Off Track Thoroughbreds

Richard “The Mig” Migliore visits with CL Rib at the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation’s facility in Wallkill, N.Y.

Days before Triple Crown hopeful American Pharoah was set to blast off from post-position 5 at Belmont Park, an award-winning jockey turned sportscaster, and nicknamed for a Russian fighter jet, spoke of the need in the horse world and racing industry to take care of its equine athletes.

Richard “The Mig” Migliore, an Eclipse Award winning jockey who tenaciously piloted horses to close to 4,500 wins in a storied career, says that horses brought him “everything good in my life” and now that he is retired from horse racing, he seeks to “pay them back” from his vantage on the Board of Directors of theThoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF).

Fresh from a recent visit to the TRF’s Wallkill, N.Y. facility, where 45 Thoroughbred ex-racehorses receive care from inmates in the horsemanship skills program Second Chances, Migliore says he has thought a lot about what happens to racehorses after their careers end, and of the absolute necessity for the sport to find a way to take care of its horses.

“I will say this. I believe it’s incumbent upon the industry, and anybody who has derived any pleasure from a horse, to make sure they’re taken care of,” Migliore says. “A lot of these horses have very short careers. Everybody’s very aware of them when they’re racing, and while people are gambling on them and they’re making money for people.

“But they’re quickly forgotten unless they go to stud or become broodmares.”

Bubba Sparks greets Migliore during the Eclipse Award winning jockey’s visit to the TRF facility in NY.

Since joining the TRF last October, Migliore has been thinking hard about aftercare issues facing ex-racehorse Thoroughbreds, and says he hopes to help craft a plan of action that the industry might embrace.

“The fact that I had so much success as a rider, I feel it is my responsibility to give back to the horses. Horses have given me everything good in my life, from the tangible things like my house and little farm, and my car, to even meeting my wife Carmela. So, everything good has come from them.”Since joining the TRF last October, Migliore has been thinking hard about aftercare issues facing ex-racehorse Thoroughbreds, and says he hopes to help craft a plan of action that the industry might embrace.

On a recent afternoon, Migliore hopped in his car and drove 45 minutes to the Wallkill facility to speak to inmates about two very special horses in the herd they care for. Stakes placed Ohio bred CL Rib and New York bred Bubba Sparks, two mounts Migliore rode in the early 2000s, greeted him at the fence.

He brought pictures of the horses taken during their glory days, and told stories about the old days. And afterwards, Migliore felt more than just a little enlightened from the experience.

“I can be a little harsh with people who don’t do the right things, I guess. But after speaking with the guys there, I had such empathy,” he says. “Speaking with these guys, I could tell they wanted to change their lives, and I could see the pride they had in the care they were giving the horses. I was really touched to see how much of a difference these horses are making in their lives.”

Now if only those who enjoy the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, and all of the people who are themselves touched by a horse, will help care of the beautiful animals who give so many hope.— Originally published on June 5, 2015.

Lady Liberty, center, was born in March after her mother Mabeline (JC: Murphy’s Code) was rescued from the New Holland Auction. Here she nuzzles up to a Marine Corps vet. Photo courtesy Lois Fritz

A kill-pen broodmare and her wry-nosed filly, once destined to die in a foreign slaughterhouse, are now a powerful force for good as they help those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, brain injury and mental illnesses.

Mabeline (JC: Murphy’s Code), who was heavily pregnant with her new filly Lady Liberty last February when she was plucked from the concrete holding facility at the New Holland Auction, now serves to comfort and steady those visiting veterans who arrive at the New Freedom Farm in Buchanan, Va.

The pair of Thoroughbreds, saved in a massive effort to rescue a pregnant broodmare band from the New Holland Auction, now spends any given day nuzzling veterans, giving new strength to people still fighting their own internal wars.

Murphy’s Code
Sire: Pleasant Tap
Dam: Royals Galore, by Muscovite
Foal date: Jan. 28, 2001“The reason I wanted to pair horses with veterans, or anybody suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, brain injury, anxiety, depression, or substance abuse is because in order to heal, a person first needs to feel present. And in order to be around horses, (and stay safe) you have to be very present at all times,” says Lois Dawn Fritz, a Navy veteran and forensic nurse examiner. Fritz and her husband Mitchell, whom she nicknamed Mr. Budget, recently named their new farm New Freedom in honor of the rescued Thoroughbreds, and opened their doors to those seeking to transport themselves from their cares and worries to a place of peace.

“Two months ago, I had a Marine veteran who literally sat out in a field with them,” Fritz says. “He said after that it felt comfortable and peaceful, and he could tell by looking at them that they’d had a rough life.”

Lady Liberty, a foal who has struggled since she was born to a kill pen mare in March, enjoys a snuggle at New Freedom Farm in Virginia.

She adds, “I think Mabeline, who wasn’t a successful racehorse, but who was in a high-pressure environment as a broodmare, can relate to a veteran who has had a high-pressure life.”

Mabeline was rescued along with a band of pregnant broodmares in a large-scale effort led by Vermont charity Gerda’s Animal Aid. At the time, the Fritz’s had little interest in taking on the expense and responsibility of a broodmare and foal. But when it appeared the mare had nowhere else to go, they stepped up to face the surprising challenges that soon followed.

Weeks after Mabeline arrived, Fritz’s husband prepared for what turned out to be a hard birth by attending a seminar at a nearby breeding farm. The breeder offered her husband a free seat in the expensive class after learning how the couple had helped the mare in need. And the knowledge gained saved the day when Mabeline started to give birth on March 31, Lois Fritz says.

Lois and Mitchell Fritz of New Freedom Farm pose with Mabeline, a kill pen mare who has become integral in their newly launched program to serve veterans and those with other illness.

“When Mabeline started to deliver Liberty, only one foot came out, and not much else was happening. I ran to the house to get my husband, and he came back with an instructional booklet he received in the course,” she says. “He stood outside the stall while I was inside, and read it to me.” As professional help was en route, Lois Fritz pulled down Liberty’s other leg, and helped her rush feet first into her new life.

But the initial challenges were only beginning.

After it became clear that the filly’s face was a little different, and sported a slightly crooked, or “wry nose,” Lady Liberty’s health took a turn. “She almost seemed to have a case of failure to thrive,” she says, noting that after the filly was transported to veterinarians at Virginia Tech she was treated for pneumonia and impaction.

Since her arrival, Lady Liberty has had her ups and downs with her health. But she grows stronger. And, she has become an integral part of the Fritz family’s burgeoning nonprofit charity, which opens its doors to Veterans Administration patients, and anyone wishing to come meet the horses. “On Friday I had a group of veterans out to the farm from our local VA hospital, and I noticed in particular that they were looking at Liberty and her deformity,” she says. And then they saw past it, to the survivor who offers her muzzle and soft comfort to those hardened and hurt by life.