse trainer. The two began talking and the driver informed Sanders he had a racehorse on the trailer that had several wins listed on his papers. Sanders recognized Lights on Broadway’s name and impressive race record. In that moment, he decided to buy Lights to keep him from going to slaughter,” Cage wrote in the article.

By 2008, Lights On Broadway caught the attention of Alex Brown, and he was placed on the Top Bunk List, which tracks there whereabouts of Thoroughbreds who have earned $500,00 or more. Lights earned just over $570,000.

Though by this point in his career, there were several who stepped up to offer Lights a home, include LOPE of Texas and Joe McDermott, Light’s breeder, it was Dallas and Donna Keen who would eventually open up their farm and their hearts to the hard-trying racehorse.

After he arrived, Keen says she fell in love with the 17-hand racehorse with flaxen mane and tail.

And it was with a heavy heart that she announced over the weekend that the horse who “came inches from death” and went on to become a foundation horse for her charity would no longer run the fields of her Texas farm. Light’s burial costs are $650, and eventually the farm would like to place a headstone. Those wishing to donate to these costs may do so at this hyperlink to Remember Me Rescue’s Pay Pal Account. ♦

Please consider visiting the blog’s new store, Off-Track Products. Proceeds will help sustain this blog in the future, and go to charity.